Did Robert Blake kill his wife?

Answer 1

Unlikely. Blake was charged with shooting Bonny Lee Bakley on May 4, 2001, although there was no forensic evidence to show he fired the gun. Because he was at the scene when police and paramedics arrived, it is unlikely he had any opportunity to remove or dispose of expected physical evidence, such as excessive gunshot residue, gun powder, or blood.

Both stuntmen, Gary McLarty and Ronald Duffy Hambleton, who prosecutors said Blake solicited, were heavy methamphetamine users. Both men suffered from delusions. Their stories were inconsistent from one interview to the next, getting bigger each time.

The day McLarty met with Blake, he told his wife and son that Blake wanted him to do some bodyguard work because Bakley had a stalker. He asked his son if he was interested in working with him on the job. McLarty himself testified that Blake never solicited him.

Ronald Duffy Hambleton, another stuntman, told police Blake met with him to discuss a screenplay and talk about their days on the film sets. Hambleton had a pending weapons charge against him and, according to the book "Homicide Special," police and prosecutors discussed ways of getting "leverage" on Hambleton. It was after the lead detective reminded Hambleton he had an upcoming court date that Hambleton starting spouting murder "scenarios."

Police also charged that Blake used a prepaid phone card to solicit the stuntmen. But Hambleton testified that he told Blake to buy the card because he had both incoming and outgoing long distance blocked on his phone.

William Welch, a private investigator and 21-year ex-homicide investigator, said Blake once proposed planting drugs on Bakley and on another occasion said he wanted to force her to have an abortion or he would "whack" her. Welch first told the drug planting story three months after the murder. In November 2001, he told investigators about the "whacking" incident. However, according to police logs in June 2001, Welch told police he "had no first hand knowledge that Blake wanted to harm Bakley, but he had heard on the street he was shopping around." At trial, Welch denied ever saying this. He also said his feelings were hurt that the LAPD had not initially contacted him and that he had to go to them.

After nine days of deliberations and a roomful of whiteboards, the criminal trial jury acquitted Blake of the murder and one count of solicitation. They hung 11-1 on the second charge and the trial judge dismissed it.

Although a civil jury held Blake liable for the murder, they announced after the verdict that they wanted to "send a message to rich people and celebrities." When asked whether they thought Blake shot Bakley or hired someone to murder her, some jurors said they didn't know.