Commentary: Tick tock, Mr. Spector

Awesome commentary, Ashleigh!
When will it sink in that everyone who has aligned themselves with this lying has-been gets burned in the end? I anxiously await Phil Spector's conviction in this case. I think he's hoping that he dies of old age before he has to sleep through another trial.

great article!!my thoughts exactly!Bravo!!!

Ashley, I watched every day of that trial and no one could have asked for more professional individuals and a more professional manner than that of the prosecutor and judge. The defense on the other hand was, shall we say, trying to be theatrical, like they were auditioning for a TV spot. I believe one of them was too. They failed miserably, of course. However, if one wants to accurately summarize those months and highlight the key points, one only has to read your commentary. It was truly perfect. I am also ready for Round 2. I think the "big man", and I use the term jokingly since that's all in his head, is in for a big surprise. The lady deserves justice, and I believe it will prevail.

As a trial lawyer,I certainly understand all the work put forth by the Spector team – indeed, one should expect herculean efforts by advocates sworn to zealously defend. Ashleigh's observations are well-founded and her ultimate proffered fate for the Defendant would likely be considered prophetic save the one trump card the defense seems destined to retain – the venue. Throughout the first trial it was noted over and over again: a celebrity's chances of being convicted after trial in a California courtroom routinely appear almost remote. One is compelled to consider that in the face of both a long standing history with California juries and celebs as well as the experiences sustanied in this prosecution whether a conviction is truly obtainable.

This is why I am a great fan of yours, Ashleigh. Exactly my thoughts on PS.

Once again, Ashleigh, you say it exactly like it is!!!!

Phil Spector is unlikely to get a judge nearly as patient....if for no other reason, because this judge will be privy to Spector's "I can buy my way out of anything" attitude.

TruTV/CNN is lucky to have such a brilliant, genuine, funny anchor! I love your show!

I couldn't agree with you more and I think he should have the same judge. He doesn't take any crap from Spector or his wife. Thanks for expressing this much better than I ever could. You definitely have a way with words!

When I read about Phil Spector wanting a new judge the other day, I could find no commentary about it until today. I'm anxiously awaiting the next trial, hoping that Judge Fidler and Alan Jackson will be there.

Every time I think about Juror Number 10 I get angry all over again. I firmly believe that he actually wanted to hang up the jury no matter what, didn't want to be identified, and had the audacity to say that he would welcome calls from the attorneys. But for him Phil Spector would be in prison where he belongs.

Way to go Ashleigh! You did a great job!

Thanks for the commentary Ashleigh. I completely agree as I usually do with you. It is hoped that this most recent delay will be his last and that he will be going to trial once again very soon.

Right on, Ashleigh!!
As FELLOW CANADIAN GAL, it's nice to see you spent your Manitoba winters empowering your brain. I send my compliments to you for being our "layperson" on ther panel.
I cannot believe the "string of defense" witnesses Spector had, or how ONE holdout juror sent this fiasco into a retrial. How Spector lost some of his defense withnesses was a relief to me; I admire Dr.Baden immensily even though I do not always agree with him; (Such as in the Ted Binion/Sandra Murphy case in Las Vegas.) And if Dr. Henry Lee is supposed to be testifying for your defense.... and then does not... HUGE red flag IMO!
It'll be interesting to see if Mr. Spector can BUY himself a not guilty verdict or a lesser conviction. I guess if that is the case, we can only hope for a civil procedure for wrongful death!

Again, from one Canuck gal to another, keep up the great work!!!

