Spector's Ex-Lawyer Says Forensics Expert Manipu-lated Evidence

City News Service
May 3, 2007 Thursday

One of Phil Spector's former attorneys testified today she saw famed foren-sics expert Dr. Henry Lee manipulate evidence at Spector's Alhambra mansion af-ter an actress was fatally shot there.
Spector, 67, is accused of killing 40-year-old Lana Clarkson in the foyer of his mansion on Feb. 3, 2003. Spector's defense team maintains that Clarkson shot herself.Testifying outside the presence of the jury, Sara Caplan -- a Beverly Hills-based criminal defense lawyer -- said that the day after the shooting, she saw Lee pick up a flat white object the size of her fingernail and put it in a vial in the foyer of Spector's "Pyrenees Castle."
Prosecutors have long accused Spector's lawyers of evidence tampering, in particular a piece of a broken fingernail belonging to Clarkson. If such evi-dence exists, it may prove there was a struggle between Clarkson and Spector just before her death, prosecutors contend.Caplan testified that she pointed out a few areas of interest in the foyer to Lee, who is expected to testify in the murder trial. Lee then picked up a flat white object and said it "might be interesting," Caplan told the court.
Lee then put the object in a vial, she said.
The revelation may support the testimony of Gregory Diamond, a former em-ployee of Spector's ex-lawyer Robert Shapiro, who claimed that Spector's defense team manipulated evidence in the case.
Diamond, a paralegal who once worked for Shapiro, said he was in the foyer the night of Feb. 4, 2003, after homicide detectives left the scene. He testi-fied he saw Caplan pick up a what appeared to be a tooth fragment and hand it to Dr. Michael Baden, another forensics expert. Baden has denied knowing Diamond.On the stand today, Caplan denied picking up anything at Spector's mansion."I would never touch an object at an alleged crime scene, ever," she said.
Bill Pavelic, a private investigator working for Shapiro, confirmed Diamond was at Spector's mansion that night.
Diamond contacted prosecutors two weeks ago, and he was interviewed by Los Angeles police officers. In court yesterday, he testified that Shapiro asked him to observe the defense team's investigation of where Clarkson died.That investigation occurred immediately after police finished their initial crime scene investigation at Spector's home, Diamond testified. He said he watched the investigation for about three hours.
Under questioning from defense attorney Christopher Plourd, Diamond admitted he was a writer who pitched a law-type show to CBS in 2004. Diamond also admit-ted to contacting a Los Angeles Times reporter about the Spector case before he ever called prosecutors. He also admitted to contacting the New York Times, Court TV reporter Beth Karas and the legal Web site, thesmokinggun.com.
If Fidler rules that defense attorneys deliberately withheld evidence from prosecutors, he may impose sanctions.Spector faces 15 years to life in prison if found guilty.