LOS ANGELES, April 30 (UPI) -- Four children of Bonny Lee Bakley have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Robert Blake, accusing the Emmy-winning actor of shooting his wife to death.
Blake, who pleaded not guilty to charges of murder, solicitation and conspiracy, faces a court hearing Wednesday to set a date for a preliminary hearing and take up the question of bail. Blake's chauffeur-bodyguard, Earle Caldwell, pleaded not guilty to conspiracy and was released on $1 million bail posted by Blake last week.
Caldwell was also named in the suit, which was filed on Monday by the administrator of Bakley's estate on behalf of Rose Lenore Sophie Blake, Blake's nearly 2-year-old daughter by Bakley, an 8-year-old daughter named Jeri Lee Lewis and two grown children, Glenn Paul Gawron, 22, and Holly Lee Gawron, 21.
The lawsuit, which seeks unspecified general and punitive damages, was filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court in Burbank five days before the first anniversary of Bakley's death.
Blake, 68, was arrested April 18. He is being held without bail at the Men's Central Jail in downtown Los Angeles.
Attorney Barry Novack filed the suit for Blanchard E. Tual, the court-appointed administrator of Bakley's estate in Shelby County, Tenn., Novack told the Los Angeles Times he would ask a judge to delay civil proceedings until the criminal case is resolved.
"We don't want to do anything to impede or impair the criminal action," said Novack.
If Blake is convicted of any of the felony charges, Bakley's heirs could seek punitive damages. Novack said that would make it easier to prove civil liability and could greatly increase the amount of a civil judgment.
Bakley was killed May 4, 2001, while she sat in Blake's car near Vitello's restaurant, where the couple had just eaten. Blake told investigators he had gone back inside the restaurant to retrieve his gun, which he said he had left in their booth, and when he came back to car, Bakley was shot.
The civil lawsuit alleges that Bakley's children were deprived of their mother's love, companionship, guidance, protection and inheritance. Novack said Bakley was still helping to support her grown children in Tennessee when she was killed.
Blake's criminal defense attorney, Harland Braun, said the suit came as no surprise, but will prove unsuccessful.
"The fact is that he didn't kill her," he told the Times. "At this point, there isn't anything linking him to the gun, nothing on his clothing that would link him to the shooting and there's no witnesses to the shooting."
Rose Blake is being cared for by Blake's oldest daughter, Delinah, 35. She was granted temporary guardianship after Robert Blake's arrest and is seeking permanent guardianship. The Bakley family has said it will not contest Delinah Blake's petition.
According to various published reports in Los Angeles, police investigators found gunshot residue on both of Bonny Lee Bakley's hands, suggesting that she may have defended herself when she was shot.
Investigators also found gunshot residue on Robert Blake's hands and clothing, but a report by the Los Angeles county coroner said it was impossible to determine whether the residue came from the murder weapon.
"If Mr. Blake is in the environment of firearms, i.e., handles firearms on a regular basis, then these results could be the result of that contact," the coroner's report said.
