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'I think I killed somebody'
16/05/2007 12:44 - (SA)
Los Angeles - The former chauffeur of Phil Spector told a Los Angeles court on Tuesday how the legendary music producer confessed to killing a B-movie actress at his home four years ago.
Brazilian driver Adriano DeSouza said Spector had emerged from his castle-like Los Angeles mansion holding a gun in his bloodied hand before telling him: "I think I killed somebody."
Spector's confession came just moments after a shot had rang out in the early hours of February 3 2003, when the rock legend is alleged to have gunned down Lana Clarkson, just hours after meeting her in a Hollywood nightclub.
In a dramatic testimony in the third week of the Los Angeles Superior Court trial, DeSouza said he had been sitting in a Mercedes in the driveway of Spector's home when he heard what he described as a loud "pow".
'Blood on his hand'
After failing to locate the source of the noise he returned to the car. But a few minutes later a side entrance opened to reveal Spector holding a gun, with blood on his hand.
Asked by prosecutor Alan Jackson if Spector spoke to him, DeSouza replied: "He said 'I think I killed somebody.'"
When DeSouza asked Spector what happened, he shrugged his shoulders, the court heard.
DeSouza said he looked past Spector inside the doorway to see Clarkson's legs sprawled in the hallway.
Prosecutors have alleged that Spector, 67, has a "rich history" of violent rages against women involving guns that culminated with the murder of Clarkson in the foyer of his house in Los Angeles.
Four women at his murder trial have testified earlier that Spector threatened them with guns after flying into a drunken rage.
Spector, the reclusive musical genius who pioneered the 1960s Wall of Sound recording technique, denies shooting and killing 40-year-old Clarkson just hours after meeting her at Sunset Boulevard nightclub The House of Blues.
'Spector had flown into a rage'
DeSouza told the court earlier that Clarkson, a hostess at the club, had initially been reluctant to accept Spector's invitation to go back to his imposing faux-gothic residence.
DeSouza, a computer science graduate who served in the Brazilian army for nine years, said Spector had flown into a rage after Clarkson had spoken to him.
"She said 'I'm going just for one drink'," DeSouza said. He said Spector responded by screaming: "Don't talk to the driver!"
Famed for his work with The Beatles, Tina Turner, The Righteous Brothers, The Ronettes and The Ramones, Spector faces 15 years to life in prison if he is convicted of second-degree murder.
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South Africa
