Going West: True Crime - Lana Clarkson // 472

Episode Date: January 28, 2025

In February of 2003, a 40-year-old model and actress living in Los Angeles headed to her shift at the House of Blues Hollywood like any other Sunday. When a successful, notable music producer walked in to her VIP lounge, they got to talking - and her shift ended with him inviting her back to his mansion for a nightcap. But within an hour of his driver dropping them inside his home, a gunshot rang out, and she was pronounced dead in the foyer. This is the story of Lana Clarkson.

What is going on true crime fans? I'm your host T and I'm your host Daphne and you're listening to going west Hello everybody. I hope you're doing well today Today we have a Los Angeles case for you guys. I'm very surprised that we've never gotten recommended this case. I growing up here didn't even ever hear about this case. I remember I was in high school when this whole thing was kind of unfolding. Did you know about it? I did remember like hearing about it or seeing it on the news, but I never got to dive deep into this story. This story surrounds celebrity murder

and it's very, very disturbing. Yeah, there's a lot of really interesting backstory here that we're gonna get into first and just so much to discuss overall. But yeah, I didn't hear about this until recently. My sister told me about it. I was like, what? So without further ado, let's dive into it.

All right guys, this is episode 472 of Going West, so let's get into it. The jury in the Phil Spector murder trial could begin its deliberations Wednesday. Tuesday during closing arguments, Spector's attorney told jurors that scientific evidence proves Lana Clarkson committed suicide inside Spector's mansion six years ago. The attorney urged jurors to ignore the prosecution efforts to paint Spector as a man with a violent history. The prosecution gave its closing argument Monday, calling Spector a demonic maniac who had a history of threatening women with guns. He's accused of shooting a woman to death in his suburban Los Angeles home.

Police were saying little else about the woman in her twenties found dead in the foyer of Spector's hilltop mansion. A gun has also been recovered. Someone called 911 reporting shots fired at the million dollar home in the pre-dawn hours. Legendary music producer Phil Spector shot and killed actress Lana Clarkson it happened on February 3rd 2003 here at Phil Spector's castle on a hilltop overlooking Los Angeles. Spector had met Lana Clarkson earlier that night they came back here and within hours she was dead with a gunshot wound to her head he

was arrested for murder. If you commit crimes in our communities, if you commit violence against our citizens, we, under the watchful eye of the district attorney's office, we will find you. We will prosecute you. And no matter your fame or your wealth or your supposed celebrity, you will stand trial and you will be accountable for your actions. Lana, she was kind of like one of these young, really energetic, optimistic girls.

She was so full of life and she sparkled and that was Lana. She'd always say, I'm gonna be famous one day, you should take my picture. Like till her dying day, we were always shooting and she was always trying to get me to shoot something. She had an idea. It was also important to us to flesh out Lana Clarkson as much as we could and make sure that she was more than just a footnote in the Phil Spector story. Lana Jean Clarkson was born on April 5, 1962 in Long Beach, California to parents Donna and James Clarkson. But after spending her early years in sunny Southern California, when Lana was about five

years old, the Clarkson family, including her brother Jesse and sister Fawn, relocated to the vineyard-laden landscape of Sonoma County in Northern California. Which is wine country up there. Very much so. So Lana was a steadfast and independent child who really marched to the beat of her own drum from a young age. A natural born performer, Lana loved playing dress up and just entertaining her family in any way she could think up.

But growing up in Sonoma County, Lana's childhood was filled with beautiful natural landscapes that Northern California has to offer. So she took up horseback riding early on and spent a ton of time outdoors. At nearly six feet tall, Lana also played basketball at Cloverdale High School in Cloverdale, California, which is a quaint and small rural city in both the westernmost and northernmost corner of the San Francisco Bay Area, which is north of Sonoma as well,

located along the Russian River. But sadly, while she was a teenager there, tragedy struck the Clarkson family when her father, James James sadly passed away. Not long after this when Lana was 16, the family made the move back to Southern California and ended up settling down in the suburbs of Los Angeles, more specifically the Valley. And remember she was in Long Beach before so this would be her first time living in LA proper. So she and her siblings had gone through like a lot of different scenery changes, but this was a really good move.

You know, luckily, the palm tree line streets of LA in the late 1970s was the perfect backdrop for Lana, who was a bottle blonde with a glowing smile. And this move to LA would also prove to inspire Lana career-wise, because while she was still a teenager, she catapulted into a career as a model. Energetic and hard-working, Lana's modeling career allowed her to travel around the world for photoshoots with major brands like Mercedes-Benz, Mattel, and Nike.

And Lana was so glamorous with her feather blowout and long legs that attributed to her, again, six-foot stature. So definitely a picture-perfect model, especially for the times. But modeling was just kind of a stepping stone for her ultimate dream, which was to become an actress. So after a few years of modeling, by the early 1980s, Lana in her early 20s began landing acting roles and actually worked on the classic coming of age film, Fast Times at Ridgemont High. I love that movie.

I love Spicoli. I'm actually going to talk about him in a second because she played Mrs. Vargas. She was the eccentric biology teacher, Mr. Vargas' wife. So her role was minor, but it is kind of funny because she was two years younger than Sean Penn was and he played a student, you know, Spicoli, and here she is playing like a teacher's wife at 21. But this was a really good introductory role for her

because she was only 22 when the film came out and it was a big success even then. Yeah, she doesn't play like a huge role in the movie, but it's kind of funny because Mr. Vargas is like this older guy and she's this really hot young blonde. Well, exactly. I guess she kind of does look like she might be a little bit older, but yeah, she's just this beautiful blonde woman in this in this movie. Married to a weird teacher, dude. Science teacher, yeah.

