Burton Katz
With friends like this …
The Phil Spector trial continues.
Punkin Irene Elizabeth Laughlin, claiming to be Lana Clarkson’s best friend, embedded a few daggers into Clarkson’s soul. Laughlin, also known as “Punkin Pie,” told the jurors that Clarkson was despondent over being “dissed” by director Michael Bay just weeks before Clarkson met her death. Bay, who directed “Bad Boys,” “Armageddon,” “Pearl Harbor” and “Transformers,” is highly regarded in the industry. Bay previously directed successful television commercials and music videos, including a Mercedes-Benz commercial with Clarkson.
Apparently, Clarkson, thinking that Bay would remember her, approached him at a music industry affair and received the brush off. Laughlin told the jury that Clarkson said in a conversation with her a week later, “I don’t want to live anymore. I don’t want to live in this town. I want to end it. I don’t want to be here anymore.”
Laughlin talked about Clarkson’s dire financial situation and the fact that she felt humiliated to work as a hostess at the House of Blues. The witness told the jury that Clarkson was her “soul mate” and the “love of her life.”
The defense is trying to focus on Clarkson’s state of mind immediately prior to her violent death. They are attempting to convince the jury that Clarkson committed suicide in a stranger’s castle, with her coat on, her purse strapped over her shoulder, seated near the door leading to a chauffeur-driven car in the driveway. They say because she was an alleged failure in Hollywood at 40 years of age she was despondent and decided to “off” herself in a faux castle belonging to a man she never met before.
In a trial one must not only listen to the words of a witness, but observe their demeanor. They must assess the opportunity to perceive correctly, recall correctly and testify truthfully. One must consider the bias, if any, and any motives a witness has to shade the truth. One look at Court TV’s video coverage of Laughlin’s testimony reveals to this writer a dissembling and inarticulate witness with a faulty memory. She was unable to recall simple facts even when gently prodded by the defense attorney, Roger Rosen, who read to her from a defense investigator’s transcript. On cross-examination it was shown that she had one major client as a club promoter who was a friend of Spector-and who regarded Spector as a father figure.
Worse, it was shown that Laughlin had been thrown out of the Clarkson family inner circle because they believed that she had leaked a story to Star magazine. She admitted that it “hurts my feelings.”
Another defense witness who said she was a good friend of Clarkson’s, Jennifer Hayes, and a friend of Laughlin, testified that she just wanted “to be here to tell the truth.” So she talked about her “very, very good friend.” She described Clarkson as a “melty little person…pathetic…she crumbled.” Hayes offered the kind observation that her Clarkson was belligerent as she liked to take drugs (Vicodin) with her alcohol.
Hayes also told the jury that Clarkson was in a horrible situation, she was depressed, hated her job at the House of Blues and couldn’t pay her bills. But she also said Clarkson was “hopeful” and “had a good outlook.” OK, which is it?
So the defense went for a two-fer: show Clarkson was depressed enough to kill herself in a stranger’s house, and show that she was a belligerent drug and alcohol user.
Hayes reportedly had not spoken with Clarkson for the six months prior to her death. When a defense investigator interviewed Laughlin, she took Hayes with her. The investigator did not separate the two friends, which would have been the professional thing to do, but instead questioned the two of them together. As it turned out, Hayes, who said her best friend is Laughlin, assisted Laughlin in providing answers to the investigator’s questions. “I am Pie’s memory,” she said. She had to remind “Pie” of the “events” “Pie” had allegedly perceived.
Well, if it’s at all fair to speculate on someone’s state of mind, since Laughlin (Pie’s) best friend was Clarkson, and Hayes’ best friend was Laughlin, could there be some bias or jealousy on the part of Hayes? And since Hayes, by her own admission, is Laughlin’s memory, we have a troubling situation, especially since Hayes apparently did not talk to Clarkson for six months prior to her death.
Finally, playwright John Barons testified last week to having fired Clarkson from his play shortly before her death, as she was too difficult to work with. She made a lot of “diva” demands he could ill afford. Barons recalled that Clarkson jokingly said, “If you turn 40 in this town and haven’t made it, you might as well find a bridge.”
With friends like this, the bridge looks good.