LOS ANGELES, July 13 (UPI) -- An ex-lawyer for Phil Spector, on trial in Los Angeles in an actress' death, testified about a forensic expert's removal of an object from the crime scene.
Sara Caplan testified Thursday she watched defense forensics expert Harry Lee pick up a fingernail-sized object during an inspection of the music producer's Alhambra, Calif., home the night after Lana Clarkson was found shot to death in 2003, the Los Angeles Times reported Friday.
Caplan was held in contempt last month for declining to testify before the jury about the possible removal of evidence prosecutors said they believe was a piece of Clarkson's acrylic thumbnail. They said the object could have shown the woman was holding her hands defensively and could not have fired the shot that killed her, as the defense contends.
Earlier this week, the California Supreme Court refused to hear Caplan's appeal.
Los Angeles County Superior Judge Larry Paul Fidler ruled the jury could use Caplan's testimony to evaluate Lee's credibility when he testifies.
The defense had said Lee would testify bloodstains on Spector's jacket showed he was standing too far away from Clarkson to have pulled the trigger.
