Blake
wanted me dead: Ex
BY
MICHELLE CARUSO
DAILY NEWS WEST COAST BUREAU CHIEF
LOS
ANGELES - Long before he was accused of killing second wife Bonny Lee Bakley,
"Baretta" star Robert Blake set up a "contract" hit on his ex-wife and the actor
she was dating, according to her shocking new testimony.
Sondra
Kerr-Blake said friends later told her of Blake's foiled plan to have her and
Steve Railsback, best known for his role as Charles Manson in the TV flick
"Helter Skelter," whacked in the late '70s, according to her deposition obtained
by the Daily News.
"I found out from several different people ...
that he had put a 'contract' out on me and the other man I was seeing at that
time," Kerr-Blake, an actress, testified at a recent fact-finding session in the
Bakley family's wrongful-death suit against the 71-year-old
actor.
Last March, a jury found Blake not guilty of charges he
murdered Bakley, 44, and tried to hire aging movie stuntmen to kill her so he
could have custody of their daughter, Rosie.
In the civil trial
scheduled to begin Aug. 29, attorney Eric Dubin, who represents Bakley's kids,
said he'll turn the tables when he gets Blake on the witness
stand.
"It will be a showdown. If the detectives and the DA had
the same opportunity I have, Robert Blake would be in prison today," Dubin said.
Blake did not testify at his criminal trial, but in the civil
case, he has no choice.
Blake's lawyer, Peter Ezzell, could not
be reached for comment.
Dubin said he also will call powerful new
witnesses, like Blake's ex-wife, to expose the "In Cold Blood" star's alleged
history of violence and murderous plots.
In a story stranger
than a Hollywood screenplay, Kerr-Blake, who played a prison inmate in "Helter
Skelter," alleged that Blake planned to have her and Railsback killed at a card
game in the same house where Manson's followers had murdered actress Sharon
Tate.
The slaying was supposed to look like "retribution" for
their participation in the 1976 film, she testified, but the couple skipped the
card game and inadvertently foiled the plot.
Blake even asked a
famous movie-star pal to hurt Railsback, Kerr-Blake
testified.
She said actor Burt Young, who played Sylvester
Stallone's grouchy brother-in-law Paulie in the blockbuster "Rocky" films, told
her that Blake had asked him to "beat up" or "do in" Railsback around the same
time as the failed hit.
Young "said he refused and told Robert to
get somebody else or why didn't he just go have a talk with Steve," Kerr-Blake
testified.
Ironically, Railsback is set to portray Blake in an
upcoming movie about Bakley's life.
Kerr-Blake, who was married
to Blake for about 20 years and is the mother of his two adult kids, Noah and
Delinah, also alleged she was verbally and physically abused by
him.
According to the deposition, she also said Blake, who
reportedly suffered an abusive childhood, once told her, "I always thought it
was my father who I was like, but it turns out it was my mother ... she's a
killer. She's a killer just like me."
Originally published on
August 3, 2005
Testimony: Robert Blake allegedly wanted first wife
killed
Posted on Thu, Aug. 04, 2005
JEREMIAH MARQUEZ
Associated Press
LOS ANGELES - More than two decades before he was accused of slaying his second wife, Robert Blake sought to have his first wife killed and to make it look like mass murderer Charles Manson's followers were responsible, according to a deposition made in a lawsuit brought against the actor.
Blake allegedly took out a "contract" on his estranged wife Sondra Kerr Blake and her boyfriend after she and Blake separated in the 1970s, Kerr Blake testified in the deposition.
"He had put a contract out on me and the other man that I was seeing at the time," a transcript of Kerr Blake's testimony quoted her as saying. "He set up to kill me and him."
Blake's attorney, Peter Ezzell, did not immediately return a message left Wednesday.
Kerr Blake's deposition, given last May in a Los Angeles law office and obtained Wednesday by The Associated Press, is part of a wrongful-death lawsuit brought against Blake by four children of his second wife, Bonny Lee Bakley.
The 71-year-old "Baretta" star was acquitted March 16 of charges of murder and solicitation of murder in the May 2001 slaying of Bakley, who was shot to death as she sat in a car.
Kerr Blake was married to Blake for more than 20 years and has two children with him. Although she testified in his criminal case, allegations of the plot against her never came up.
She claimed in the civil case that she was told Blake wanted her and her then-boyfriend, actor Steve Railsback, killed in the Beverly Hills mansion where Manson's followers had killed actress Sharon Tate and four others in 1969.
At the time, Kerr Blake and Railsback were filming the 1976 television movie "Helter Skelter" about Manson and his band of killers.
By having her and Railsback killed at the estate, Blake hoped to make their deaths look like retribution for making the film, Kerr Blake testified. She played an inmate in the movie and Railsback starred as Manson.
Kerr Blake claimed she was told of Blake's plans by director Bernard Kowalski and his wife, Helen, and by a friend of Blake's manager at the time. She said she never asked them how they learned of the plot.
She also said Blake once approached character actor Burt Young to "do in" or "beat up" Railsback. Young often plays tough guys in films, including Sylvester Stallone's sidekick Paulie in the "Rocky" movies.
Kerr Blake also accused Blake of physically abusing her and said she immediately thought the actor was responsible when she heard Bakley had been killed. Nothing has occurred since then to change her mind, she said.
Blake, she added, had used the word "contract" in the past when talking about people he disliked. She said he once drove her to the house of a man who had allegedly harmed him and said he had "put a contract" on him.
"And I just have to make a phone call and he will be taken care of right now," she said Blake told her.
