Blake’s Lawyer Hands Over Bakley Items

Robert Blake’s lawyer on Thursday gave Los Angeles police trunks, suitcases and boxes brimming with material that once belonged to the actor’s slain wife.

Lawyer Harland W. Braun, who delivered the material to Los Angeles Police Department headquarters, said Bonny Lee Bakley’s belongings, which police failed to take during a search of the actor’s property, show Bakley was tied to in business scams that could have resulted in numerous enemies.

Braun provided the material in response to a letter he received from LAPD Robbery-Homicide Capt. Jim Tatreau on Wednesday asking him for Bakley’s belongings.

Also Thursday, a dispute emerged between Blake and Bakley’s relatives over who will cover expenses for her funeral.

Bakley’s relatives say they can’t afford to pay for a funeral, and have asked Blake for $20,000, but he has not responded, said Cary Goldstein, a lawyer speaking for her family.

“We are appalled,” Goldstein said. “[Bakley’s] body remains unclaimed [from the county coroner] and the family finds it extremely distressing that Mr. Blake has not agreed to pay reasonable funeral expenses.”

The family hopes to return Bakley’s body to her New Jersey hometown for a “dignified” funeral and burial, Goldstein said.

Braun said Bakley’s body has not been claimed because he has been unable to obtain an autopsy report. Depending on the report, a private autopsy might be needed, he said.

“Of course Robert’s going to pay for his wife’s funeral,” Braun said. “He’s just not going to allow them to dictate to him what’s going to be done.”

The delivery of Bakley’s belongings to police came hours after detectives descended on Blake’s Studio City home late Wednesday, searching the actor’s home for a second time. Police would not comment on what they found.

Braun produced four suitcases, three black trunks and several boxes--some closed, others stacked with three-ring binders and videotapes.

Braun said the LAPD’s desire for additional information showed that police were broadening their search.

“This enables them to look at her background,” he said.

Bakley, 44, was fatally shot last Friday night as she sat in a car one block from Vitello’s, a Studio City restaurant where the couple had dined earlier.

Blake’s lawyer said the 67-year-old actor told police he had left his wife briefly to retrieve a gun, which he carried for their protection and had accidentally left at the restaurant. When he returned he found Bakley gasping after suffering a gunshot wound to her head.

Police officials said their investigation is continuing. They have said repeatedly that Blake has been questioned only as a witness.

Still, Braun said his client “has a shadow over his head” despite being innocent.

Blake and Bakley had an unconventional relationship, his lawyer said. The two married only after paternity tests showed that Blake was the father of Bakley’s daughter. The couple lived in separate homes on Blake’s property.

The lawyer said Blake, who worked as a child actor and is best known for his role as a detective in the 1970s television series “Baretta,” is staying with relatives in the San Fernando Valley.

On Wednesday night officers went to Blake’s property, armed with a search warrant, after having gone through his home with a warrant Saturday. They performed a second search and were seen walking away with plastic bags stuffed with material. They also towed Bakley’s blue Mercedes-Benz.

LAPD spokesman Lt. Horace Frank said the search was initiated after an interview investigators conducted Tuesday. Braun, who was at Blake’s home during both searches, said his private investigators reviewed Bakley’s personal belongings. They copied photos and letters they say Bakley sent to lonely men, seeking cash, plane and bus tickets in exchange for nude photos, the lawyer said.

He said they pored over lists made by Bakley, an ex-con recently convicted in Arkansas for identity theft, in which she plotted ways to bilk men for money. And he said they viewed videos made by Bakley in which she spelled out some of her schemes. All of the material, said Braun, was carefully cataloged by Braun’s investigators.

Braun said Blake’s personal assistant and bodyguard was scheduled to be interviewed by police Thursday. Police have declined to comment on any such interview.

Police said they are waiting for the results of a gun residue test performed on Blake after the shooting.

*

Times staff writer Andrew Blankstein contributed to this story.