Phil Spector's former chauffeur gave more testimony in the legendary producer's ongoing murder trial in LA yesterday. As previously reported, Adriano DeSouza told the court on Tuesday how he'd been in Spector's car behind the producer's mansion at the time actress Lana Clarkson was shot, and that shortly after he'd heard the gun shot his employer appeared at a side door, carrying a gun in a blood covered hand and proclaiming "I think I killed somebody".
Yesterday, with DeSouza still in the witness stand, the court was played a recording of the call DeSouza made to the emergency services shortly after the shooting, in which he told the operator "I think my boss killed somebody". When asked by the operator in the recording why he believed Spector has killed someone, the driver responded: "Because there is a lady on the floor and he have a gun in his hand".
DeSouza's testimony is an important part of the prosecution's case against Spector, so much so that it appeared in their opening address at the start of the trial, meaning the defence have already touched on how they intend to rebuke his claims that the first thing the producer said after Clarkson's shooting was "I think I killed somebody". They plan to convince the jury that DeSouza misheard Spector saying "I think somebody was killed" because [a] he had just woken up when Spector appeared and [b] he has a poor grasp of English.
The defence didn't have much time to start their questioning of the former chauffeur before the trial was adjourned for four and half days yesterday lunchtime, but what time they did have they used to begin questioning the witness's English. DeSouza, however, insisted he had no problems understanding Spector. Earlier he had said he began learning English at the age of 13.
Whether the defence will convince the jury that DeSouza's grasp of the language was such that he could have misheard Spector when they resume their questioning next week, remains to be seen. The case, as they say, continues.