Slate's Bizbox
chatterbox: Gossip, speculation, and scuttlebutt about politics.

Blogging SpectorOur revels now are ended.

By Timothy Noah
Updated Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2007, at 6:17 PM ET

(Continued from page 11)

Potential witnesses. Click image to expand.

Click on the image to the left for a list of potential trial witnesses.

Other documents related to the trial can be found here.

Penny Foyer Thoughts
April 25, 3:30 p.m. ET

The most dangerous place in Phil Spector's house is the foyer, according to Deputy District Attorney Alan Jackson. In his opening statement, Jackson spoke of Spector's "history of pulling guns on unarmed women." Jackson said jurors would hear from no fewer than four women who had the experience of being threatened with a gun by a drunken Spector when they informed him that they'd like to go home. None of them, unfortunately, pressed charges, apparently because they were worried about tabloid publicity.

Diane Ogden-Halder, Jackson said, will describe being held at gunpoint in, yes, the foyer of Spector's Pasadena house in 1988. She'll say Spector pressed the barrel of the gun to her cheek, face, and neck (this is significant because the murder victim, Lana Clarkson, was shot through the mouth) and then made her lie down on his bed, where she went to sleep. The next day, Spector acted as though nothing had happened.

Jackson said Ogden-Halder will also say Spector pulled a gun on her on another occasion as she was leaving a dinner party, this time chasing her out the door as she headed to her car. "If you try to leave, I'll kill you," he said as she floored it down his driveway and out the front gate.

Melissa Grosvenor, Jackson said, will describe the same scene at the Pasadena house in 1995. She wanted to leave; he got a pistol and held it "inches from her face." She fell asleep sitting on his couch. The next day, Spector acted as though nothing had happened.

Dorothy Melvin, Jackson said, will describe a slight variation on this scene in 1993. In this instance, Melvin came to Spector's house for a drink, fell asleep on his couch, woke up the next morning, walked out to her car, and found Spector pointing a pistol at it. When Spector saw her, he spun around, slapped her with his gun hand, and asked, "Where were you?" Then he pointed the gun in her face and said, "Get the fuck back in the house." He held her in, yes, the foyer. When she finally persuaded him to let her leave, Spector said, "The purse stays here" and threw her the keys. She got into her car, drove the car to the gate, and found it shut. Spector chased her down the drive with a pump-action shotgun, saying, "I told you to get the fuck out of here." She persuaded him to open the gate and sped away. Later, Melvin had the Pasadena police retrieve her purse.

Stephanie Jennings, Jackson said, will describe attending a Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame induction with Spector in New York. She then headed over to the Carlisle Hotel, where Spector was putting her up. Spector, who owned a personal suite at the hotel, showed up at her hotel room and asked her to join him; she refused; he said she had to because he was paying; she threatened to leave; he stalked off, returned with a pistol, and set a chair against her hotel-room door. Jennings phoned 911. Jackson said he will introduce as evidence a 911 dispatch in which Jennings is quoted saying, "Please help. The man is standing by the phone. He's a big celebrity. His name is Phil Spector." The cops arrived and escorted her out.

What we appear to have here is a lethal case of separation anxiety. Spector's trial has barely begun, and already the dude is looking very, very guilty. As he watches Jackson, Spector nods his head left and right while his right hand shakes in his lap.

.

.

.

VIEW AS SINGLE PAGE
Print This ArticlePRINTDiscuss this in The FrayDISCUSSEmail to a FriendE-MAIL
Share on FacebookPost to MySpace!Share with MixxDigg ThisShare with RedditShare with del.icio.usShare with FurlShare with Ma.gnolia.comShare with SphereShare with Stumble Upon
Timothy Noah is a senior writer at Slate.
Photograph of Phil Spector by Gabriel Bouys/AFP/Getty Images.
E-mail Timothy Noah at .
Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum
What did you think of this article?
POST A MESSAGE | READ MESSAGES
Washington Post
The Washington Post
OPINIONS
Assessing Sarah Palin
| Newt Gingrich, Grover Norquist, John Podesta and others weigh in.
Colbert King: She's No HillaryEditorial: Is She Ready for This?
PLUS » PostPartisan: Quick Takes from Opinions