Della in Vancouver, British Columbia

Ashleigh, This commentary hit almost every nail on the head in Spector's coffin. It was wonderful. However, I wish you could of been more assertive and wonderful from your anchor chair on Court TV during the trial. But this makes up for it. Those of us who knew Lana well and the inside facts of the lawyering tactics of "Team Spector", know that over 50 to 100 people came forward to sign affidavits that Spector pulled loaded guns on them over a 40 +year period. That included stars like Michelle Phillips and Debbie Harry. A law suit by the LA Times was the only reason that Judge Fidler allowed five of them to testify. That's better than nothing. Many close to Lana also know that a lot of the reason an exhausted girl would give into Spector's constant baiting to go back to his party house was more about pressure from her manegment at the House of Blues to rectify a bad greeting incident when he showed up there at closing time. She felt bad about it. House of Blues managers even testified to this at the trial telling her to "treat him golden!" She had just stared out.

Your commentary was a breath of fresh air in the stale and regurgitated media coverage which mainly focuses on the career highlights of the accused murderer Spector, and less than on that of actress, comedian, producer Lana Clarkson. Edward Lozzi, former publicist and long time friend of Lana Clarkson

ashleigh, WELL SAID, PERFECT, RIGHT ON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I now call Ashleigh "Tell it like it is Ashleigh" You rock!

I think the general public would love to see at least one "super rich" person get the justice he deserves. We have seen just too many OJs and such. Alan Clayman

Encore! (Lights lighter and raises it in air enthusiasticly)

Tell it like it is!

Ashleigh, you say it how it is. This man, if you could call him a man, should be held accountable for all the crimes he has committed against women over a period of many years and who has seemly gotten away with it. I think Mr. Spector's ego should be knocked down to what it really is. "A Parasite taking up valuable space on Earth!"

Ashleigh
This is such a well-written and informative article that I have nothing to add. You did a great job.
Bravo!

Wow !! It's about time somebody said what many, many people are thinking.

Thanks,

Laurie - CA

I totally agree, Ashleigh! When is Spector's next trial supposed to start?

Thank you Ashleigh! You said so many things I scream at my tv and laptop. I thought judge fidler was pretty understanding during the trial. If I were the judge medicine or not he would have sit up and conducted himself better and his trouble making bratty child bride probably would have been removed and not given so many breaks. And that No: 10 juror gave me a Dr. Phil moment WHAT WERE YOU THINKING! Hopefully next time there will be justice for Lana. God Bless her and her famially. and also Dianne Ogden. P.S. Love you and Jack.

Right on the money, Ashleigh!!

Great article. Its about time someone had the guts to say what needed to be said. You hit the bum right on. Juror # 10 should be ashamed. He probably was paid off.

Yea Ashleigh! You could not have said it better! I pray for the day Phil Spector is escorted into prison!! I only wish there could be some punishment for the wife as well. The two of them all "cutesy" laughing at the helicopter flying overhead after the first trial.

AMEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well said Ashleigh! I have no doubt at the next trial we will see a different outcome. Can't wait to see the new legal team and Spector's new hair style. Be interesting to also see what expert witnesses on both sides come up with this time with all the question as to their truthfulness of most the former experts. It's a real shame that money can influence justice most the time.

Pay for your crime on earth or in the afterlife Mr Spector. You money and fancy lawyers won't impress God in your final trial.

Totally agree. Great Article!

Thanks for finally saying what everyone who followed this trial knows for sure. I have no doubt that Phil Spector feels he can buy his way out of this. It's about time someone gets some justice for Lana Clarkson.

Excellent article, Ms. Banfield. I look forward to the day justice is REALLY served in this case.

Excellent commentary Ashley. I completely agree with you and I believe that Phil Spector will get what he deserves in the end.

You are always articulate and continue to amaze me with your ability to analyze legal situations without being an attorney. I think Specter will finally get what he deserves in this next go-round. I have two questions in mind... how much $$$ will he have spent by the time he's convicted...and how in this world will he survive prison?

I was totally offended by all the dirty tricks the defense engaged in. Vigorous defense of the client is one thing – gratuituous trashing to the victim is quite another. I suspect the male holdout juror believed that an actress at a stranger's home deserved whatever the stranger wanted to do to her, and that the defense's denegrating of Lana Clarkson could have been a salve to the conscience of someone who was voting in defiance of justice.