Well, even bigger than that, Lana also had a small role in the iconic film, Scarface, where she was featured in a non-speaking role aside, Michelle Pfeiffer, which obviously loved that film as well. We're gonna talk about some really great films and some really great music today. And her character in that movie was a woman at Babylon Club,

but still, you know, a huge film to be a part of even in a small way. And this released in 1983, so a year after Fast Times. So Lana was young and starting to make a little name for herself in Hollywood, and in her early work she fabulously portrayed the bombshell archetype in several B-movies. She starred as Amethya in the 1985 action-adventure film Barbarian Queen, and Lana also played Alpha Beta in the 1987 sci-fi Amazon Women on the Moon, once again like in Scarface alongside Michelle Pfeiffer. So Lana portrayed a variety of roles, and the 1980s proved to bring her success as a hard-working Hollywood actress. While she wasn't necessarily a widely known household name, many talented actors and actresses like Lana were and still are making a good living for themselves, despite not being gigantic, well-known stars. So she was doing good for herself, you know booking consistent gigs and commercials and films and during these years as well

Lana really showed how big her heart was by getting involved with charities and organizations Like she would volunteer at project angel food Which is an AIDS charity that provided food for individuals in LA affected by HIV and AIDS Especially in a time where AIDS and HIV were widely feared by many, Lana just wanted to get out there and help in her spare time when she wasn't building her career. As the 1990s rolled around, characters she played in the 80s sci-fi films gained her a cult following, making her a bit of a superstar at comic book conventions and autograph shows, where fans were thrilled to meet the barbarian queen in real life

So yeah She she played in a lot of these sci-fi films and a lot of people just wanted to go and meet her and get her autograph But sadly like many women in Hollywood by the time she reached her 30s Lana faced the big industry issue of losing roles to younger women Because now suddenly she's competing for roles against fresh 20-somethings. And even though she was still this beautiful, talented woman who had this great passion for her career

and a fantastic work ethic, in the 1990s Lana wasn't really booking as many gigs as she had been in the years prior. So by the turn of the millennium, Lana actually decided to pursue standup comedy, which allowed her to, you know, still entertain in front of an audience and show off her great sense of humor. She often did impressions, actually.

She loved working and she was super self-sufficient no matter what she was doing. You know, she was always able to take care of herself and just make things work. But her goal of revamping her acting career was at the top of her priorities. And in the beginning of the 2000s, noting the rise of the internet,

Lana launched a website for her production company, Living Doll Productions. Love that name. The website featured various photos of herself, and this was just another way to put herself out there and show that she was ready to work. Living Doll Productions was also apparently a new outlet for her to kind of dip her toes into potentially working as a producer alongside continuing to act. Although she was clearly ambitious and talented. Despite launching a living doll productions, booking modeling and acting jobs proved to be few and far between as time went on.

And then in 2001, Lana was in her late 30s when an accident caused her to break both of her wrists. I read a couple different reports. I was trying to find exactly what happened. I thought was this like a car accident. I did see a couple reports say the same thing that she like tripped over a rug at a children's party and this is how this happened.

Damn, what a way to break both of your wrists. Yeah, just like a freak trip and then, and this was really bad because physically, you know, this was a major setback. She had to heal for nine months. So she really couldn't do anything with her hands for nine months, meaning she was out of work for almost a year. At this time, Lana was living in Venice, where she lived in a cozy cottage on the canal,

just across from the sands of famous Venice Beach in Los Angeles. And by 2002, the ever-determined Lana was finally healed up from her wrist injuries and, of course, ambitious as ever and understandably needing an income. She began looking for work and ended up landing a hostess job at Los Angeles's iconic House of Blues, which sadly has since been torn down and replaced by a five-star hotel. A five-star hotel. a five-star hotel. Yeah, a five-star Yeah, and it's it's kind of sad because we see a lot of these places going away a lot of horrible a lot of places That we love in Los Angeles like the viper room

They I think for a while they were planning on getting rid of that and putting up some apartment buildings Amoeba Records had to move. Yeah, it's just sad to see those things go Yeah, and I know a lot of you guys know the House of Blues, but for those who don't, it is a music chain, it's a music venue chain, and the LA location was in the heart of the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood. It was like there, and there's no other venue right there. I mean, if you go down to the Roxy or like you were saying, the Viper Room, which the Viper Room is still open, isn't it? I think it is. Yeah, still today, but I know. But they do want to close it.

That's what I'm saying, yeah. Yeah. So this was such a great spot and it had a good capacity size, so it was such an amazing venue. It was such a landmark for fans and celebrities alike to just hang out. And Lana worked there as a hostess in the Foundation Room, which was the upstairs VIP lounge section of the venue.

Several years of dealing with the ups and downs of the entertainment industry would be challenging for anybody, but Lana kept her spirits up, and again, she just did what she had to do to get by. And actually, working at the House of Blues was a great networking opportunity for her, and being amongst the club's clientele kept her kind of in the Hollywood scene in some sort of way. And she knew this, obviously she was a smart gal. So in the last days of January 2003, when 40 year old Lana's longtime agent shared that she had booked some upcoming modeling jobs,

Lana was beyond thrilled. You know, it just seemed like her efforts were coming to fruition and the upcoming modeling jobs were proof that things were starting to fall into place again. But unfortunately, the positive news of a possible career comeback would be overshadowed by an untimely tragedy. February 2nd, 2003 was a pretty average Sunday for Lana. When evening rolled around, she began her shift at the House of Blues like any other weekend night. Music was booming through the halls, cocktails were being shaken, and Hollywood locals were filling the New Orleans-style nightclub.

