LAPD: Bakley Case Not Dead

Aug. 2, 2001 -- Before a Washington intern's disappearance became a daily media feeding frenzy, the nation was asking this question: Who killed Bonny Bakley?

Three months have passed since the wife of actor Robert Blake was gunned down near a Studio City Italian restaurant, and Los Angeles police still have not been able to make an arrest. The mystery surrounding Bakley's slaying has faded from the media spotlight.

Reporters who were once staking out Blake's home near Studio City, are now stationed approximately 300 miles away in Modesto, Calif., outside the home of Robert and Susan Levy, the parents of missing federal Bureau of Prisons intern Chandra Levy. Bakley was killed May 4. Levy was last seen April 30 and her parents received a final e-mail from her May 1 — but her case did not attract national attention until two weeks later.

The Levy case has not been the only story to steal the national spotlight away from the Bakley slaying: Timothy McVeigh's execution and a Texas mother's alleged slaying of her five children were among the stories that pushed the case off the front pages.

No Potential Suspects Ruled Out

Los Angeles police investigators who feared the media spotlight would hinder their investigation are as stumped now as they were three months ago. No witnesses have come forward and a lack of evidence have stymied the case, but police insist the investigation is not dead.

"I can certainly say that we have not ruled out — legitimately ruled out — anyone as a suspect," said Lt. Horace Frank, spokesman for the Los Angeles Police Department. "Certainly we would like it to go a lot quicker, but again, our main focus here is to make sure that we do a thorough investigation, and when we do come up with the evidence to take someone into custody, that that's done in an appropriate manner."

Bakley was killed as she sat in Blake's car after they ate dinner at Vitello's. Blake 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.

Blake has denied involvement in Bakley's slaying, but Los Angeles police say they have not ruled out the former Baretta star or anyone as a suspect. Bakley's family — particularly her mother, sister, and grown daughter — citing alleged abuse and threats made by Blake, believe he was involved in the slaying.

Frank said he understood Bakley's family's frustration but stressed that investigators were not going to let media scrutiny pressure them into making a hasty arrest.

"We're gonna allow the evidence to dictate how this investigation goes," Frank said.

A Reluctant New Tourist Attraction

Though Bakley's slaying has not commanded strong attention recently, its impact is still felt at Vitello's. The Studio City Italian restaurant is now known as the last place Bakley and Blake dined before she was fatally shot, and has been added to the California-based Crime Scene Tours, a company that conducts tours of infamous Hollywood crime scenes. And business has picked up.

"There are new faces," said a restaurant manager who wished not to be identified. The manager, who refused to verify whether his business had gone up a reported 20 percent since the slaying, admitted that he did not like being interviewed and seemed uncomfortable with the attention his restaurant has received.

But while Vitello's has served several new patrons over the past two months, it seems to have lost one — Robert Blake. The former Baretta star was once a frequent customer, dining there sometimes twice a week. Since the killing, he's hasn't been seen there.

"I haven't seen him," said the Vitello's manager. "But then again, he may have been here and I may have been off. But to my knowledge, he hasn't been here."

Relying on Technology, Reviewing Documents

When the investigation into Bakley's slaying began, 14 officers were assigned to the case. As two months have passed and reporters have moved on to other stories, several officers have been taken off the case. (Frank refused to say how many officers are on the case, but Bakley's relatives have said in several news reports that four detectives are now conducting the investigation.)

Bakley's autopsy report has been sealed because detectives believe the investigation would be compromised. Frank would not comment extensively on the investigation, but said police have been actively pursuing the case, conducting interviews and reviewing documents they hope will provide clues into the slaying. Since there were no witnesses, Frank said investigators must rely on technology to help build a case — particularly any ballistics and forensic evidence from bullets and shell casings recovered from the crime scene.

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 had 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.

But, Blake's defenders point out, he is avid gun collector, and the brand of ammunition, Remington Peters, is a popular brand.

The Victim's Alleged Past: Investigation Roadblock?

Harland 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.

That, Braun believes, is one reason police have not made an arrest. Bakley's past has made the list of potential suspects too long.

"Once you're past Robert and his bodyguard, you can have almost anyone [killing Bakley]," Braun said.

However, Cary Goldstein, who represents Bakley's family, has faith that police are only being thorough and will eventually make an arrest.

"They're just being really careful," Goldstein has said. "In my conversations with them, they've assured me that they're working very hard on the case."

Blake has remained somewhat reclusive since the media attention toward his wife's slaying has subsided. He is raising Rose, the baby daughter he had with Bakley, occasionally leaving his home in Studio City and according to his attorney, receiving letters of support.

Bakley's family is waiting for an arrest. Goldstein said the family plans to file a wrongful death suit as soon as a suspect is arrested. ABCNEWS' Steffan Tubbs in Los Angeles and Bryan Robinson contributed to this report.