Well said Ashleigh!! He thinks just because he is a "celebrity" he make some demands. I wholeheartedly agree with you!!

YOU GO GIRL!!!!!!!!

Great commentary Ashleigh, you hit the nail right on the head with this one. I always look forward to watching your show, keep up the good work.

Ashleigh, that commentary was brilliant! I was very surprised that one juror bought Spector's story. Nobody walks over to the door, takes a seat with their purse on their shoulder in an exit posture & then makes sexy with the gun (Spector's original explanation) & accidently fires a round in their mouth with teeth closed blowing out front teeth. If you are attempting to seduce, give me a break, you take your purse off, along with other things.... right? Plus her teeth would have been open. It was obvious he was pulling his same exit routine when women try to leave him but this time it went too far & he killed her. If he did not have millions to back up his defense he would be in jail already.

Mr. Spector has done NONE of the things alleged by Ms. Banfield. It's the work of his lawyers – who have a legal duty to provide Mr. Spector the most vigorous defense possible!

Further, it is doubtful Mr. Spector 'dropped' all his lawyers; more realistically they dropped him – as did noted criminal defense lawyer Robert Shapiro – who Mr. Spector is now suing to get his retainer money back.

It's no secret Mr. Spector is a 'client from hell', and his lawyers have had enough of his garbage. Ms. Banfield, the only entity that should be given the wrath of society, is the California justice system – which requires a UNANIMOUS vote of guilt by 12 jurors – unlike most other states.

Mr. Spector's lawyers simply did their job, which they had a legal obligation to do, otherwise they would face a malpractice suit.

Great to learn that you were that fly on the wall, who actually witnessed what happened. How come you didn't testify?

You sneer at his million dollar defense team, but the prosecution spending $20 million was alright? Goliath vs. Goliath is a fair fight.

So what about the other gun-wave "victims"? If anything, waving a gun around 50 times without shooting anyone should .. . hint? suggest? ... establish! that he never would actually shoot anyone.

One can't help 'besmirch' the victim when there's a clear chance that her impaired mindset (drunk, pilled up) caused the tragedy.

Great article Ashleigh, Your a breath of fresh air.

Phil or Rachelle, if your reading think Lyle and Erik Mendez. I am.

I want to be there the day the guilty verdict comes in! I'm seriously considering flying in on verdict day! I am going to be so happy when justice is finally served!

NO DOUBT ABOUT IT! "HE WILL GO TO JAIL"

TRUETV better air every minute of the hearing because it is going to be the best hearing ever!

OMG I can't wait!

INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY !!!
Two (2) jurors– not one (1) juror hung up the jury trial. So hypocritical !
People are so critical of Mr. Spector's riches to defend himself.
Wouldn't anybody do the same thing to defend oneself or a family member, if you had the money ?? I know I would ! I would hire the best lawyers I could find. The best defense money could buy.
Yes, he's a nut with guns but, that doesn't make him a killer. Yes, and he should get a new judge to preside over the new upcoming jury trial. Because Judge Fidler was so prejudiced since day one, it was unbelievable. Mr. Spector should fight for this to happen !

As far as Mr. Alan Jackson, D.A., he tried but, he was so gun ho, and anxious with the trial, that he lost his footing. The prosecution spent tax payers money or more than Mr. Spector did. I truly believe it was an accident on Ms. Clarkson part. She was drunk and had taken medication earlier. The gun, she probably found it in that drawer.
I never believed the statements from the driver. He had immigration issues, and he was offered a deal and he took it, by somewhat changing his statements. Mr. Spector's statement "I think I killed somebody". "I think " clearly states that he was too drunk and confused to clearly remember anything. This is my opinion.

Let's wait and see what the outcome is next September.
GOOD LUCK, Mr. Spector !!

Ashleigh Nails It!

Any word on the re-trial. The silence is deafening.