Posted on Thu, Aug. 04, 2005
JEREMIAH MARQUEZ
Associated Press
LOS ANGELES - More than two decades before he was accused of slaying his second wife, Robert Blake sought to have his first wife killed and to make it look like mass murderer Charles Manson's followers were responsible, according to a deposition made in a lawsuit brought against the actor.
Blake allegedly took out a "contract" on his estranged wife Sondra Kerr Blake and her boyfriend after she and Blake separated in the 1970s, Kerr Blake testified in the deposition.
"He had put a contract out on me and the other man that I was seeing at the time," a transcript of Kerr Blake's testimony quoted her as saying. "He set up to kill me and him."
Blake's attorney, Peter Ezzell, did not immediately return a message left Wednesday.
Kerr Blake's deposition, given last May in a Los Angeles law office and obtained Wednesday by The Associated Press, is part of a wrongful-death lawsuit brought against Blake by four children of his second wife, Bonny Lee Bakley.
The 71-year-old "Baretta" star was acquitted March 16 of charges of murder and solicitation of murder in the May 2001 slaying of Bakley, who was shot to death as she sat in a car.
Kerr Blake was married to Blake for more than 20 years and has two children with him. Although she testified in his criminal case, allegations of the plot against her never came up.
She claimed in the civil case that she was told Blake wanted her and her then-boyfriend, actor Steve Railsback, killed in the Beverly Hills mansion where Manson's followers had killed actress Sharon Tate and four others in 1969.
At the time, Kerr Blake and Railsback were filming the 1976 television movie "Helter Skelter" about Manson and his band of killers.
By having her and Railsback killed at the estate, Blake hoped to make their deaths look like retribution for making the film, Kerr Blake testified. She played an inmate in the movie and Railsback starred as Manson.
Kerr Blake claimed she was told of Blake's plans by director Bernard Kowalski and his wife, Helen, and by a friend of Blake's manager at the time. She said she never asked them how they learned of the plot.
She also said Blake once approached character actor Burt Young to "do in" or "beat up" Railsback. Young often plays tough guys in films, including Sylvester Stallone's sidekick Paulie in the "Rocky" movies.
Kerr Blake also accused Blake of physically abusing her and said she immediately thought the actor was responsible when she heard Bakley had been killed. Nothing has occurred since then to change her mind, she said.
Blake, she added, had used the word "contract" in the past when talking about people he disliked. She said he once drove her to the house of a man who had allegedly harmed him and said he had "put a contract" on him.
"And I just have to make a phone call and he will be taken care of right now," she said Blake told her.
Judge to admit Bakley's sordid past as
evidence
Article Launched: 08/25/2005 12:00:00 AM
Bonny Lee Bakley's sordid past can be detailed during the trial of a wrongful death lawsuit brought by her family against actor Robert Blake, a judge ruled Wednesday.
The move was a victory for Blake's attorneys, who want to show others had motives to kill Bakley.
In making the ruling, Superior Court Judge David Schacter rejected a request by Bakley family attorney Eric Dubin to bar information about her past, including her practice of selling nude photos of herself.
"This evidence is directly relevant to determine the issue of damages and to Blake's defense," the judge wrote.
Jury selection in the civil case is set to begin Monday. The trial is expected to last at least four weeks.
The lawsuit was filed in 2002 on behalf of Bakley's four children. Blake's former handyman, Earl Caldwell, is also named as a defendant.
Blake, 72, was acquitted in March of charges of murder and solicitation of murder in the 2001 shooting death of Bakley outside a restaurant.
Blake appeared upbeat before Wednesday's hearing.
"Last I checked, I'm doing good," he told The Associated Press. "I'm always in harm's way, and God is always on my shoulder."
During his criminal trial, both sides portrayed Bakley as a con woman who trapped Blake into marrying her by becoming pregnant. Prosecutors conceded Bakley sold nude photos of herself through the mail to lonely men.
On Wednesday, Schacter dealt a blow to Blake's defense by tentatively allowing recordings of conversations Bakley had with friends and relatives. The tapes, which were excluded from Blake's murder trial, allegedly show Bakley was afraid of the actor.
Schacter said he would make a final ruling on the relevance of the tapes after hearing them.
The judge excluded testimony from Blake's first wife, Sondra Kerr, about alleged threats the actor made to her during their 22-year marriage. The testimony was called irrelevant because the couple separated several decades ago.
Schacter declined to exclude jailhouse recordings of Blake talking to visitors, as well as a conversation between Blake and his criminal lawyer during a police interview on the night Bakley was killed. The judge said Blake should have known he was being recorded.
Dubin said the recordings show Blake was working on a criminal defense immediately after Bakley's death, even though he was not charged until a year later.
Blake's attorney Peter Ezzell argued unsuccessfully that the tapes were unduly prejudicial.
"All of his desires to assist in the criminal case are absolutely irrelevant," Ezzell told the judge.
Article Launched: 08/25/2005 12:00:00 AM
Bonny Lee Bakley's sordid past can be detailed during the trial of a wrongful death lawsuit brought by her family against actor Robert Blake, a judge ruled Wednesday.
The move was a victory for Blake's attorneys, who want to show others had motives to kill Bakley.
In making the ruling, Superior Court Judge David Schacter rejected a request by Bakley family attorney Eric Dubin to bar information about her past, including her practice of selling nude photos of herself.
"This evidence is directly relevant to determine the issue of damages and to Blake's defense," the judge wrote.
Jury selection in the civil case is set to begin Monday. The trial is expected to last at least four weeks.
The lawsuit was filed in 2002 on behalf of Bakley's four children. