By Valentine Low, Evening Standard
21 December 2004
Seventies TV star Robert Blake murdered his conwoman wife after he failed to find a hitman to do the job, a Los Angeles court was told.
The actor, former star of the series Baretta, shot Bonny Lee Bakley in the head because he was obsessed with getting his infant daughter away from her, according to the prosecuting lawyer Shellie Samuels.
But the plan unravelled when Blake became distraught after the shooting in the car park of an Italian restaurant. He failed to go back into the restaurant to establish his alibi.
Blake ' s lawyer, Gerald Schwartzbach, said there was absolutely no evidence the actor shot his wife. He said the two chief witnesses against him were drug addicts who suffered hallucinations and had cooperated with authorities to avoid prosecution themselves.
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/articles/15471893?source=Evening%20Standard