My sentiments exactly, Ashleigh! The prosecution put on a very convincing case. They had me at hello. The defense kept changing their strategy to come up with something to trump the prosecution, because they knew this case was a lost cause. Spector had blood on his hands and confessed to the crime, for crying out loud! The juror who held out should have done the honorable thing and asked to be excused from duty during the selection process, because it was obvious he wasn't going to vote guilty unless he'd seen the murder videotaped...and then he would have voted for acquittal based on the angle of the camera! The outcome of the first trial was unbelievable. I anxiously await the retrial. I look forward to seeing Spector handcuffed and escorted to prison where he belongs.

Ashleigh,

Your writing was a powerful as your arguments were logical. Fabulous piece!!

WHY IS THE TRIAL NOT BEING BROADCAST????

On Ashleigh's Commentary Re: Phil Specter Great piece of work. I love you on the show and enjoy your thoughts so much.

I totally agree with you about Phil Spector. He thinks he can blame all his legal problems on others. To me, he is a wimp!! I have followed these two cases from the beginning,anxiously waiting what the jury will decide this time.
Anyway, keep up the great work–you are terrific and very professional
Cheryl Settle

I couldn't agree more with Ashleigh. I just hope that this next jury understands "reasonable doubt" as she once said after the first trial. I'll not ever understand how he escaped so many prior bad incidents without repercussions or more injuries or deaths. Then actually a loss of human life does occur and he still walked. Maybe not this time! Maybe logic and justice will prevail and finally keep this bad act where he belongs. You just can't go around waving guns that many times and not expect something to happen and not expect to answer for it. Our society doesn't work that way – Smoke and Mirrors or not!

Ms. Banfield,

I happen to have known Phil Spector for approximately 25 years. I worked for his former attorney and for Mr. Spector himself. I know Mr. Spector as a friend and I know his ex-wife, Janis Zavala Spector, his children, and many parties to this "matter." In fact, the District Attorney's office rolled by after receiving an anonymous tip about my friendship with Mr. Spector and I was ultimately told I was probably a witness. To what – I have no idea. Now I know what I'm a witness to – the insane behavior on the part of the District Attorney's office. I have lost custody of my young son because of this insanity. I was dragged to King Drew and questioned about Phil Spector en route – strange way to handle a "witness," no Ms. Banfield. I believe it is due to the fact that I intended to go to the IRS after being told that Leonard Norman Cohen had indeed created criminal tax fraud – and, the penalties and interest as of 2004 were in the vicinity of $30 million or so.

Why didn't I respond to his fraudulent lawsuit? Because I don't participate in fraud, particularly criminal tax fraud or an attempt to cover up criminal tax fraud. Many other people and agencies do, however. Also, I was never served the lawsuit so there is no default judgment. There's just lots of gossip, slander, defamanation, etc. You might want to check with your legal department before responding to me. See Ann Diamond's article – below. She's also Canadian and he has targeted Ms. Diamond as well. This could be due to the fact that Freda Guttman told Ms. Diamond that Lorca Cohen, his daughter, told her classmates at Concordia that her "father" molested her.

In any event, I believe Cohen perjured himself in Phil Spector's "secret grand jury" and even some attorneys agree with me about this: then Mr. Spector has to attack the indictment. Also, I worked for Phil Spector during the time when Diane Ogden says she did.

Is there a reason people refuse to look at this: Lana Clarkson was on vicodin the night she targeted Mr. Spector – from what I can tell. She mixed that with alcohol. Personally, I am more interested in the forensic science than how much experts made (not enough from my perspective – based on the slander and defamation they've been "exposed" to) and – I also know Mr. Spector personally and know for a fact that he is unrecognizable based on the testimony of people I view as gold diggers and liars. And I happen to have dealt with some of them.

I also happen to believe Larry Fidler threw the first trial and his jury instructions are evidence of this to me.

Your journalism has deteriorated. I liked you during the 9/11 reporting. Now – it's all gossip all the time ...

