Bonny Lee Bakley (Robert Blake)
Actor Robert Blake's wife Bonny Lee Bakley was shot dead outside a restaurant. Blake was acquitted of murder but found liable in a civil trial. The case officially remains unsolved.
On May 4, 2001, Bonny Lee Bakley was shot and killed while sitting in a car outside Vitello's restaurant in Studio City, Los Angeles. Her husband, actor Robert Blake, said he had returned to the restaurant to retrieve a gun he'd left behind.
Blake was arrested and charged with murder. His trial drew comparisons to the O.J. Simpson case—another celebrity accused of killing a spouse.
Blake was acquitted of murder in 2005 but found liable for Bakley's death in a civil suit and ordered to pay $15 million. He was unable to pay.
Blake died on March 9, 2023 at age 89. The murder of Bonny Lee Bakley officially remains unsolved.
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