'Baretta' Star's Wife Shot Dead

L O S  A N G E L E S, May 6 -- Police continue to investigate the death of the actor Robert Blake's wife, shot once in the head Friday night and killed as she sat in a car near a restaurant in Studio City, Calif.

Armed with a search warrant, police spent several hours inside the Blake home Saturday night. They would not say what, if anything, they found.

Police say they do not consider Blake a suspect, but he has been questioned as a key witness.

"He was not arrested," police spokesman Guillermo Campos told the Associated Press. "He's free as a bird."

The 67-year-old actor best known for his 1970's show, Baretta, told police he and his wife, Leebonny ("Bonnie") Bakley, 44, had dined at Vitello's Italian restaurant. Blake said he forgot something inside the restaurant and went back to retrieve it, police said.

"Upon his return to the vehicle, he discovered the injury to his wife," said Los Angeles Lt. Don Hartwell, who is investigating the case.

Questionable Past

According to Blake's attorney, Harland Braun, the item Blake retrieved was a gun he carried at Bakley's request, and for which he had a permit.

Blake and Bakley, parents of an 11-month-old daughter, Rose Lenore Sophia Blake, were married last November.

The Los Angeles Times describes the couple's relationship as difficult.

Braun says Blake only married her after she agreed to end past criminal activities she had been involved in.

"Apparently, she's had some criminal history she's been involved in the these kind of con schemes where you milk lonely men out of money by ads across the country," Braun said. "So there could be any number of people that would have had it in for her.

"Basically she placed ads for the lovelorn men in various magazines and they send money in — that type of thing," Braun added.

State of Shock

Braun describes his client as in a state of shock, adding that he checked into a hospital Saturday night because of high blood pressure.

On the night of the incident, Sean Stanek, a resident in the neighborhood of neat, modest homes, says he opened his door to a panicked Blake.