LOS ANGELES -- A jury of seven men and five women was chosen Thursday for the retrial of music producer Phil Spector, who is accused of fatally shooting actress Lana Clarkson at his Alhambra mansion in 2003.
Attorneys were still working to choose six alternate jurors, and opening statements were expected sometime next week. The trial is expected to last between three and four months.
The 68-year-old music producer is charged with murder in the Feb. 3, 2003, shooting death of the 40-year-old actress and House of Blues hostess. Spector and his attorneys have maintained that she committed suicide in the foyer of Spector's home.
Spector's first trial ended in a mistrial when jurors deadlocked 10-2 last September, with the majority voting in favor of conviction.
Spector, renowned in music circles for the "Wall of Sound" recording technique he invented in the 1960s and used in his work with the Beatles and other groups, remains free on the $1 million bail posted on his behalf shortly after his arrest.
Clarkson was best known for her starring role in the 1985 Roger Corman cult hit "Barbarian Queen," though she had bit parts on dozens of television shows and in a few well-known movies, such as 1982's "Fast Times at Ridgemont High."