And actually, that night, heavy metal band Halford was performing on their Crucible tour, so Lana was working her shift as usual. And just after midnight, music and record producer Phil Spector entered the venue. More specifically, the upstairs lounge that Lana worked at. Phil Spector was eccentric to say the least. You know, he was known to frequent the House of Blues regularly. Wealthy and quirky, Phil was known to frequent the House of Blues regularly. Wealthy and quirky, Phil was known to leave generous tips on small tabs, reportedly leaving gratuities of $100 on a $5 drink tab. So it's pretty safe to say that he was a wealthy man with

millions and millions of dollars to his name after a career of success. And before we finish talking about the evening, we're gonna tell you a little bit more about Phil Spector. I know a lot of you guys know who he is, but we're gonna tell you a little bit more about his backstory. So Phil Spector, born Harvey Philip Spector, was born on December 26, 1939 in New York City, New York, and he was a first gen of an immigrant Russian Jewish family. After his father Ben died by suicide when Phil was just 10 years old, as he was reportedly in a ton of debt, Phil, his older sister Shirley, who is six years his senior, and their mother Bertha moved to Los Angeles, where Bertha had gotten a job as a seamstress.

Phil grew to love music music and while he was in his teens at Fairfax High School, he formed a pop vocal group called the Teddy Bears alongside some friends. Soon after he learned the ins and outs of music production and continued to write and record songs for the Teddy Bears throughout the 50s. Then in 1961, when he was 22, he formed a record company and also worked freelance producing music for other artists. And honestly, we could do an entire episode

just on his life and career. So to kind of sum it up a little bit, Phil Spector went on to produce and co-write music for major artists like Tina Turner, Cher, The Ramones, Leonard Cohen, Yoko Ono, and The Beatles, as well as George Harrison and John Lennon independently. Like he was the man behind turning the previously abandoned Let It Be recordings into a usable album for The Beatles.

Yeah, so you think about that, the fact that he was working with the Beatles and Cher, these major major artists during that period of time, it's obviously, you know, you can tell that this man was going to be very very very rich. Yeah, and he also developed the wall of sound, which is a production style that's recognized for its diffusion of tone and dense orchestral sound. So he did a lot and he made a huge impact in the music industry. But what's crazy is that even though he did all of this stuff in music and production,

nobody really knew other than people that were close to him that he was a huge piece of shit and we are going to get into that in a little bit. Yeah, he was. Yeah. And he did, of course course make a ton of money. He made a big name for himself. And as we will say as well, later, some people in the industry did know

what he was like behind the scenes because they saw it in the recording studio. Or they were victims of it. Yeah, exactly. So we're gonna go into all of that. But from the outside, he's looking like this huge, this big dog. Well, he was kind of short short but he's definitely not he is no big dog the man is like five foot five or he was five foot five nothing wrong with the

short king but that's not him this guy's an asshole yeah he's a little weasel so again at this point in the story back on February 2nd 2003 2003, Sunday night, 63-year-old Phil headed into the House of Blues as he often did. But prior to arriving at the House of Blues that evening, Phil had a full night out on the town. Earlier in the evening, his personal chauffeur, Adriano, arrived at Phil's residence for his driving shift, and he began preparing Phil's Mercedes for the night, which was one of his many luxury vehicles. At 7 p.m., Phil got into the Mercedes with a leather briefcase, and his driver left his

castle-esque estate in LA's suburban neighborhood of Alhambra. And we will describe his house better for you guys in a bit when we get to that part of the story. Now, his personal chauffeur, Brazilian-born Adriano de Souza, hadn't worked for Phil for very long, but he had driven him several times in recent months. The two drove to Studio City, which is an LA Valley neighborhood, just a short drive over the hill from Hollywood, to pick up Phil's female friend Rami Davis, who was going to join him for dinner that evening. And by the way, I don't know if it's Romy or Romi, I know that the name Romi is a name and I've never heard of Romi, but it is spelled R-O-M-M-I-E. My heart is saying Romi, but what can you do?

Don't think it's super relevant to this story, so- We could not find it. Yeah, we just couldn't. Well, reports say that this was not a romantic date, but just two old friends grabbing dinner and drinks together. So Phil and Rami were driven to an upscale restaurant in Beverly Hills called the Grill on the Alley, where they ate and Phil had several daiquiris. At about 10 p.m. that night, the two left the restaurant and Phil's chauffeur drove him and Rami back to her house in Studio City.

After dropping her off at home, Phil was actually driven back to the grill on the alley, where he met with a different woman, who actually happened to be a server at that restaurant and had known Phil for years, but the two were reportedly nothing more than just friends. After spending some time there together, Phil's chauffeur drove him and the waitress to a local bar called Trader Vicks, which is a Polynesian-inspired restaurant with lots of tiki bar vibes. The two enjoyed some drinks there, and then headed to one of Phil's favorite restaurants, Dan Tanna's, which is a classic Italian restaurant in West Hollywood that's been there since the 1960s.

