Police: Case Against Blake 'Compelling'
April 19, 2002 -- Los Angeles police say they have "significant and compelling" evidence that actor Robert Blake killed his wife, Bonny Lee Bakley, who was shot twice as she sat alone in Blake's car almost a year ago.
Blake and his bodyguard Earle Caldwell were arrested Thursday in connection with the slaying. A spokeswoman for the Los Angeles District Attorney's office said a decision would be announced Monday on whether to charge Blake, and he could be charged that day.
Investigators said they have the murder weapon and it was Blake who pulled the trigger.
"The Bonny Lee Bakley case is solved," L.A. Police Chief Bernard Parks announced shortly after the arrest Thursday.
Blake's attorney insisted the actor was innocent.
"Robert has always said that he was not responsible for her killing," Harland Braun said Thursday evening. 'The real killer is still out there."
Suspects’ Homes Searched
Today, investigators searched the homes of Blake and Caldwell, removing boxes, a shotgun and two gun cases out of the bodyguard's apartment. Braun told reporters today that police offered Caldwell a chance to get out of jail if he cooperated in the case against Blake. Police denied making an offer to Caldwell.
The actor was taken in handcuffs from his sister's home in Hidden Hills at about 6 p.m. PT Thursday. Police said he will be charged with murder with special circumstances, and two counts of solicitation of murder, and could face the death penalty.
Police said Caldwell will be charged with conspiracy to commit murder.
"We believe the motive is that Robert Blake had contempt for Bonny Bakley," said Capt. Jim Tatreau. "He felt that he was trapped in a marriage he wanted no part of."
Neither Parks nor Tatreau would discuss the details of the case.
"It will unfold in court," said Tatreau.
Blake was transferred to the hospital ward of the L.A. County Jail. Officials said Blake was not sick but was moved there for his own protection. Blake was to have been placed in isolation and under 24-hour suicide watch at the jail, which is not unusual for people arrested in high-profile cases.
It was not clear how long he is expected to remain in the hospital ward.
Braun said he called Blake on Thursday afternoon to tell him police were about to arrest him. Although taken aback, Blake reacted calmly, Braun said.
"His main concern right now is his children," the lawyer said, adding he has a strong defense but won't discuss it until he reviews the police case against Blake.
Tatreau said that when police came to arrest him, Blake told his adult daughter to take care of his baby girl, Rosie, whose mother he is accused of killing.
"He was very passive and friendly," Tatreau said, adding that Blake, who has been a suspect in the case almost since the beginning, already knew many of the detectives involved.
Other Suspects Ruled Out
Bakley, 44, was shot to death May 4 last year as she sat in Blake's car after they ate dinner at Vitello's Italian restaurant. Blake, 68, told police they walked to the car together but he had to return to the restaurant to retrieve a gun he had left behind. When he returned, Bakley was dead, he said.
For nearly a year, police seemed stymied as no witnesses stepped forward and a lack of evidence stalled the case. But police insisted the investigation was not dead.
Parks said Thursday the case involved more than 900 items of evidence and 150 witnesses in 20 states.
"There is physical evidence and there is significant and compelling circumstantial evidence," Tatreau said, but would not discuss that evidence.
He did say police had ruled out all other suspects.
Fingers Point at Blake
Blake has denied involvement in Bakley's slaying, but Los Angeles police repeatedly have said they had not ruled out the former Baretta star as a suspect.
Bakley's family — particularly her mother, sister, and grown daughter — have said they believed he was involved in the slaying, and cited alleged abuse and threats made by Blake.
Even Blake's lawyer admits that his client would seem to have a motive.
"What this lady did to his life was horrific," said Braun. "So he understood that he was there and he has a motive. But he maintains that he didn't do it."
The Murder Weapon?
Ten days after the killing, police recovered what they believed was the weapon used when they found a gun in a trash bin a block-and-half away from the crime scene.
The gun, a Walther pistol described as a collector's item, still contained one bullet, which matched the two bullets used to kill Bakley. A source close to the investigation told ABCNEWS at the time that police found a box of ammunition of the same brand in Blake's house. Three bullets were missing from the box, the source said.
Blake's defenders pointed out he is avid gun collector, and the brand of ammunition, Remington Peters, is a popular brand.
Bakley's autopsy report has been sealed because detectives believed the investigation would be compromised.
The Victim’s Alleged Grifter Past
Braun, Blake's attorney, has painted an unsympathetic picture of Bakley since the beginning of the investigation, portraying her as a lifelong grifter who was obsessed with being a celebrity's wife.
Bakley's shady past, he said, ultimately led to her death. He released tapes of Bakley's phone conversations made before her marriage to Blake, where she seemed torn between pursuing Blake or Marlon Brando's son Christian. He has also submitted boxes of tapes, letters, photos and other documents to police to suggest that Bakley defrauded several people, giving them a motive for killing her.
Blake has remained somewhat reclusive since the slaying. Representatives at Vitello's restaurant said they had rarely seen him there since the slaying. Noting that they were busy serving customers, a Vitello's employee said Thursday night they had no comment on Blake's arrest.