Los Angeles ? Jury selection began Monday in the murder trial of legendary music producer Phil Spector – four years after an actress who starred in a cult movie was shot to death in the foyer of his castlelike home.

Jurors will be asked to decide if Spector was responsible for the death of Lana Clarkson, who was shot in the face on Feb. 3, 2003.

They will consider conflicting evidence about what happened before police found Clarkson, 40, slumped dead in a chair, her teeth blown out by a gunshot to her mouth.

Music producer Phil Spector leaves Los Angeles Superior Court with his wife, Rachelle Short, and his attorney, Roger Rosen, right, on Monday for a break during the start of jury selection in Spector's murder trial. Spector is accused of the shooting death of actress Lana Clarkson in February 2003.

Clarkson was best known as the star of Roger Corman’s cult film “Barbarian Queen.” She was working as a hostess at the House of Blues when she went home with Spector that night.

The coroner’s office called it a homicide – “death by the hand of another” – but also noted that Clarkson had gunshot residue on both of her hands and may have pulled the trigger.

In an e-mail to friends, Spector, 66, called the death “an accidental suicide.”

Spector, who created the “wall of sound” that revolutionized the recording of rock music, was present as the first members of a prospective jury pool of 300 people entered the downtown courtroom.

He has pleaded not guilty and has been free on $1 million bail since his arrest. If convicted, he could face life in prison.

His New York lawyer, Bruce Cutler, said his defense will be simple: “He didn’t shoot this woman.” But prosecutors claim he placed the gun in her mouth and fired.

After two days of the jury selection process, lawyers will take a one-month break. There is a pretrial hearing on April 9 to read the prospective jurors’ answers and hone their jury selection strategy. On April 16, jurors are to be questioned individually.

The jury is expected to be seated by April 30 when opening statements are scheduled to begin. The judge has ruled that the trial can be televised.

Superior Court Judge Larry Paul Fidler assured prospective jurors that if they were selected, their faces would not be shown on television. He said they would not be sequestered but would eat lunch together every day so they would not have to leave the courthouse.

Fidler also assured them they would be protected from the media; he said was not worried about the mainstream media but was concerned “fringe members” could disrupt their privacy.

Spector’s appearance may rivet TV audiences. His theatrical attire usually includes 3-inch-high boots, frock coats and outlandish wigs.

Spector arrived Monday morning at the downtown Los Angeles courthouse wearing an open-collar shirt, a dark knee-length coat, and shoes with high heels. He was accompanied by his wife, Rachelle Short, and another attorney, Roger J. Rosen.

Unlike the O.J. Simpson trial, where jurors’ familiarity with the celebrity defendant was a huge issue, Spector’s musical legacy may be dusty enough to escape notice by most younger prospective jurors.

Legal experts say that while Spector is a legend in the music business, the celebrity factor on this trial is likely to be minimal because only older members of the public are aware of his impact on pop music in the 1960s.

“The defense may want music fans who have an appreciation for Phil Spector’s mark on music history,” said Loyola Law School Professor Laurie Levenson. “But there won’t be many of those in the jury pool, not even in Tinseltown.”