And it's clear that Phil was drinking quite a bit that night because on top of the drinks that I already mentioned, Phil also enjoyed some rum at Dan Tanna's, before finally heading to the House of Blues just up the street at about 1230 AM. So Phil was very much drunk when he and his waitress friend waltzed into the Foundation Room where Lana was working that night. Now despite him being a regular, the two had never met prior, and apparently, 6 foot 40 year old Lana was unaware of who barely 5 foot 5 older man Phil was. As we mentioned, the Foundation Room section of the House of Blues was a VIP area, and

a special wristband was required to enter. Yeah, it's where the band hangs out. Exactly. So Phil and his female friend attempted to enter the lounge area, but Lana stopped them after noticing that they didn't have the correct wristbands on in order to enter. And this is when Phil kinda let his big ego get the best of him, because he lashed out at Lana saying, quote, Do you know who I am?

So another House of Blues employee stepped in to kinda fix the situation and tell Lana who Phil was. And once Lana found out, she went above and beyond to be friendly and provide the best service possible to Phil. You know, she's doing a little bit of damage control here, knowing now that he wasn't trying to like sneak into the VIP area. Well, while at the House of Blues, Phil had a late night bite to eat and a couple more rum drinks. Man, this guy really loves rum. Yes, he does. He's probably looking around like, where has all the rum gone?

He, yeah, Heath loves rum as well. Down my throat. His tab for the evening was allegedly $55 But as Heath mentioned before he was a very generous tipper and he added a $500 gratuity When he signed the bill, okay? It's very clear he just wants everybody to know he's a hotshot and just you know he wants people to be like whoo You know big spender. Yeah, he's a big deal Well by this point his friend who had arrived with him

had left, and the crowd was beginning to wind down for the night before the bar and venue closed. He and Lana made small talk, and to nobody's surprise, he was reportedly flirting with her a little bit and trying to get to know her better, even inviting her to join him home at his mansion for an after hourshours drink. Apparently, even though she did want to try to get her foot in the door however she could,

she actually declined the offer, possibly knowing what Phil had in mind, and knowing it had nothing to do with work. But at about 2.20 a.m. after her shift, the House of Blue surveillance footage showed her entering his private vehicle with him. It's not totally clear why she decided to join him at his house that night, like she didn't tell any of her co-workers, oh, this is where I'm going, this is what I'm doing, but it's not assumed that she had any romantic interest in him whatsoever.

Again, maybe she was just hoping to make a networking connection and he did show up with another woman, so maybe she thought that they could just keep talking and she could keep it friendly and professional because at the end of the day, we don't know their exact conversation. And of course, she knows that Phil Spector is in the industry and she's working very, very hard to get her herself back into acting and all sorts of different things. So she sees this as a great opportunity to network, which a lot of people do in LA. It's such a tough position as well because if you have a chance to kind of rub elbows with this guy and he could help you in some way, like that's kind of what the industry is all about, making connections.

Yeah. And the, what you have to do in order to, to rub those elbows is go to his house. Like it's really unfortunate, but a lot of women are put in this position where they feel like they have to go back and just hope it doesn't turn that corner. You know? Absolutely. And on the flip side of that, a lot of very successful older men within the industry use that to their advantage as well and say oh well You know come back to my place

And you know we'll talk about what I can do for you in the industry wink wink wink wink exactly so it's it's kind of A slimy sleazy thing, but it really does seem like that's what Phil was trying to do that night Yeah, so here. She is she's about to get into his car, but her car was parked in a nearby parking garage. So she asked Phil and his driver, Adriano, to take her to her vehicle so that she could retrieve it first so that it wouldn't get stuck.

According to court documents, she moved her car from the parking structure to a nearby street to leave it overnight safely. Because for those in LA, you know that parking can to a nearby street to leave it overnight safely. Because for those in LA, you know that parking can be a total nightmare and we can assume that maybe her car would have been towed if she kept it in the structure overnight. Or again, you know, maybe they would have closed the lot and she wouldn't be able to get home with it.

But anyway. Phil and his driver took her to the parking garage, then trailed behind her in the Mercedes to a nearby street where she left her car and then re-entered Phil's vehicle. Adriano cruised down the 101 freeway and drove the 14-mile journey to the mansion in Alhambra. And during the drive, Lana told Adriano that she was joining Phil at his house for one drink. I don't know if this was like a safety thing that she was doing or if she was looking for a confidant or if she was only telling him this to say, hey, by the way, I'm not going to be here for long.

So I'd like you to take me back to my car, you know, shortly or what this was about. But after hearing this, Phil reportedly became very angry, demanding that she not communicate with his driver. When they arrived at the private gate, the vehicle made its way up the winding driveway at about 3am on February 3rd. third and little did Lana know shortly after entering that house she would be dead Now, before we talk about what happened that night, let's paint the picture of what Phil's house looked like. It's still there today, located in Alhambra, as Daphne mentioned, which is just south of

Pasadena and northeast of downtown LA, and Phil owned it for just five years before this fateful 2003 evening because he purchased it in 1998. It's described as having a French chateau style, and here's a quote straight from the LA Times, quote, Known as the Pyrenees Castle, the mansion's dramatic style lives up to its infamous history. Turrets and spires jut from the roof and inside hand-painted stencils, crystal chandeliers, and mirrored walls set a

scene straight out of an Agatha Christie whodunit. The estate sits atop a private knoll with panoramic views of the San Gabriel Valley below. Walled and gated, it spans 2.66 acres and features a motor court with a fountain surrounded by gardens and trees. Two wings, each a mirror image of each other, sprawled out from the infamous foyer, which serves as the centerpiece of the 10,590 square foot floor plan. Across two stories, living spaces boast beamed ceilings, wood paneled walls, and original inlaid floors.

