BLAKE FOUND LIABLE IN WIFE'S SLAYING JUST LIKE O.J. ACTOR HIT WITH $30 MILLION IN DAMAGES MONTHS AFTER ACQUITTAL.Byline: Dana Bartholomew Staff Writer BURBANK - Emmy-winning actor Robert Blake Robert Blake may be:
After deliberating eight days in the wrongful-death lawsuit brought by her family, the jury ruled 10-2 that the 72-year-old star of TV's ``Baretta'' had ``intentionally caused the death'' of Bonny Bonny (bŏn`ē), town, SE Nigeria, in the Niger River delta, on the Bight of Biafra. In the 18th and 19th cent., Bonny was the center of a powerful trading state, and in the 19th cent. it became the leading site for slave exportation in W Africa. Lee Bakley, who was shot to death after leaving a Studio City restaurant four years ago. Wearing a black suit, Blake looked down and clenched clench tr.v. clenched, clench·ing, clench·es 1. To close tightly: clench one's teeth; clenched my fists in anger. 2. his jaw as the jury read its verdict. Afterward, the actor who portrayed a murderer in the movie ``In Cold Blood'' ducked out without a word through a side door of the Burbank Courthouse. Peter Ezzell, Blake's attorney, did not comment on the verdict. Blake testified for eight days during the civil trial, repeatedly denying that he killed his wife of six months. Jurors said Blake's testimony damaged his case. ``As a group, we believe that Mr. Blake was perhaps his worst enemy on the stand,'' jury foreman Bob Horn For the football player of the same name see Bob Horn (football player). Bob Horn, born Donald Loyd Horn in Pine Grove, Pennsylvania on February 20 1916 to a World War I veteran and eventually became a radio and television personality in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania said outside the court. ``(He) was absolutely unprofessional. ``The majority of us felt that Mr. Blake is guilty. There is no price you can put on somebody's mother, on somebody's family ... on love.'' Bakley was found shot to death May 4, 2001, in Blake's black Dodge Stealth, parked outside Vitello's restaurant in Studio City where the couple had dined earlier in the evening. He was charged with murder in 2002, and acquitted during a criminal trial last March. In the civil suit, the Bakley family accused Blake of trying to hire two former Hollywood stuntmen to kill his wife in order to gain custody of their baby. When the plan fizzled, they said, he pulled the trigger himself. The civil jury also found that Blake's handyman, Earle Caldwell of Burbank, did not collaborate in the killing. None of Bakley's four children was in the courtroom, but their attorney said they were overwhelmed o·ver·whelm tr.v. o·ver·whelmed, o·ver·whelm·ing, o·ver·whelms 1. To surge over and submerge; engulf: waves overwhelming the rocky shoreline. 2. a. by the decision. ``It's a good day for America,'' attorney Eric Dubin told a crush of reporters after the verdict. ``It's a good day for justice. ``These kids lost their mom and that got overlooked over the years. This was a real family, this was a real person and to have that validated in a court of law means an awful lot to these kids.'' Asked whether he was concerned that Blake, who claims he is broke, would not pay the damages, Dubin said, ``I'm not worried about that issue. I have every reason to believe he will pay.'' During the two-month trial, Dubin argued that Blake despised de·spise tr.v. de·spised, de·spis·ing, de·spis·es 1. To regard with contempt or scorn: despised all cowards and flatterers. 2. Bakley, whom he believed trapped him into marriage by getting pregnant. Once a paternity test paternity test n. A test using blood group identification of a mother, child, and putative father to establish the probability of paternity. paternity test, n determined that Blake was the father, Dubin said, Blake wanted his wife dead in order to raise his beloved Rosie by himself. Dubin used various depositions from Blake, an investigator who worked for the actor and others to argue that Blake had a plan to kidnap Rosie and get Bakley arrested and jailed - and if that failed, to have Bakley killed. While testifying, Blake threatened Dubin and drew laughter from jurors by lodging his own objections and calling the lawyer ``chief,'' ``junior'' or ``sonny.'' During the trial, Ezzell, Blake's attorney, depicted Bakley as a grifter grift Slang n. 1. Money made dishonestly, as in a swindle. 2. A swindle or confidence game. v. grift·ed, grift·ing, grifts v.intr. who preyed on lonely men, selling them nude pictures of herself and extracting money with promises of sex and marriage. She was on probation for fraud when Blake married her. Blake claimed that on the night of the killing, he left the 44-year-old Bakley in the car while he returned to Vitello's to retrieve a gun he carried for protection that he'd left behind in their booth. But when he returned to his car, he said, he found his wife slumped and bleeding in her seat. Jurors said they questioned why Blake didn't use his cell phone to dial 911 for help. They also said one of the biggest mistakes made by Blake's defense team was arguing that Bakley's life was worth nothing. ``Your wife is dying, pick up the phone, open it up and hit 911,'' said juror juror n. any person who actually serves on a jury. Lists of potential jurors are chosen from various sources such as registered voters, automobile registration or telephone directories. David Lopez, 41, of Northridge. ``It's not right to take somebody's life, whether you do it yourself, or have somebody else do it.'' Unlike Blake's criminal trial, in which 12 jurors had to reach a unanimous verdict of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, the civil wrongful- death case required that nine of 12 jurors believe by a ``preponderance'' of evidence that Blake was responsible for the crime. In a similar trial, O.J. Simpson was acquitted at a criminal trial in 1995 of murdering his ex-wife and a friend of hers, but two years later the former football star was found responsible