Yet another friend of Lana Clarkson yesterday said the former actress was "despondent" and "wanted to end it" in the days before her death at Phil Spector's Beverly Hills home back in 2003. Clarkson's friend "Punkin" Irene Elizabeth Laughlin was the latest witness presented by the defence in a bid to prove their case that Clarkson shot herself at Spector's house. The prosecution, of course, claim the legendary producer pulled the trigger.
Speaking in court yesterday, Laughlin said Clarkson had been in tears when she had phoned her just days before her death. The actress allegedly told her friend: "I don't want to live anymore, I don't want to live in this town. I want to end it". Defence lawyer Roger Rosen looked for clarification and said "Those were Lana's words?", to which the witness responded: "Unfortunately, yes".
Laughlin also explained how Clarkson had broken down in tears at a party two weeks earlier after 'Transformers' and 'Armageddon' director Michael Bay had failed to recognise her, even though they'd once worked together. Laughlin: "She said, 'I'm really sick of these people in this town. I hate this town and I don't want to live here anymore'".
In cross-examination, prosecutor Alan Jackson asked Laughlin why she had never mentioned any of this when being interviewed by police shortly after Clarkson's death. She said she had not brought the events up in a bid to protect her friend's reputation. Jackson also claimed that Laughlin was a biased witness because she promoted a Beverly Hills club partly owned by a close friend of Spector, but she denied that accusation.
The case continues.