Kelley Lynch

Kelley Lynch Exhibit A Ann Diamond's Draft Article Note: Kelley Lynch needs to make some factual corrections to this article. It is, however, a good solid version of events. Thursday, July 3, 2008 Whatever Happened to Kelley Lynch? A Case of Psychiatric Abuse Kelley Lynch is the woman accused in 2005 of skimming millions from singer Leonard Cohen's retirement fund. I knew of her through friends of Leonard Cohen, and had heard her described in glowing terms as the agent who, single-handedly, saved Cohen's career in the 1990s. In early May of this year, Lynch suddenly contacted me. She said she was mainly interested in my perceptions of Cohen as a former friend and next door neighbour in Montreal. At one time I also studied with his Zen Master in California, and had spent time with him on Hydra, Greece. Not having heard her side of the story (I doubt that anyone has, apart from a circle of her closest friends), I was curious. Over the next few weeks, she shared several documents pertaining to the case including an affidavit written by her older son, Rutger, which corroborates her story. The following account is based on what Lynch has sent me. It suggests she was the victim of a "coordinated kidnapping" carried out by the LAPD and Inglewood PD, which ended in her being taken to King-Drew Hospital, 40 miles from her home, where she was held overnight, chained to a chair, and given powerful drugs without permission or authorization. **************************************************** Since 2005 when she became the object of media gossip, little if anything has been heard from Kelley Lynch. A single mother with two sons, Lynch was Leonard Cohen's personal manager from approximately 1988 to 2004, and was known for her skill, hard work, and dedication. Until 2004, Kelley lived and worked in Los Angeles where she still has many friends and acquaintances in the entertainment world including Phil Spector and Oliver Stone. Her own account of the events that wrecked her career, varies widely from the media portrait of a reckless, delusional woman in the throes of a personal meltdown. The meltdown was real, however. By late December, 2005, Lynch had lost custody of one son and was homeless and living on the streets with her older son, Rutger, who witnessed the chain of bizarre events that had begun a year earlier. In 2004, Lynch owned a house in Brentwood, and still worked for Cohen, who owed her money for royalties and other services, but was increasingly involved with his new girlfriend, Anjani Thomas, ex-wife of Cohen's attorney, Robert Kory. In retrospect, Lynch believes she was set up by Cohen's lawyers and accountants to help cover up a tax situation which made the IRS "nervous." In November 2004, Cohen's attorney Kory told Lynch that a financial entity known as Traditional Holdings, LLC could be overturned by the IRS. Lynch, who had been selected as a partner on the entity, became uneasy and consulted a new accountant, who referred her to tax lawyers, who found irregularities in Cohen's tax history, both in the US and Canada where he has residences. Rattled by what she was hearing that she was being dragged into criminal tax fraud - Lynch called the IRS in Washington and also contacted their website. An IRS collection agent advised her to call the Fraud Hotline, which she did. Told that any further action on her part might implicate her in fraud, Lynch refused to meet with Cohen or turn over the corporate books. At that stage, Cohen's advisers began claiming that certain payments, distributions, or advances made to her were actually "over-payments." Lynch says their accounting was incomplete and ignored her share of intellectual property, unpaid commissions and royalties, and share in Traditional Holdings, LLC. Apparently Lynch had also been issued K1 partnership tax documents and made a partner on another Cohen investment entity, LC Investments, LLC, without her permission or awareness. Lynch says an increasingly nervous and desperate Cohen was pressuring her to agree to mediation and told a friend of hers that Lynch was "the love of his life." She and Cohen had had a brief affair in 1990, but Cohen now was offering her 50% of his "community property" as well as "palimony" through lawyer Robert Kory at a meeting attended by Lynch's legal representatives and her accountant, Dale Burgess. To Lynch, none of this made sense at the time. Meanwhile, the Los Angeles District Attorney's office received an anonymous tip informing them that Lynch was a friend of producer Phil Spector, whom Lynch maintains is innocent. Cohen, on the other hand, had given an interview in which he described a gun-waving Spector who threatened him