So yeah, we will definitely post photos for you guys to see, but built in 1924 with 10 bedrooms and 11 bathrooms, it's no surprise that today what is now called the Rensmore Castle is used for many different purposes, such as an Airbnb, a wedding venue, and also a spot for film locations. Yeah, just last month our friend shot a TV show there and my twin sister actually planned a wedding there recently. That's how and why she told me about this case. And they both said that it is absolutely gorgeous and stately and classic, but definitely had

like a just a creepy kind of haunted feel to it. You know, it's just, it's a really, really big place. And honestly, it is, it's a type of place that doesn't look like it's in LA. I think if we would have known about it before our wedding, I would have wanted to get married there because it is just stunning. I'll actually include a little map on our socials too

of what it looks like now so you can see the layout just for the purpose of the story. But anyway. Yeah, I mean it's it's kind of funny because I feel like every mansion I could possibly think of has some sort of like haunty vibe to me. I don't know if it's just because it's so massive or just big and old. Yeah big and old. It always gives you kind of that haunted feel. So now that you guys have a little bit of a visual of this place, let's get back to that early February morning around 3 a.m. when Phil and Lana arrived. Now according to Adriano, his driver, Phil requested that he wait at the bottom of the driveway in his vehicle

while he and Lana entered the mansion alone, which Adriano did. At first I felt like this was kind of weird, but he did have to take Lana back to her car, you know, because she parked it on a street in Hollywood. Yeah, 14 miles away. Yeah, so it would make sense that he's not like, oh, you're not off the hook for the night. When we're done, I'm going to need you to drive her home. So it does make sense that he's sitting and waiting,

he's on the clock anyway. Right. Whatever. But it is a huge piece to the story that Adriano was waiting outside because of what's to come. So patiently awaiting in the Mercedes for a little over an hour, according to Adriano, shortly after 4 a.m.

he was startled by a loud reverberating noise. Still parked in the driveway, he exited the vehicle to look and listen, but the driveway was silent. So Adriano got back into the car, but a moment later, Phil appeared outside of the home with a gun in his hand and to Adriano said, I think I killed someone. Terrified and confused, Adriano entered the foyer to a bloody scene. And to his horror, 40-year-old Lana was slumped over in a chair, lifeless, near the front door. In a panic, Adriano exited the home

before making a call to Phil's manager just to explain what he heard and what he witnessed. And then he called 911. And at 5, 10 a.m., police arrived to the scene. Lana was still fully clothed in her black dress, black tights, and her leopard coat was hanging over the arm of the chair that she was seated in. Her tussled blonde updo was still intact, but the rest of the scene was gruesome.

The foyer flooring at the mansion was a dark red carpet, and Lana sat in an ornate chair positioned next to an entry table. I will say, shockingly, there are crime scene photos on the internet. I don't feel comfortable posting them, but there are some where her face is blurred out and it's like an overhead view from above the stairs, like when you're up in the stairs.

I've seen those ones before. So if anybody wants to kind of get an idea of what the foyer looks like, you can go look at that. I don't even wanna cover her face, cause again, it just feels disrespectful, but those are out there. If you wanna see what the foyer looks like you can go look at that. I don't even wanna cover her face cause again, it just feels disrespectful, but those are out there if you wanna see what the foyer looks like, I'm gonna try to find some that are not

of the crime scene to post, but just a little heads up there. Now Lana was bleeding from her nose and mouth from an apparent gunshot wound, but otherwise she was unharmed. After walking into the scene in the entryway, officials noted the gun, which was a 38 caliber revolver,

sitting between Lana's legs on the floor. As we know, Adriano claimed that Phil was holding the gun when he came outside and proclaimed that he killed somebody. But here it is now on the floor. They then noted a drunk and irate Phil Spector enter the home through a back door. They warned him to empty his pockets, but he refused to cooperate, and still unsure of exactly what even happened, police arrested him, and from there, an official investigation began.

While Lana's family was trying to wrap their heads around the unthinkable, the scene back at the mansion in Alhambra was a bit confusing. Bleeding from her mouth and nose, it was determined that Lana died from a single gunshot wound to her mouth. That was clear. As the gun entered Lana's mouth, the bullet severed her spine and exited through the base of her skull, killing her almost instantly. The blow also splintered several of her teeth, and dental fragments lay strewn around the foyer, as blood stains were present on a nearby staircase. In the master bedroom upstairs, detectives discovered a white dinner jacket that had blood spatter on it, which was consistent with the jacket that Phil was wearing that night. Meaning

that at some point before the police showed up, he changed. In the downstairs bathroom near where Lana was found, they discovered what's described as a cloth diaper, though it really was just kind of a cleaning rag, which was soaked in blood. As the investigation was in process, DNA swabs from the crime scene proved that the blood on the diaper, or this rag, and also on the white jacket belonged to Lana. During an examination by the criminalist, it was also proven that the bloody gun was wiped down with the cloth diaper, Hence why the cloth was soaked with blood So really the blood on the cloth

Previously on the gun suggests that Phil put the gun in Lana's mouth and shot her before wiping down the gun with the cloth Placing it in a nearby bathroom Him being the shooter would also explain why he had blood spatter on his jacket Which he later removed and placed in the master bedroom upstairs Him being the shooter would also explain why he had blood spatter on his jacket, which he later removed and placed in the master bedroom upstairs. So based on just this circumstantial evidence, detectives believe that Lana's matter of death was homicide, but from the get-go, Phil tried to explain Lana's death as a suicide. And of course detectives believe this was a totally bogus claim,

you know, as though Lana would enter the home of a man she just met and then take her life inside, especially when she had no known suicidal ideation. Like this was just such a ridiculous thing to say. So they did admit that it wasn't impossible that, you know, Lana was killed by accident in the mansion, but they were certain at the very least that the gunshot was not self-inflicted. So him stating this really just made him look bad, honestly.

