Prosecutors Seek Victim’s Fingernail in Spector Case

Prosecutors think they have identified the mystery evidence that they say the defense in the Phil Spector murder case has refused to reveal or acknowledge.

The Los Angeles County district attorney’s office filed a motion demanding that the defense turn over a broken fingernail belonging to Lana Clarkson, whom Spector is accused of murdering at his Alhambra mansion last year. Spector has pleaded not guilty.

Prosecutors wrote that a nail, which they believe is torn and “blackened on one side with visible gunpowder residue,” was found at Spector’s home shortly after the shooting.

His lawyer, Leslie Abramson, said Wednesday that she was looking into it but believed “It is not a significant issue.”

In the motion, which was made public Wednesday, prosecutors wrote that they learned about the nail when a defense investigator mentioned it to a sheriff’s homicide investigator at a barbecue in July.

In September, Spector’s first attorney, Robert Shapiro, told prosecutors that sheriff’s investigators had overlooked a piece of physical evidence at the crime scene and that his defense team had collected the item, according to the motion. Prosecutors twice wrote letters to Shapiro asking him to turn over the item to investigators. Shapiro responded to neither letter, prosecutors said.

Last month, Deputy Dist. Atty. Doug Sortino asked Judge Carlos A. Uranga to order Shapiro to reveal the evidence. Shapiro declined to acknowledge the existence of any evidence in his possession. The judge instructed attorneys on both sides to file motions and ordered Shapiro not to destroy or tamper with any disputed evidence.