during recording sessions in 1977. At around the same time he was offering her "millions", Lynch says, Cohen was also circulating slanderous stories about her. She believes Cohen encouraged Los Angeles record producer Steve Lindsey, the father of her son Ray, to initiate a custody suit on May 25, 2005, the same day a 25-man SWAT team from the LAPD, acting on a bogus 911 call, suddenly cordoned off her street and surrounded her home in response to a "hostage taking." Earlier that morning, Lynch says, her 12-year-old son Ray woke up not feeling well. She sent an email to his school informing them she was keeping him at home. When the boy's father found out Ray was home he became agitated and abusive over the phone to Lynch. Lynch says she had young people who worked for her coming and going that day, and did not want Ray's father coming to the house and attacking her, as he had in the past. She called her older son Rutger, who was visiting a friend nearby, and asked him to pick Ray up and take him down the hill where actress Cloris Leachman waited in her car. Leachman, a friend of Lindsey, took charge of Ray just as seven LAPD squad cars came speeding up Mandeville Canyon Road in the direction of Lynch's house. With them was Ray's father, Steve Lindsey. Lynch says she looked out the window and saw armed men on her lawn. Her son Rutger and his friends were telling police there was no hostage-taking, that they had spent the morning with Lynch, and that there must be some mistake. For reasons no one understands, LAPD/Inglewood PD decided to believe Steve Lindsey, who had left the scene. Police later gave varying explanations about what led up to the incident. West LAPD said they responded to a report that someone heard "shots fired." But a company that oversees SWAT said Lynch would have to have a superior caliber weapon to warrant such a high risk entry. A member of the SWAT team claimed to have seen a note that Lynch's sister had placed the call stating Lynch posed "a danger to herself and everyone around her." Her sister denies this. Lynch stayed inside her house and called her former custody lawyer, Lee Kanon Alpert. She also called Leonard Cohen, assuming he had played a role in the events unfolding on her lawn. Lynch says she knew Steve Lindsey had also been meeting with Cohen and his attorney, and had recently told their son Ray that Lynch was "going to jail," upsetting the boy. She says Cohen taped the phone call later used in his successful court case against her for which, Lynch says, she never received a summons. Lynch says, "Police were on my hillside and crouching under my kitchen window." She says the standoff on her lawn continued for several more hours, disrupting the neighborhood. Members of Inglewood Police Department also participated in the operation. Eventually, she decided to go into the back yard. Seeing her son Rutger acting as a "human shield and hostage negotiator," Lynch ventured out front with her Akita on leash and joked to the cops: "Who am I supposed to be holding hostage? My dog?" The police responded by telling her son they would only shoot Lynch and her dog if necessary. "That was when I dove into the pool." SWAT team members searched her house. As they entered, Lynch's African Grey parrot, Lou, called out: "I see dead people!" further alarming the nervous cops. Offering her a hand out of the pool, one officer said they were only there to help her and not to hurt her. "No one asked me if I was all right; no one questioned me about my well-being." The Medical Examiners Office later wondered how the police had evaluated her. After stating they were not arresting her, they handcuffed Lynch, still in her bikini. On her way out the door, her son managed to hand her a brocade jacket. Although she lived near UCLA Medical Center, she was taken in a squad car to King-Drew Medical Center in Watts, 40 miles away and a three-hour drive in traffic. Known as one of America's worst hospitals, King-Drew was recently closed down as a place where patients routinely die from neglect and medical errors. During the long ride through South Central Los Angeles, Lynch says she was questioned closely about her relationship with Phil Spector, who had been charged with first-degree murder of Lana Clarkson. In the car, Lynch voiced concern over what awaited her at the hospital but was told by a woman cop: "This will be good for you." "I felt I was being kidnapped". At Emergency, the admitting psychiatrist administered anti-psychotic drugs without authorization and left Lynch in the waiting area for hours, still in her bikini and brocade jacket, handcuffed to a chair. A nurse advised her she would be transferred but did not