Jurors Begin Deliberations in Blake Murder Case

Jurors began deliberating Friday whether to end Robert Blake’s “nightmare” as his lawyer asked, or to convict him of murdering his wife.

Seven men and five women began sorting through testimony from more than 100 witnesses and dozens of exhibits, from phone records to restaurant receipts, introduced since Dec. 20, when Blake’s trial began in a Van Nuys courtroom.

The prosecution argued that the 71-year-old actor was driven by hatred of Bonny Lee Bakley and an obsession to keep her away from their infant daughter when he asked two Hollywood stuntmen to kill her.

Prosecutors alleged that when they refused, Blake fatally shot Bakley, 44, on May 4, 2001, near Vitello’s restaurant in Studio City where she and Blake had eaten dinner.

Blake faces life in prison if convicted of fatally shooting Bakley, or nine years if convicted of soliciting murder.

The Emmy-award winning actor told police that he had returned to Vitello’s to retrieve a handgun he carried for Bakley’s protection.

Jurors heard the last of closing arguments from defense attorney M. Gerald Schwartzbach, who has argued that police moved too quickly against Blake the night of the slaying and that the stuntmen, the prosecution’s two key witnesses, were so drug addled, their testimony that Blake asked them to kill for him is unreliable.

“If you do justice, you will end this nightmare for Mr. Blake,” said Schwartzbach, emotion welling in his voice. “And you will give him back his life.”

Los Angeles County Deputy Dist. Atty. Shellie L. Samuels urged jurors to use common sense and consider all of the evidence pointing to Blake’s guilt.

She said police were correct to focus on Blake, as witnesses testified about his odd behavior at the crime scene, including his failure to aid or comfort his dying wife.