Well Phil's mansion where the crime took place was in a bizarre state of disarray as well. The interior of the 10,000 square foot manor was less of a glamorous chateau and more of like a large hoarders den if you will. Like the estate was equipped with 35 rooms including a speakeasy style bar, multiple kitchens, and a hair salon. And while the home included these very fabulous features, Phil's use of the space made it reminiscent of like a massive reclusive squall, because obviously this house was far too big for just him, and it was not decorated well or properly.

The decor included bizarre medieval objects like human-sized armored knights, and naturally endless music memorabilia from his lifelong career and fame. Now, something that we didn't mention when we talked about Phil's life was his relationships, and this feels like a good time to get into that because it's just good backstory to then further understand what happened to Lana, you know what I mean? Especially because of what a couple of his wives

had to say. So going back to the early 1960s, Phil married a woman named Annette Marar, who was one of the singers of The Spectre's Three, which of course was a band created and produced by Phil Spector, even including Phil himself after his group the Teddy Bears broke up. As Phil's career progressed, their marriage began to fall apart and according to Annette, Phil's behavior grew increasingly erratic as his success skyrocketed, and he

became emotionally abusive, controlling, and manipulative. In 1963, 24-year-old Phil Spector met the Rawnettes' lead singer, 20-year-old Veronica Bennett. Now, Veronica, later known as Ronnie Spector, as I'm gonna get into, had a very soulful voice. So when Phil Spector signed the Ronettes onto his label, they were propelled onto the Billboard Hot 100 charts like right away. And their hit that I'm sure most, if not all of us know, Be My Baby, landed a number two spot on the charts, and this girl group from East Harlem gained worldwide recognition.

Not long after the Ronnette signed onto his record label, Ronnie and Phil began an affair, despite of course the fact that Phil Spector was married to another woman, i.e., Annette, which Ronnie wasn't even aware of. But eventually, Phil divorced Annette and he bought a home in Beverly Hills for him and Ronnie. In 1968, about five years into their relationship, the two married at Beverly Hills City Hall and Veronica Bennett became Ronnie Spector. They became parents to three children, but the Beverly Hills mansion was anything but a happy household. And Ronnie released a memoir about her life and career called Be My Baby, How I Survived

Mascara, Mini Skirts, and Madness. Now in her tell-all, she recounts the violence and abuse that she endured during her marriage to Phil Spector. She explains horrifying details about the physical, psychological, and emotional abuse that she received from him, including death threats and constant diabolical treatment. She explained that Phil became manipulative, controlling, and would forbid Ronnie from leaving their home. And according to Ronnie, she couldn't go out for seven years, and Phil kept a gold coffin in the basement as a reminder that he would kill her if she tried to leave him.

He reportedly kept her locked away in the captivity of their home and would even hide her shoes in attempts to prevent her from leaving. Knowing that staying there was basically a death sentence, in 1972, Ronnie was finally able to escape and file for divorce, when she literally had to run away from the home barefoot. But Annette, Ronnie, and Lana weren't the only victims of Phil Spector's violent behavior. Despite financial and career success behind the scenes, Phil was known as a complete monster. I mean, even Cher, who worked with Phil during her career, publicly came out years later that they had an altercation. Now, according to Cher in

the mid-1960s, so around the time that he was leaving a net for Ronnie, Phil pulled a gun out during Cher's recording session and paraded around in anger before she was able to leave unharmed. Not Cher. Yeah, Cher. How dare he? I know. He's just like this... It's so weird. He's like this little short little weasel who just parades around with his little gun.

He's just a... It's probably the only way he feels that he has power, which maybe is why he did that. But the fact that Cher said that that happened to her, as we're gonna talk about in a second, other people had this happen to them. And then we look at Lana Clarkson's death and she died of a gunshot wound in her mouth in Phil's house? Yeah. Come on.

You can connect the dots. Well, evidently, Phil Spector was known by many to be an abusive and maniacal man. And several witnesses later testified against him depicting a similar type of behavior because he pulled guns on others too. Although 63-year-old Phil Spector was arrested on the early morning of February 3, 2003, he was subsequently released on a $1 million bail. So he was free for the time being and began publicly conjuring the narrative that, again, Lana's death was actually a suicide.

He even made a claim to Esquire magazine a few months after her death, claiming, quote, "...she kissed the gun. I have no idea why." But by the summer of 2003, detectives' beliefs were proven correct when the coroner concluded that Lana Clarkson died of homicide, not suicide as Phil had been claiming. Thus, in November of that year, Phil Spector was arrested and charged with Lana's murder. Due to litigious and logistical setbacks, the trial was delayed, but the official trial of the people vs. Spector began on March 19th, 2007. The courtroom hearings were televised and media coverage outside the courthouse was

lively as you guys can imagine and I'm sure as some of you guys remember, one of the craziest aspects of this case was that throughout the trial, sorry I can't say this without laughing, Phil donned a bizarre variety of wigs which added a really honestly unnerving flair to the whole situation. Oh my god, literally you guys have to go see these photos because it just makes him look like a psychopath. He's got like wigs where he looks one of them. He looks like a electrified poodle. Yeah, like one of them is this curly like big afro.

