July 17, 2007 0:45

Phil Spector trial: Day 34

Friends say actress was despondent before her death

Actress Lana Clarkson was so depressed about her career that she wanted to die, club promoter Punkin Laughlin testified today (July 16) in the Phil Spector murder trial.

Laughlin, also known as Punkin Pie, said that Clarkson was her best friend, and that the actress called her crying and upset about her acting career only a few days before the her death at Spector's Los Angeles mansion on February 3, 2003.

Spector is accused of murdering Clarkson, whom he had met at the House of Blues in Los Angeles only hours before. The defence contends the actress' death was an accidental suicide.

Laughlin told the jury that Clarkson said: "I don't want to live anymore. I don't want to live in this town. I want to end it."

She added: "Clarkson was crying uncontrollably. She said, 'Pie I can't take any more…I'm done, done, done.' "

Laughlin was the latest in a series of witnesses to report that Clarkson was despondent about her financial troubles, career difficulties, and lack of a stable relationship, reports the Los Angeles Times.

When cross examining the witness, Deputy District Attorney Alan Jackson asked Laughlin why she had never mentioned this to investigators in previous conversations. Laughlin answered that she was trying to protect her friend.

--By our Los Angeles staff.
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