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Updated Aug. 13, 2007, 7:56 p.m. ET
Visiting Phil Spector's mansion, jurors in his murder trial are full of questions


ALHAMBRA, Calif. — Throwing off the passive role that is the norm on such field trips, jurors touring Phil Spector's estate Thursday repeatedly asked to reenact the fatal shooting of Lana Clarkson.

A judge brushed aside several proposals by jurors in the music legend's murder trial, including the production of a loud gunshot-like noise inside the mansion, but gave jurors permission to sit in the spot where the actress died.

Five panelists, all men, took turns sitting in Spector's foyer in a reproduction of the chair in which Clarkson died Feb. 3, 2003. As their colleagues stood nearby, the jurors slumped in the armchair with their legs splayed in front of them, the position in which the 40-year-old was found.

The location of Clarkson's body and the scientific evidence around it is at the heart of the trial. Spector, 67, claims Clarkson killed herself, and his defense insists blood evidence puts the producer across the room when she died. Prosecutors maintain he shot her because she tried to curtail what he hoped would be a romantic evening. They say drops of blood on his jacket prove he was within a few feet of her mouth.

The jurors' request to sit in the chair was part of a list that amounted to a supplemental itinerary presented to the judge at what was expected to be the conclusion of their visit to the suburban home.

The panelists, who spent a total of about an hour and a half at the estate, had viewed three rooms in Spector's 33-room house: the foyer, a nearby powder room and the living room where he entertained Clarkson before her death.

Asked by Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Larry Fidler if they had any questions, the 12 jurors who will deliberate Spector's fate and six alternates adjourned to the residence's driveway and held a private, extended discussion.

The meeting was extraordinary for a criminal trial in which jurors are barred from discussing the case until the presentation of evidence is completed and the dozen deliberating jurors are behind closed doors.

The sole pool reporter allowed to witness the jury view said the panelists huddled away from the judge and lawyers for five to 10 minutes. The conversation was intense and included "a lot of gesticulating," Associated Press special correspondent Linda Deutsch said later. (VIDEO)

Juror No. 10, a civil engineer who lives near Spector's mansion, known as the Pyrenees Castle, appeared to run the conference and wrote out a list of 10 questions for the judge.

The judge and lawyers then convened court in Spector's chandelier-lit living room, the room where Clarkson and he drank alcohol and listened to music before her death, and responded to each of the jurors' queries.

Spector and his wife, Rachelle, stood nearby, arm in arm. The defendant normally wears carefully tailored suits to court, but he greeted jurors in a long-sleeve T-shirt, sweatpants and sandals. Rachelle Spector, who favors stiletto heels and fashionable suits for court, wore shorts and sandals.

Many of the jurors' requests appeared focused on evaluating the credibility of a chauffeur who claims Spector emerged from the back door of the house with a revolver moments after the shooting and said, "I think I killed somebody."

The defense has argued that Adriano DeSouza could not have heard the gunshot because he was inside Spector's Mercedes with the air conditioning running and the radio on, and similarly could not have heard a confession because of a loudly burbling fountain near the back door.

Among the questions the jurors asked was whether they could close themselves in a car parked near the fountain to gauge their ability to hear outside noise. The judge denied the request, telling them the car had a different air conditioning system than Spector's Mercedes.

They also asked if it was possible to adjust the motor of the fountain. One of the jurors is a hydrologist. The judge told the jury the fountain did not have a variable motor.

The jurors' procession in vans from the downtown courthouse to the mansion was followed by three news helicopters. They continued to hover over the house, which sits atop a steep hill surrounded by modest stucco homes, throughout the jury visit. The jurors' list of questions contained a request that the helicopters leave the premises, apparently so they could hear better.

A court spokesman contacted the news stations, which temporarily pulled back their helicopters.

Following the jury view, the jurors returned to Fidler's courtroom, where the judge laid out a schedule for the rest of the trial. Both sides are expected to rest their cases next week. Prosecutors will call a fifth woman, Devra Robitaille, to testify that Spector threatened her with a gun.

The defense is expected to close its case with the testimony of Dr. Michael Baden, a pathologist. The decision to call Baden, the husband of defense attorney Linda Kenney-Baden, as a fourth pathologist was a surprise. Defense lawyers said last week they were dropping him from their witness list because of adverse rulings that limited what he could say on the witness stand.

Kenney-Baden's presence for the conclusion of the trial remains an open question. According to the defense, she is being treated for a serious viral infection. The New York attorney and forensic specialist is slated to give one of the defense summations.

Defense attorney Roger Rosen said Kenney-Baden's doctor hopes to know more about her prognosis next week.

Testimony resumes Monday morning.



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