Film and television actor Robert Blake won an Emmy in 1975 for playing an undercover New York City detective in the crime drama Baretta. However, Blake’s legal troubles offscreen would dominate headlines later in his life when he stood trial for the murder of his 44-year-old wife Bonny Lee Bakley. Bakley died on May 4, 2001, from two gunshot wounds suffered during an evening out with Blake in Los Angeles. A criminal jury acquitted Blake of her death in March 2005 to conclude a three-month trial that drew national attention. However, months later in November 2005, Blake was found liable for her death in a civil case and required to pay Bakley’s children $30 million in wrongful death damages.
Bakley’s murder is back in the spotlight after Blake died from heart disease on March 9 at age 89. He was notably absent from the In Memoriam tribute at the 95th Academy Awards on Sunday, with host Jimmy Kimmel even referencing the omission in one of his jokes. Nearly 22 years later, Bakley’s murder remains unsolved, but here’s what we know about the case.
Who Was Bonny Lee Bakley?
Bonny Lee Bakley was born on June 7, 1956, in Morristown, New Jersey. She had a troubling childhood, according to her sister Margerry Smith in an interview with ABC News. Their father was an alcoholic, and Bakley was raised by her grandmother. She was also bullied in school, which contributed to her tumultuous early life.
According to Smith, Bakley grew up near a nudist colony, and the sisters accidentally attended a “clothes-off” swimming event when Bakley was 11. After that, Bakley frequently returned to the colony, and people began taking photos of her and selling them, which would later play a role in her complicated life.
At 21, Bakley married her first cousin, and they had two children together. Their daughter, Holly Gawron, told Barbara Walters in a 2015 interview that Bakley was her “best friend” and always “supported me in anything I wanted to do.” However, Bakley’s behavior was often questionable and eventually turned criminal.
She developed a reputation as a con artist. ABC News contributor Larry Hackett said she would place ads in swinger magazines, using different aliases to lure men into sending her money. If they responded, she would send “sexy pictures of herself.” Later, her cons became more elaborate, including stealing credit cards and forging driver’s licenses. In Arkansas, she was charged with fraud in 1998 and sentenced to three years’ probation.
What Happened to Bakley?
On May 4, 2001, Blake and Bakley went to dinner at his favorite restaurant, Vitello’s, in Los Angeles’ Studio City neighborhood. According to ABC News, Blake told police the two walked to their car after the meal before realizing he had left a gun, which he was permitted to carry, at their table. Blake stated he returned to retrieve the weapon and found Bakley sitting in the car with two gunshot wounds.
He began banging on the door of a nearby resident, Sean Stanek, for help, and Stanek called 911. In a later interview, Stanek described the scene, noting there was a “massive amount of blood everywhere.” Unfortunately, Bakley died after being taken to a nearby hospital.
A busboy at Vitello’s contradicted Blake’s account, claiming he cleared their table before Blake returned and did not find a gun. Ten days after the shooting, police found a gun in a trash bin a block and a half away from the scene. The Walther pistol, described as a collector’s item, had a bullet that matched the ones used to kill Bakley. However, the serial number had been filed off, making it impossible to trace ownership.
On April 18, 2002, the Los Angeles Police Department announced Blake’s arrest for murder. Detectives had examined over 900 items of evidence linking Blake and Bakley and interviewed more than 150 people, leading to what they deemed “compelling and conclusive” evidence against him. Along with the murder charge, he faced two counts of solicitation for murder.
How Was Blake Acquitted?
According to The Washington Post, prosecutors claimed Blake had attempted to hire hit men to murder Bakley before ultimately committing the crime himself. Blake did not testify during his trial and continued to assert his innocence. Two stuntmen testified that Blake had tried to hire them to kill Bakley, but the defense questioned their credibility due to their histories of drug use.
A small number of gunshot residue particles were found on Blake’s hands. However, a defense expert testified that if Blake had fired the gun, he would have had nearly 100 particles on his hands instead of the four or five that were found. The jury ultimately voted 11–1 in favor of acquittal on the murder charge and also acquitted Blake on one solicitation charge, deadlocking on a second solicitation charge, which the judge dismissed.
Blake trembled with emotion and sobbed as the verdict was read. He had been facing life in prison if convicted. The jury foreman told reporters that prosecutors “couldn’t put the gun in [Blake’s] hand” and could “never connect all the links in the chain.”
Was Christian Brando Involved?
Blake’s defense attorneys argued that Christian Brando, the son of Hollywood icon Marlon Brando, could have been Bakley’s killer or played a role in her murder, but evidence is sparse. Christian Brando had gone to prison for manslaughter after killing his sister Cheyenne’s boyfriend, Dag Drollet, on May 16, 1990, following claims of domestic abuse against her.
While Brando was in prison, Bakley began communicating with him and even sent nude photos. After Brando’s release, the two began a relationship, which continued when Bakley met Blake. In June 2000, Bakley gave birth to a daughter and claimed Brando was the father, but a paternity test revealed the child was actually Blake’s.
In August 2002, while Blake was incarcerated, his defense lawyer released a recorded phone call in which Brando warned Bakley about her lifestyle, saying, “You’re lucky somebody ain’t out there to put a bullet in your head.” Despite this, Brando was never formally charged in Bakley’s murder and was not in Los Angeles when it occurred, leading to speculation about whether a friend of Brando’s could have been involved.
With two key figures from Bakley’s life now gone, we may never truly know what happened on that fateful 2001 night.
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