Posted March 16, 200519 yr comment_452961 Robert Blake acquitted of murder By GREG RISLING ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER LOS ANGELES ? A jury acquitted tough-guy actor Robert Blake of murder Wednesday in the shooting death of his wife four years ago, a stunning verdict in a case that played out like pulp fiction. The jury also acquitted Blake of one charge of trying to get someone to kill his wife, but deadlocked on a second solicitation charge. The 71-year-old star of the 1970s detective drama "Baretta" dropped his head, trembled with emotion, and let out several deep breaths after the verdict was read. The jury of seven men and five women delivered the verdicts on its ninth day of deliberations, following a trial with a cast a characters that included two Hollywood stuntmen who said Blake tried to get them to bump off his wife. Blake had faced life in prison; prosecutors did not seek the death penalty. Blake was charged with shooting 44-year-old Bonny Lee Bakley to death in their car outside the actor?s favorite Italian restaurant on May 4, 2001, less than six months after their marriage. Originally published on March 16, 2005 link Link to comment https://www.marlinsbaseball.com/topic/26128-robert-blake-aquitted-of-murder/ Share on other sites More sharing options...
March 16, 200519 yr comment_452962 Fox News LOS ANGELES ? The jury in the Robert Blake murder trial has found the actor not guilty of the 2001 murder of his wife, Bonny Lee Bakley. Jurors also acquitted Blake of one charge that Blake solicited murder, but deadlocked on a second solicitation charge. The jury reached a verdict Wednesday after deliberating for more than eight days on whether the 71-year-old star of the 1970s detective drama "Baretta" killed his wife. The prosecution said Blake killed Bakley, 44, in a car outside an Italian restaurant in May 2001 after failing to persuade two ex-stuntmen to kill her. Bakley was fatally shot in the actor's car after they had dined together. No one witnessed the shooting. In January, a man who befriended Blake testified that Blake was "totally paranoid" about Bakley having contact with their child and had even offered her $250,000 to get out of his life. Robert David Renzi offered an account of Blake's frame of mind concerning Bakley in the time after learning he fathered her baby and leading up to their abrupt wedding. Blake confided concerns about Bakley and her past, Renzi said. Bakley was depicted in pretrial documents as a con artist who took money from men with promises of sex. Renzi said Blake showed him documents involving Bakley's legal troubles in Arkansas and "he told me how she conned everybody. That was her lifestyle." Blake was determined to keep his baby daughter away from her mother, Renzi said. "He was totally obsessed with love for that child," Renzi said. "He was totally paranoid about her (Bakley) coming in contact with the child because of her past." The verdicts came several hours after jurors reviewed testimony from an author who said police provided him with details of an interview with one of the former stuntmen, Ronald "Duffy" Hambleton. Miles Corwin wrote the book "Homicide Special: A Year with the LAPD's Elite Detective Unit" in which he included details of the Blake investigation and other cases. Corwin testified Hambleton told police that Blake had approached him to work on a script and had said nothing about wanting to have his wife killed. Hambleton denied knowing anything about a plot to kill Bakley until six months after the crime, but then gave a detailed account of Blake allegedly scouting locations for the murder. Hambleton's testimony was crucial to the prosecution because there is no DNA or other physical evidence linking Blake to the crime. Defense attorney M. Gerald Schwartzbach suggested Hambleton made up the story while either delusional from drugs or to win favor with authorities as he faced an unrelated misdemeanor firearms charge. Blake, a New Jersey-born actor, started out as a child in "Our Gang" comedies. He received accolades for his performance as a killer who goes to the gallows in 1967's "In Cold Blood," and he won a 1975 Emmy for "Baretta," but his career had been stalled for years. He also appeared in a spooky role in David Lynch's 1997 movie "Lost Highway." Link to comment https://www.marlinsbaseball.com/topic/26128-robert-blake-aquitted-of-murder/?&do=findComment&comment=452962 Share on other sites More sharing options...
March 16, 200519 yr comment_452963 How much dumber can a jury get? Link to comment https://www.marlinsbaseball.com/topic/26128-robert-blake-aquitted-of-murder/?&do=findComment&comment=452963 Share on other sites More sharing options...
March 16, 200519 yr Author comment_452964 How much dumber can a jury get? 712263[/snapback] Well from what I heard from Fox News and CNN both say it was the prosecution that dropped the ball. Link to comment https://www.marlinsbaseball.com/topic/26128-robert-blake-aquitted-of-murder/?&do=findComment&comment=452964 Share on other sites More sharing options...
March 16, 200519 yr comment_452965 How much dumber can a jury get? 712263[/snapback] Well from what I heard from Fox News and CNN both say it was the prosecution that dropped the ball. 712270[/snapback] What a surprise :o Link to comment https://www.marlinsbaseball.com/topic/26128-robert-blake-aquitted-of-murder/?&do=findComment&comment=452965 Share on other sites More sharing options...
March 17, 200519 yr comment_452966 Maybe it's payback for OJ lol. Link to comment https://www.marlinsbaseball.com/topic/26128-robert-blake-aquitted-of-murder/?&do=findComment&comment=452966 Share on other sites More sharing options...
March 17, 200519 yr comment_452967 How much dumber can a jury get? 712263[/snapback] Had they convicted him they would have been dumb. I'm 100% sure Blake was involved, but the prosecution had a horrible case. There was little to no real convicting evidence, and it simply wasn't proben beyond a reasonable doubt. Link to comment https://www.marlinsbaseball.com/topic/26128-robert-blake-aquitted-of-murder/?&do=findComment&comment=452967 Share on other sites More sharing options...
March 17, 200519 yr comment_452968 First stop? Jay Leno. Link to comment https://www.marlinsbaseball.com/topic/26128-robert-blake-aquitted-of-murder/?&do=findComment&comment=452968 Share on other sites More sharing options...
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