Phil Spector case delayed

Detectives will not be ready to present a case against legendary record producer Phil Spector at his scheduled court date next week, nearly six months after an actress was shot dead in his mansion.

Spector, 62, whose “wall of sound” recording technique transformed 1960s pop music, was arrested for investigation of murder after the Lana Clarkson’s body was found in his Los Angeles mansion in February. He is free on $970,000 (€851,000) bail.

Sheriff’s Department Lieutenant Dan Rosenberg said Spector’s bail is likely to be extended for another month, until all of the reports come back from the crime laboratory.

He said next Tuesday’s proceeding will be a bail hearing instead of an arraignment, and Spector is not required to appear.

Spector implied in an Esquire magazine interview last month that Clarkson may have shot herself, but sheriff’s investigators said in March that they discounted suicide as a possible cause of death.