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About 3 1/2 years after the wife of tough guy actor Robert Blake was murdered, prosecutors finally make their case on Monday to show he killed her out of hatred, while his lawyers vow to prove Blake innocent by showing that Bonny Lee Bakley had many enemies. Both sides give their opening statements in court before a seven-man, five-woman jury picked earlier this month. The case has moved at a snail's pace since Bakley was found shot to death in Blake's car parked around the corner from an Italian restaurant where the couple had dined on May 4, 2001. Blake...

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Prosecutors in the Robert Blake murder case asked a judge Tuesday to limit evidence in the upcoming murder trial about the actor's slain wife and her illicit exploits. In more than 40 pages of motions filed Tuesday, prosecutors sought to eliminate huge amounts of evidence that could damage their case against Blake. They asked to bar testimony about Bonny Lee Bakley's sex-related con games, her drug arrests, and the criminal involvements of other members of her family including her grown daughter. "Ms. Bakley might be considered by some to be what is commonly referred to as...

Judge Orders Robert Blake to Stand Trial LOS ANGELES - A judge ruled Thursday that Robert Blake (news) must stand trial on charges of murdering his wife, saying the actor "had the time, the opportunity and the motive to commit the shooting." AP Photo Slideshow: Robert Blake Superior Court Judge Lloyd Nash also said Blake could be released on $1.5 million bail, news that appeared to stun the 69-year-old actor who has been jailed since April. Blake's handyman-bodyguard, Earle Caldwell, will also be tried on a count of conspiracy in the slaying of Bonnie Lee Bakley, the judge ruled. The...

Actor Robert Blake ( news), in jail awaiting trial on charges that he murdered his wife, worries that this may be his last Christmas on Earth, according to a television report broadcast on Thursday. Local Los Angeles station CBS2, the west coast flagship of the CBS network, said that Blake's attitudes toward life appear to have deteriorated along with his physical condition. "This is the fourth time I have interviewed Robert Blake, the second time in jail, and definitely there is a change," said reporter Paul Dandridge, who added that the actor, now 69, is "not sure as to how...

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 15 — There is no question as to which is the most exclusive penthouse apartment in the City of Angels. Among the amenities there are soaps, conditioners, razors. A continental breakfast is offered; a picnic-style lunch and a warm beefsteak dinner. The pillows are feather, the complimentary slippers are canvas, the bed garments orange. There is a library and plenty of solitude. The suite occupies a corner lot, the view is unique and security is among the best in town. The bellhops dress in green and wear white gloves. All this at the reasonable rate of $53.45...

We're pretty sure this isn't the kind of bail Robert Blake was hoping for. Harland Braun, the big-bucks, camera-ready lawyer defending Blake against charges the actor murdered his wife, says he's ejecting from the case because Blake has decided to do a TV interview on ABC. "He insists on doing an interview on camera with Diane Sawyer," Braun tells the Associated Press. "I think it's insane for a person charged with a crime to go on camera to answer questions about the case. No lawyer in the country would allow a defendant to do this." Braun says he's worried something...

LAS VEGAS -- An 87-year-old man found stabbed to death in the desert has been identified as a former child actor in the "Our Gang" film series. The body of Jay R. Smith was found Oct. 5 near Interstate 15, about 25 miles north of Las Vegas, police said. He died from multiple stab wounds, the Clark County coroner's office said. As a freckle-faced boy, Smith was in three dozen of the "Our Gang" short comedies from 1925-29, most of them silent. The series, better known to TV audiences as "The Little Rascals," ran from the 1920s to the early...

A Los Angeles judge has denied bail to actor Robert Blake, who's been in jail since April 18 in connection with the murder of his wife. Judge Lloyd Nash said his decision does not mean he believes Blake is guilty of murdering Bonny Lee Bakley. According to The Associated Press, Nash said he had reviewed hundreds of pages of documents submitted by both sides before the hearing, but could not "make findings of fact without hearing evidence." Nash says he'll reconsider his bail decision after an upcoming preliminary hearing, in which witnesses will testify. The hearing had been set for...

