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Pastimes : Clown-Free Zone... sorry, no clowns allowed -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Ilaine who wrote (100185)	5/7/2001 9:33:20 AM
From: MythMan	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 436258

Not yet he isn't..... >>Killing of Robert Blake's wife 'horrifying' Hollywood crime Robert Blake Republic news services May 07, 2001 LOS ANGELES -TV tough guy Robert Blake hired an investigator Sunday to find the killer of his wife, who was shot to death Friday night near one of their favorite Studio City, Calif., restaurants. Blake, 67, returned home after being hospitalized for high blood pressure. It's a story with all the elements of a sensational Hollywood crime. The star of the 1970s series Baretta and his 45-year-old wife, Bonny Lee Bakley, had dined at Vitello's, where the actor eats so often that a fusilli dish is named after him. As the two returned to their car, Blake said he had forgotten something and went back inside to retrieve a handgun he had lost. When he returned, Blake said, he found his wife slumped over in the passenger seat, shot once in the head. Blake then went to the nearby house of Sean Stanek, a film director who had frequently seen Blake at the neighborhood's cafes and restaurants. Stanek opened the door, thinking someone was playing a prank. Blake begged Stanek to call 911. Stanek said Saturday that he ran out into the street and found Bakley, gasping for air, her eyes rolling back. The car's window was rolled down and there were no signs of shattered glass. "I tried to talk to her," said Stanek, who added that Blake was not by his wife's side as he came out of the house and was not there for a few minutes. "I said what's your name, can you hear me? If you can hear me please just squeeze my hand." Bakley never squeezed. "It was horrifying," Stanek said. Paramedics and police were at the scene within seven minutes and medics worked to keep her alive before putting her in an ambulance and leaving. Police then took Blake to the side and started questioning him. Blake began vomiting on the street, Stanek said. Then he went back into Vitello's. Joe Restivo, co-owner, said he only saw Blake come in the restaurant once - after the actor had found his wife shot. "He was playing with half a deck," Restivo said Sunday. "He was excited. He came in to see if there was a doctor or a nurse." Bakley was pronounced dead after being taken to St. Joseph's Medical Center. Police searched Blake's house Saturday and took two 9mm handguns, phone records and other paperwork, his lawyer, Harland Braun, said. Braun had referred to her as Leebonny Bakley and gave her age as 44. The results of the autopsy on Bakley were expected to be released today, said Mel Graham, a senior clerk at the coroner's office. Police refused to comment Sunday on the progress of the investigation but previously said Blake wasn't considered a suspect. No suspects have been identified, and police have not yet established a motive. Police had interviewed Blake twice, Braun said. Emerging from his home Saturday afternoon wearing a dark hat and sunglasses, Blake was taken to an undisclosed hospital to be treated for high blood pressure. He returned home Sunday. Braun said Blake's wife had believed someone had been stalking her and had asked Blake to carry a gun, which was registered to him. "The problem is that she had sort of a checkered background," said Braun, noting she had been involved in "lonely hearts con schemes" in which she milked lonely men out of money through ads across the country. She had been convicted in Arkansas of carrying a fake ID. "Murder is usually a highly motivated thing but here we have a woman we don't know a lot about," Braun said. "Someone took that opportunity to kill her when Robert left the car. She was very vulnerable." Blake married Bakley last November after DNA tests proved he was the father of her infant daughter, who has been placed in the care of Blake's relatives. Rose Lenore Sophia Blake, now 11 months old, was originally named Christian Shannon Brando because Bakley first thought the child was the daughter of Marlon Brando's son, Christian. Although Bakley lived in a unit behind Blake's Studio City home, the marriage was improving, Braun said. He made his acting debut at age 5 in the Our Gang comedies, but Blake may be most known for his Emmy-winning 1975-1978 TV detective role of Tony Baretta. Blake has battled alcoholism and depression throughout his career, which has included dozens of movie roles, including playing real-life killer Perry Smith in 1967's In Cold Blood. His most recent movie was David Lynch's 1997 film Lost Highway.<<