Coroner says Lana Clarkson had gunshot residue on both hands

Actress Lana Clarkson had gunshot residue on both hands, a coroner testified Wednesday, but he refused to offer an opinion in Phil Spector's murder trial on whether the residue would suggest she fired the bullet that killed her.

Under cross-examination by a defense attorney, Deputy Medical Examiner Louis Pena said he actually left the manner of death in the case undetermined for seven months before he wrote a report finding it was a homicide.

The defense for the famous music producer is seeking to show that the 40-year-old actress pulled the trigger of a handgun inserted in her mouth.

Pena said he classified the case as "pending" until he finally signed off on it and entered a death certificate on Sept. 19, 2003.

"And you classified it as a homicide?" asked defense attorney Christopher Plourd.

"Right," said the witness.

"Is there any medical fact inconsistent with it being a self-inflicted gunshot wound?" asked Plourd.

Pena said it was very difficult to answer that question because extensive investigation is needed.

Plourd then asked, "From the medical findings, you cannot tell if Lana Clarkson was holding the gun?"

"Correct," said Pena.

"From the trajectory of the bullet, is there anything inconsistent with her holding the gun?" the attorney asked.

"Given that scenario, it's not," Pena said.

He was then asked why he did not put that in his report, which was vague on the issue.

Pena said it would have engendered calls from Clarkson's family and the public about why he was saying it was a possible suicide. But he then agreed with a defense assertion that it is best to put everything in a report.

Pena, who testified earlier that he is convinced Clarkson's death was a homicide, was asked whether the gunshot residue meant Clarkson was holding the gun when it was fired.

"There are two ways to look at it," Pena said. "It implies the person could have been holding a weapon at the time of discharge or could be in the vicinity."

Clarkson went home with Spector in the early morning of Feb. 3, 2003, from the House of Blues nightclub, where she was a hostess. Two hours after they arrived at his mansion, she was dead, slumped in a chair in a foyer. A chauffeur has said he saw Spector emerge from the house holding a gun and saying, "I think I shot somebody."

Prosecutors, who want to portray Spector, 67, as a man who terrorized women with guns in the past, had elicited testimony from Pena that Clarkson had a bruised tongue, indicating a gun was forced into her mouth.

Defense attorneys have said they will fight the case with scientific evidence, saying Wednesday there were mistakes in evidence collection and handling, including the loss of a piece of one of Clarkson's teeth.

Pena said errors also included moving Clarkson's body in a way that caused blood to flow out of her mouth and soak the side of her dress, compromising evaluation of the garment for blood spatter.

Pena said the lost tooth fragment was the fault of a forensic dentist who broke one of the vials, losing the tooth fragment. "It flew around the room somewhere," Pena said.

The fragment was never found. It was not clear whether the vial cracked at the scene or at the coroner's office.

Spector rose to fame in the 1960s with what became known as the "Wall of Sound" recording technique that changed pop music. Clarkson was best known for her role in Roger Corman's 1985 cult film "Barbarian Queen."