Robert Blake Faces Uphill Defense Challenge
Dec. 6, 2004 — -- On the surface, it appears Robert Blake's defense is hamstrung in his murder trial for the slaying of his wife.
Opening statements were expected to begin today in Blake's trial in the May 2001 shooting death of his wife, Bonny Lee Bakley. However, an investigation of a recent break-in, in which a computer belonging to Blake's attorney was stolen, has delayed opening statements until Dec. 20. A court representative had said in reports last week that the computer contained the "heart and soul" of Blake's defense. Though defense attorney M. Gerald Schwartzbach originally had vowed to press on, he told the court today that he would need more time to prepare because of the lost files.
Blake, 71, is charged with murder and solicitation to commit murder as prosecutors contend that he tried to hire others to kill his wife. Bakley, 44, was shot in the head as she sat in their car after she and Blake had dined at Vitello's, a favorite restaurant of the actor. Blake, best known for the 1970s cop TV drama "Baretta," married Bakley after DNA tests showed he was the father of her infant daughter. Prosecutors contend Blake killed Bakley to get her out of his life and prevent her from becoming a bad influence on the baby. If convicted of murder, he could face life in prison.
Blake denies any role in the killing. He said he left Bakley in the car that night and returned to the restaurant to retrieve a gun he had left at their table, and came back to the car to discover his wife had been shot.
The defense has pointed out that Bakley made a lot of enemies during her life. She has been described as a con woman with a criminal record who bilked men out of money through lonely-hearts scams and used several aliases. Blake, his friends and relatives of Bakley have said she had always wanted to be the wife of a movie star and spent much of her life pursuing famous people.
One of those was apparently Christian Brando, son of the late actor Marlon Brando. The defense wanted to present the theory that Brando, not Blake, was involved in the killing, but the judge refused to allow it because of a lack of evidence.
Some observers say Blake's attorneys, while somewhat hampered by the judge's ruling, may still be able to suggest that someone else killed Bakley, as long as they do not specifically name an alleged potential murderer.
"That is exactly what I would expect the defense to do," said Ronald Carlson, professor of law at the University of Georgia. "The defense will have to walk a delicate line in suggesting there was a conspiracy in the killing of Robert Blake's wife with naming the suspected mastermind. The defense will say two things: (a) He didn't do it and (b) Someone else did it and we have a pretty good idea that Bonny Lee Bakley was killed as a result of malice and of the person involved in the slaying."
