A prosecutor in the murder trial of former record producer Phil Spector says he will present a case that shows Spector can be "sinister and deadly."

Alan Jackson was laying out the case against Spector in opening statements before a jury in a Los Angeles courtroom on Wednesday.

Music producer Phil Spector and his bodyguards arrive at Los Angeles Superior Court for his murder trial.
(Damian Dovarganes/Associated Press)

Spector is charged in the death of actress Lana Clarkson, 40, who was found shot inside Spector's home four years ago.

Spector is someone "who, when he's confronted with the right circumstances, when he's confronted with the right situations, turns sinister and deadly," Jackson said.

"The evidence is going to paint a picture of a man who on Feb. 3, 2003, put a loaded pistol in Lana Clarkson's mouth — inside her mouth — and shot her to death."

Spector has pleaded not guilty. His defence lawyers claim Clarkson put the gun in her mouth and shot herself.

Spector, who was charged eight months after the death, has called it an "accidental suicide."

Spector, 67, was legendary for his "wall of sound" technique, which transformed rock 'n' roll in the 1960s.

He has lived a reclusive existence for years and rarely comes out of his home in suburban Alhambra.

Clarkson, best known for her role in cult movie Barbarian Queen, was found dead with a gunshot through her mouth. She had met Spector just that evening at a nightclub where she worked as a hostess.

The case is being televised and could last up to three months.

With files from the Associated Press