tell her where. Examining her file, the nurse noticed it listed her as 19 years old with wrong social security number, wrong date of birth, wrong religion, and her name misspelled as "Kelly Lynch" Lynch thinks it was the same file she had seen, several months earlier, in the hands of the Special Investigator who came to question her about Spector. A second doctor told her to wait her turn to ensure no further harm would come to her, and assured her that nothing in the King Drew report could cause her to lose custody of her child. The following day, she was released after nearly 24 hours in the psych ward. Back home, Lynch learned that while she was being held at the hospital her younger son's father, Steven Clark Lindsey, had filed for custody of her son Ray Charles Lindsey and obtained a restraining order denying her access to the boy. She says Lindsey attempted to convince doctors at King Drew that she was dangerous, in order to have her committed, She says Lindsey also threatened the psychiatrist who had her released. On that same day, Cohen's attorney Robert Kory filed a Declaration in the custody matter, as did Betsy Superfon (a friend of Cohen, Kory and Lindsey who had befriended Lynch a few months earlier ). Superfon later told Lynch she didn't realize what she was signing, and that Cohen had offered Lindsey money "or something else" to take Ray away from Lynch. Her older son alleges Lindsey offered him money to go to Leonard Cohen's lawyer's office and transfer or sign over Lynch's house to Cohen or his attorney Robert Kory. Rutger refused and phoned his own father, who advised him to contact a lawyer. Two weeks later, in early June, as she drove down her street to buy dog food, a Mercedes sped out of a neighbouring driveway and rear-ended her car, Lynch was thrown forward, fracturing her nose against the steering well, and was knocked unconscious. Later, she says, as she drove back up the hill to her home, the same driver was standing in his driveway and called out: "We are watching you" as she passed. Seeing his injured, bleeding mother enter the house, her older son again phoned his father, who may have called 911. Accounts vary as whether the call referred to an incident of "domestic violence" or a "drug overdose." Either way, police arrived at Lynch's door for the second time in two weeks. Over the protests of her son, they entered while she was on the phone to a friend, Dr. Wendi Knaak who stayed on the phone talking with Rutger while police again handcuffed Lynch. This time they took her to UCLA hospital where her obvious head injuries were ignored. Instead, she was once again drugged and placed in the psychiatric unit where she remained for several days. Lynch and her advisors maintain these events were coordinated by Cohen, Kory and Lindsey, with the help of former LA District Attorney Ira Reiner in a well- orchestrated plan to traumatize and discredit her paving the way for media stories which accused her of skimming millions from Cohen's retirement fund. In the summer of 2005, as Lynch was struggling to save her home and protect her child from a father her friends describe as "viciously anti-social" and "violent", reports of Leonard Cohen's financial troubles hit the press. They alleged the 70-something singer had been scammed by his personal manager, Kelley Lynch, who colluded with an advisor at the AGILE Group in Colorado to send him false financial statements while emptying his accounts of millions of dollars. Although listed as the owner of Traditional Holdings, the entity in question, Lynch says she never received any statements from the AGILE Group - who instead had been sending them to Cohen - having changed her mailing address to Cohen's home in Los Angeles. She has since filed a complaint with the US Post Office for mail tampering. She insists Cohen sued her because she went to the IRS about his tax situation. She says he is not, and never was, "broke" and that missing funds went to buy homes for his son Adam Cohen and girlfriend, singer Anjani Thomas, ex-wife of Robert Kory. Noting Cohen is famous for his financial largesse and once gave Zen Master Sasaki Roshi $500,000 as a gift, Lynch also cites hefty payments to advisers, various transaction fees, personal taxes, and other monies which may have been sent offshore. While Cohen and Lindsey attempted to persuade others, including LA Superior Court, that she intended to flee to Tibet or another non-extradition country, Lynch was isolated and penniless and still in Los Angeles. Lynch was former personal secretary to the late Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, a flamboyant Tibetan spiritual teacher who founded Naropa Institute in