<p>Blake says he is in "infantry mode," passing his time in a "cement wilderness."</p> <p>LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- In a jailhouse interview, Robert Blake expressed confidence he will be acquitted on charges he murdered his wife, and he vowed to return someday to the acting profession.</p>

I recently overheard a couple of guys discussing the murder of Bonny Bakely. Instantly, I was outraged when one of them said, “I heard that Bakely woman was a real slut!” There are times when I am just ashamed to be a man! In their statement, they inadvertently hit upon the likely Blake defense strategy. Just like the O.J. Simpson trial, the defense attorneys will not confront the facts of the case. To do so would be a life sentence for Robert Blake as it would have been a death sentence for Simpson. Moreover, I believe the prosecution’s decision to...

WHO'S HOT.... 1. ROBERT BLAKE Welcome to O.J. The Sequel, or should we call this latest media craze Son Of O.J.? Yes indeed, by allegedly shooting his wife in the head, Robert Blake has finally acquired the additional 15 minutes of celebrity he has unsuccessfully been seeking since his hit TV series Baretta tanked in the ratings more than twenty-five years ago. Nothing like been charged with murder to elicit some excessive media attention. So far Mr. Blake hasn't signed any book deals, or talked about making a special murder tape to be exclusively hawked on late-night TV infomercials. And...

Blake paid the 1 million dollar bond and he will is being released.

<p>NEW YORK (AP) -- The Robert Blake murder case may not rival O.J. Simpson's in television attention, but it's already caused a surprising ratings bump for CNN and a flareup of tensions in cable's hottest rivalry.</p> <p>CNN had its biggest prime-time audiences of the year last Thursday after the former "Baretta" actor was charged with shooting his wife, Bonny Lee Bakley, to death last May outside a Los Angeles restaurant.</p>

Oh Andrea Mitchell, where art thou? While the blither dribbles out of the news channels across America today polling whether or not people wish to see the Robert Blake murder trial televised, little attention is being paid to a rather significant development in the current crisis in Israel and the middle east. Late last week as Israeli forces began to move back from their completed work in Jenin and Ramalah, U.N groups, the Red Cross, and others who were protesting lack of access to the embattled areas, finally had their chance. Pro-palestinian voices throughout the areas in recent weeks had...

The gun that Los Angeles cops say was used to kill Robert Blake's wife has been traced back to the actor, police sources have told the Daily News. The serial number on the murder weapon, a .38-caliber Walther PPK handgun, had been filed off. But using techniques straight out of the CBS show "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," forensic sleuths were able to read the number and trace the gun to Blake, the sources said. The star of the 1970s detective show "Baretta" is scheduled to be arraigned tomorrow in a Van Nuys, Calif., courthouse. His bodyguard, Earle Caldwell, also is...

A Robert Blake murder trial, if it occurs, could turn into a ghostly trial of Blake's murdered wife, whose bizarre past will become an issue for both prosecution and defense. Jurors are likely to hear about the woman who trolled the bars of North Hollywood looking for a celebrity companion, the divorcee who left a trail of ex-husbands and other men who claimed they had been conned out of large sums of money. Defense attorney Harland Braun maintains there were scores of people with motives to kill Bakley. The police contend one man had the most potent motive -- Robert...

Here is a prison mugshot of Robert Blake that I have been able to obtain:

Robert Blake is a third rate actor. He may or may not have killed his wife. Who Cares? Isn't it shameless exploitation for Fox News, CNN and some of the other major media to give this non-story such significance. It is "shameless" to waste the public's attention and energy on such a crime of little importance. Here is the exception of a story where even the NY Times will probalby use better judgment than FOX news. Most likely Fox news and CNN will continue to try to build up this non-story into a big-several- month run of improved ratings. My...

Actor Robert Blake was being arrested this evening in the killing of his wife nearly a year ago, his attorney said in Los Angeles. "They're arresting him in a couple of minutes," said attorney Harland Braun shortly before 6 p.m. PDT. "I've told him to come outside." Braun said the former star of "In Cold Blood" and TV's "Baretta" was to be taken from his sister's home in Hidden Hills to police headquarters downtown. Bonny Lee Bakley, 44, was shot to death the night of May 4, 2001, a block from a Studio City restaurant where she and Blake had...

Click HERE to listen to an audio clip of Robert Blake making his post-arrest statement.