Robert Blake is found not guilty in murder of his wife or solicitation of murder. Just announced on Court TV.
Ok, I'll admit I never followed this trial. But wasn't the general consensus that the man was guilty? Did the prosecution do a crappy job like in the Orenthal case or was the evidence all circumstantial?
http://courttv.com/trials/blake/031605_verdict_ctv.html Actor Robert Blake acquitted of his wife's murder Robert Blake faced life in prison if convicted of first-degree murder. By Lisa Sweetingham Court TV VAN NUYS, Calif. — A jury found Robert Blake not guilty Wednesday of murdering Bonny Lee Bakley, his wife of six months and the mother of his 4-year-old daughter. They also acquitted him of one count of solicitation of murder, but were unable to reach a verdict on a second count of solicitation. The 71-year-old actor would have faced life in prison for a first-degree murder conviction. Blake, the former star of the '70s show "Baretta," closed his eyes and then hugged his defense lawyer, Gerald Schwartzbach. He sat trembling at the defense table before his security bracelet was removed and he was allowed to leave the courtroom. Blake, who has been under house arrest throughout the 10-week trial, did not take the stand in his defense. His daughter, Holly Gawron, cried in her seat at the back row of the courtroom. Jurors received the case Friday, March 4, and deliberated for about 35 hours over nine days before reaching their decision Wednesday afternoon. During their deliberations, the jury asked to rehear testimony from three witnesses who saw Blake within 10 to 15 minutes of Bakley's shooting death, as well as testimony from Ronald "Duffy" Hambleton, a stuntman who claims Blake asked him to kill his wife. Hambleton's testimony, considered to be central to the case, may have been unconvincing to jurors, who were unable to reach a verdict on the related solicitation count. Although Hambleton said Blake asked him to kill his wife, the jury also heard testimony about Hambleton's history of drug-influenced delusional behavior. The second solicitation count related to the claims of another stuntman, Gary "Whiz Kid" McLarty, who also said that Blake spoke with him about killing his wife. However, McLarty's own son and wife testified that years of cocaine abuse made the stuntman paranoid and delusional. Bakley was shot in the head on May 4, 2001, as she waited in Blake's car near an Italian restaurant where the couple had just dined. Blake claimed he had returned briefly to the restaurant to retrieve a gun he had accidentally left behind and returned to find her dead. The gun found on him was not the murder weapon. The gun used in the killing, a World War II-era Walther P-38, was found in a Dumpster near the crime scene, and police were unable to trace it to Blake.
Me too. She was a devious b**** who got what she deserved if all the things they say she did are true.