for the slayings in a civil case and was ordered to pay $33.5 million in damages. Reached Friday by The Associated Press Associated Press: see news agency. Associated Press (AP) Cooperative news agency, the oldest and largest in the U.S. and long the largest in the world. , Simpson questioned the system that allowed both celebrity defendants to be found liable for murder after being acquitted in criminal court. ``I still don't get how anyone can be found not guilty of a murder and then be found responsible for it in any way, shape or form,'' Simpson said in a phone interview from his Florida home. ``... I'd love to hear how that's not double jeopardy double jeopardy: see jeopardy. double jeopardy In law, the prosecution of a person for an offense for which he or she already has been prosecuted. In U.S. .'' Burbank residents were mixed in their reactions to the $30 million judgment. ``Wow,'' said Sandra Marlene, 53. ``I don't think he should have to pay a penny. He was found innocent.'' Kevin Miller For other persons of the same name, see Kevin Miller (disambiguation). Kevin Miller (born 1968) is a conservative American talk radio host and political pundit who has been featured on many national news programs, including The Today Show, Leeza Gibbons, CNN, and MSNBC. , 40, of Burbank, agreed. ``When you're acquitted for something, I have a problem with someone being tried twice for the same thing.'' But Peggy Duncan said she wholeheartedly whole·heart·ed adj. Marked by unconditional commitment, unstinting devotion, or unreserved enthusiasm: wholehearted approval. whole agreed with the judgment against Blake. ``Good,'' she said. ``I was waiting for this. I think he killed her and should pay for it.'' Dana Bartholomew, (818) 713-3730 dana.bartholomew(at)dailynews.com PARALLEL LIVES O.J. Simpson - Acquitted in Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. County Superior Court in 1995 of murdering his ex-wife Nicole and her friend Ronald Goldman Ronald Lyle Goldman (July 2, 1968 – June 12, 1994) was murdered in Los Angeles, California in 1994 at the age of 25 along with his friend Nicole Brown Simpson, the ex-wife of American football player O.J. Simpson. a year earlier. Civil trial - Jury holds him responsible in 1997 for the slayings, orders him to pay $33.5 million in damages. Payment to victims - None, but some items were auctioned. Robert Blake Criminal trial - Acquitted in March 2005 in Los Angeles County Superior Court of murdering his wife Bonny Lee Bakley four years ago. Civil trial - Jury holds him responsible Friday for the slaying, orders him to pay $30 million in damages. Payment to victims - Likely to be nothing; he says he's broke. CHRONOLOGY A chronology of the Robert Blake case: June 2, 2000: Robert Blake's daughter, Rosie, is born to Bonny Lee Bakley. Nov. 19, 2000: Blake marries Bakley. May 4, 2001: Bakley, 44, is shot to death as she sits in a car outside Vitello's Italian restaurant in Studio City, where she and Blake had just finished dinner. April 18, 2002: Blake is arrested. April 22, 2002: Blake pleads not guilty to one count of murder and two counts of solicitation of murder. April 29, 2002: A wrongful-death lawsuit against Blake is filed on behalf of Bakley's four children. Blake's former handyman Earle Caldwell is also named as a defendant. July 25, 2002: Blake's grown daughter, Delinah Blake, wins custody of Rosie. Feb. 17, 2003: Blake gives a jailhouse interview with Barbara Walters Barbara Jill Walters[1] (born September 25, 1929[2]) is an American journalist, writer and media personality who has been a regular fixture on morning television shows (Today and The View), an evening news magazine (20/20 in which he calls Bakley's family ``monsters'' but says he would not have wanted to kill his wife. March 14, 2003: Blake posts $1.5 million bail and is released from jail and put under house arrest. Dec. 20, 2004: Opening statements begin in Blake's criminal trial. March 4, 2005: Jurors begin deliberations. March 16: Jurors acquit To set free, release or discharge as from an obligation, burden or accusation. To absolve one from an obligation or a liability; or to legally certify the innocence of one charged with a crime. acquit v. Blake of first-degree murder and one count of solicitation of murder and report they are deadlocked dead·lock n. 1. A standstill resulting from the opposition of two unrelenting forces or factions. 2. Sports A tied score. 3. on the second solicitation charge. The judge dismisses that count after jurors tell her they are split 11-1 in favor of acquittal The legal and formal certification of the innocence of a person who has been charged with a crime. Acquittals in fact take place when a jury finds a verdict of not guilty. . Sept. 1: Opening statements begin in Blake's civil trial. Oct. 25: Marlon Brando's son, Christian Brando Christian Brando (born 11 May, 1958 in Los Angeles, California, U.S.) is the eldest of the offspring of the late actor Marlon Brando. He was convicted of the voluntary manslaughter of his half-sister Cheyenne's boyfriend on 16 May 1990 at Marlon Brando's residence on Mulholland , is called to testify for the first time about his involvement with Bakley, but he invokes the Fifth Amendment. Nov. 3: Closing arguments end. Nov. 4: Jurors begin deliberations. Nov. 18: Jurors, by a 10-2 vote, find Blake ``intentionally caused the death'' of Bakley. He is ordered to pay Bakley's children $30 million in damages. Jurors also vote against implicating im·pli·cate tr.v. im·pli·cat·ed, im·pli·cat·ing, im·pli·cates 1. To involve or connect intimately or incriminatingly: evidence that implicates others in the plot. 2. Caldwell. - Associated Press CAPTION(S): 2 photos, 2 boxes Photo: (1 -- color) Actor Robert Blake waits for the jury's verdict outside Burbank Courthouse on Friday. Nick Ut/Associated Press (2) BAKLEY Box: (1) PARALLEL LIVES (see text) (2) CHRONOLOGY (see text) |
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