One is like a mullet. Another one he looks like he's trying to be a little 15 year old German boy. It's like a blonde bull cut. Or like a weird beetle. Yeah, like a weird beetle. Yeah, I was going to say. Yeah. And I mean, we never talk about or we try not to talk about looks of the killer.

But honestly, he's a creepy little man. There's one photo in particular that is so fucking freaky. I'm sure you've seen it where he looks, his eyes are like really wide open and his face just looks like it's melting and he has this crazy wig on and you're like, oh my God, I mean he looks like, he looks like what Nick Cage looked like

in Long Legs to me in that photo. Really, I don't know if I've seen that one. Oh, you gotta see it. Wait, let me look it up really quick. I mean the one where he has the big, like like kind of it's like an ashy blonde fluffy wig Like people have photoshopped it bigger and bigger. Yeah. Yeah, it just keeps going bigger. It's like a tree. Yeah, so my oh you're okay I see this one. Oh my god Isn't that so?

Yes, yes, that one. But there's one where he's looking directly at the camera. That one. Oh my God. It's giving long legs so hard. I'm going to post this on our socials and in the caption I'm going to put that one. Just so you guys know. I don't even think you need a caption for that.

It's just that scary. Yeah. It is really, really bizarre because there's so many different kinds of wigs and it's funny But again, it's super super unnerving So I mean and they really can't be explained honestly, but during the trial several witnesses came forward to speak against him Regarding his misconduct his friend who he had dinner with the night of Lana's death testified that he was exhibiting concerning behavior and seemed vengeful that evening. The prosecution also presented five women who came forward with information detailing

violent situations that they personally endured with Phil in the past. They individually claimed under oath that they had been alone with Phil Spector while he was drunk, which we know he was very drunk that night, and he pulled a gun out on them as a threat when they denied getting intimate with him or when they attempted to leave. So that's basically, I think what he was trying to do with Lana that night is He was trying to become intimate with her. She you know, it seems like she denied him obviously and He just got pissed off and got vengeful and decided to kill her Yeah, and I think going back to when she was like, hey What are you doing when he was trying to get into the lounge without the right wristband? And she was like, you know, this is a private area.

And he was like, don't you know who I am? Like it's like, it's very clear that he has that huge ego. Yeah. And here is this gorgeous blonde Amazon woman, you know, and she goes back to his place, which we believe was not with romantic intentions on her part, and then look what happened. So I truly believe that this was the case for her as well. Yeah, and I was gonna say, you know, going back to that particular time when he was trying to get into that VIP lounge area that you were just talking about, I think also

part of the ego situation for him is that when she started kind of like doing damage control and trying to correct everything, he probably took that the wrong way because we know he was drunk and so the fact that his ego was being inflated even further that she was like giving him everything he needed, really being, you know, attentive to him doing her job by the way yeah, doing her job job I'm sure he took that the wrong way yeah and knowing that he left that $500 gratuity on a $55 bill right like we said like oh I'm a I'm a big dog I'm a big spender and actually

one of the women that testified against him regarding you know him pulling a gun on her in the past was music coordinator Diane Ogden and she said that Phil once tried to sexually assault her while brandishing a gun and just spewing volatile words at her. Yeah so basically based on prior actions committed by Phil the prosecution speculated that he made advances at Lana which she rejected prompting him to get angry and then kill her. When attempting to prove that the shooting was murder and not suicide, documents were presented that proved Lana had bruising on her tongue, which they claim indicated that

Phil shoved the gun into her mouth before firing. Throughout the trial, he cycled through several different defense attorneys and landed on Robert Shapiro, who famously defended O.J. Simpson, and his defense teams continuously claimed that Lana's cause of death was suicide. But his chauffeur, Adriano de Souza, was a key witness, having been the only individual present that night. Adriano testified on the stand that he heard Phil admit to the killing when he said, quote, I think I killed someone, as he fled out of the home on the early morning of February 3rd. Now, the defense later cross-examined this statement, since in the initial call to the police, Adriano claimed that Phil said, quote,

I think I shot somebody, not killed somebody killed somebody I mean same thing in this situation yeah it really is they're just trying to you know get caught up on small little details of war and they're trying to prove that Adriano is misremembering right based on that little detail yeah and so because of, Phil's lawyers grilled Adriano and questioned his imperfect English, claiming that that may have caused him to mishear Phil altogether. They grossly suggested that perhaps Phil said, I think somebody was killed. Adriano, of course, was adamant that that is not what he heard,

and was confident that he heard Phil admit to the murder in the driveway that morning and Also that he knew English very well Based on many factors including his history of violence a majority of the jurors were convinced that Phil Spector Killed Lana in a violent fit of rage However, some jurors were conflicted because they didn't believe that there was enough solid evidence that he pulled the trigger that night. So that trial resulted in a hung jury, and the judge declared a mistrial. And there are still a lot of people who think that it was an accident, but the fact that Phil is trying to get off completely and disrespectfully saying that it's a suicide when it damn well wasn't.