Boulder, Colorado in the 1970s, and died in 1987. She says various Tibetan lamas are praying for her safety. [Correction Lynch was a student of Trungpa Rinpoche; she helped raise his son, Gesar Mukpo, and believes may have led to some confusion on the part of the author] Journalists covering the story were either unable, or didn't bother, to track Lynch down, and most reported Cohen's statements as fact. The NY Times contacted Kelley for a quote which they never printed By July 2005, Lynch had lost her custody battle and Ray went to live with his father. On December 28, she and Rutger were evicted from the house in Brentwood, and ended up homeless in Santa Monica, which has no resources for the homeless. The Police Department gave her no help and, she claims, laughed when she brought in evidence that she was being stalked by a known serial killer while she camped on the beach. In 2006, Cohen was awarded a symbolic $9 million settlement in a civil suit against Lynch, who still does not have a lawyer representing her. Corporate books and other evidence of fraud appear to have been overlooked by Judge Ken Freeman in his judgment, Lynch says, although she admits she has not read the court documents and was never served a summons. At the time of the decision, she told reporters she lacked the money to make a phone call. That same year, her older son lost his fingers in an accident with a meat grinder while he was working at Whole Foods in Los Angeles and Lynch could not afford a bus ticket to visit him in hospital. Lynch heard through a journalist that Cohen later testified for the District Attorney's office in a secret grand jury relating to the Phil Spector case with former District Attorney Ira Reiner acting as his lawyer. As D.A., Reiner presided over some high-profile cases including the "Night Stalker" serial killer and the McMartin Day Care scandal. Recently, on June 17, 2008, Cohen's lawsuit against the Agile Group was thrown out of court for lack of evidence. In response the AGILE Group dropped its counter-suit accusing Cohen of defamation and fraud. AGILE still claims to be shocked that a singer of Leonard Cohen's talent and stature would engage in false accusations against his own representatives. Lynch believes Cohen and AGILE colluded to defraud her. She continues to deny all allegations against her, and remains hopeful that Phil Spector's lawyer, Bruce Cutler, will represent her in recouping damages to her livelihood and reputation. She now lives in another state and recently learned her younger son, 15, whom she has not seen since July 2005, stopped attending school last January. These days Cohen's fans seem to have expended their rage at Kelley Lynch for driving their idol into bankruptcy. Some now say she unwittingly did them a service - by forcing him to go on tour for the first time in nearly two decades. At 74, singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen continues to ride a wave of sympathy, gathering wide support from the music world and even some British royalty. Unquestionably, his career and finances have benefited from news reports that he is too impoverished to retire. From his tower of song, Cohen has written: I smile when I'm angry I cheat and I lie I do what I have to do To get by And I'm always alone And my heart is like ice And it's crowded and cold In my secret life (My Secret Life - Leonard Cohen) His many admirers need to listen closely.

Ms. Banfield,

I am deadly serious when I say review your response to me with an attorney. I have just sent my posting (and your site content) to Mr. Weinberg and Mr. Riordan and will advise Bruce Cutler – who I am keeping closely apprised of what's unfolding.

I have two destroyed children here. The King Drew file is not me. It's a 19 year old. Wrong SSN, wrong date of brith, wrong place of birth, wrong religion, etc.

Yes, it sounds really mentally deranged. I know. And I've talked to some of the thug creeps who I believe orchestrated it.

Kelley Lynch

cc: Doron Weinberg, Esquire, Dennis Riordan, Esquire, Bruce Cutler, Esquire, the IRS Commissioner's Staff, the Department of Justice, and Agent Kelly Sopko – Department of the Treasury

why do you suppose this man got the death penalty for killing this young woman when the man in Atlanta, Ga received lwop for killing four people one of which was a judge and the other was a police officer, go figure. is there any sense of fairness in handing out the death penalty? Ken

hello really worry if justice will be done here for the little girl,because of the law there, on stand your ground this man needs to pay for what he did his bullet killing the litter girl he should have to pay just like the other man !!!!!