Like either way, you shouldn't have pulled a gun on her. Whether you meant to kill her or threaten her, you are holding a deadly, dangerous weapon, man. It's not a toy, but according to so many testimonies, he treated it like it was. And look what happened. Yeah, I'm surprised, you know, through all the times that he pulled guns on people that he never actually shot himself on accident. It was just a matter of time that somebody was gonna get hurt because this is something

that he did. But I just, you know, I honestly still don't even believe the accident shit, you know? It's like, this guy was known to be violent, he was known to be controlling, he was known to get his way when it came to women, And I think that night he was very pissed off that she didn't want him to be intimate with her. And he took it out on her. Well, this feels like a good time to play a clip for you guys and talk about a little bit more of the gun evidence now that we're in the period of the trials because

back when Phil was indicted for murder, he did make a statement. So I'm gonna play that statement and then I'm going to talk about the evidence that he is discussing. The actions of the Hitler-like district attorney and his stormtrooping henchmen to seek an indictment against me

and censor all means of me getting my evidence and the truth out are reprehensible, unconscionable and despicable. They have conspired to deny me my California constitutional right to a preliminary hearing. That my fingerprints were not on the gun and that Dr. Henry Lee found no crime seen in my home on the morning of February 3rd, 2003, and that the gun the deceased used to kill herself was not owned by me nor registered to me. Ask yourself why and you'll see why I am not getting a preliminary hearing.

I urge a fellow artist, Governor Schwarzenegger, to step in and grant me my California constitutional rights and stop this miscarriage of justice and obstruction of justice. So he's saying that the gun was not registered to him. Here's the thing. The gun wasn't registered to anybody. Yes, it is true that his DNA was not found on the gun. There was no fingerprints of his on the gun. But as we know, the gun was wiped off because the blood that was on the gun ended up on that diaper or the cloth, right? So here's another thing. Investigators found

12 guns inside of Phil's home. Now regarding the gun that was used to kill Lana, this again, it was not registered to anybody, but it did match a holster that was found in a drawer five feet away from Lana's body. And the ammunition that was inside the gun was the same ammunition that was found in a couple other revolvers that were found inside Phil's home. But while we're talking about DNA, DNA consistent with Phil Spector's

was found on Lana Clarkson's left breast. So with all that said, let's talk about the next trial, which happened in late 2008. Once again, represented by Robert Shapiro, the defense maintained his complete lack of responsibility in Lana's death. The prosecution presented similar evidence

to the first trial, including testimonies from witnesses and victims of his abuse. And after several months in the courtroom, a jury found Phil Spector guilty of the murder of Lana Clarkson. He was sentenced to 19 years to life for second degree murder plus four years for personal use of a gun, which I personally think is fair.

Like 19 years for taking somebody's life for total negligence and recklessness on your part. Like some people think he should have gotten away for longer or gone away for longer. Some people think it should have been less, but for anybody who thinks it should have been less, somebody died and it was at his hands. Absolutely. But to no one's surprise,

Phil Spector did not agree with this sentencing, especially considering it would potentially be a life sentence. So he tried to appeal the conviction, but the California Appeals Court rejected the request to overturn. And it turns out, it was a death sentence because Phil remained imprisoned in Stockton, California for 12 years until his death on January 16th, 2021, after dying from complications

of COVID-19 at the age of 81. It's really interesting when you see the difference between what he looked like in the courtroom and there was this updated photo of what he looked like in prison and he's bald, obviously not getting a wig in prison. Look at this one. Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. He's got the horseshoe mullet going. I want to post this one too, but yeah, it's got he's got the horseshoe mullet going. I want to put I want to post this one, too But yeah, it's creepy well throughout his time in prison

He maintained his innocence in the death of Lana Clarkson But his other victims along with those who knew Lana best know the truth of what happened He used his power against a bright and hard-working woman that was loved by many after her untimely and unjust death, Lana Clarkson was buried in the Hollywood Forever Cemetery where she listening to this episode of Going West. Yes, thank you guys so much for listening to this episode. It's crazy to think about how much power this person had and all the things that they did in their life and ultimately what his ego led to, you know, his legacy.

Which is sad because as it seemed, you know, he had a very humble upbringing and according to Annette, like his personality very much changed as he rose to success, which is again, really such a shame because he had such an amazing life. He had everything he could ever need. And you know, he just pissed it all away. Yeah, absolutely. need and you know he just pissed it all away yeah absolutely just with violence and negativity and anger and Lana died and it's absolutely terrible yeah and as far as Lana goes she was such an incredible person she was a very

dedicated person to her craft you know and it's just sad that her life was cut short especially because she was kind of on her way back to success at that point absolutely and it's also crazy to think I I don't know, it's always weird when you think that because one thing happened and this happened and this happened when you kind of trace it back, like if she didn't trip over that rug and then she didn't break her wrist, maybe she wouldn't have been out of, you know, modeling gigs and then she wouldn't have gotten a hosting job. Like it's so weird how things kind of play out, but at the end of the day,

this just should not have happened to her. So thank you guys so much for listening to this episode. Remember, please go check out all the photos that we posted. I'm going to post also a little clip of Lana, probably from Barbarian Queen, so you can see her acting and in action. And then of course, all those freaky ass pics of Phil. Yeah, the freaky ass wigs. Well, all right guys, so for everybody out there in the world.

We will see you on Fridays. Don't be a stranger. I'm just a little bit of a wimp. Thanks for watching!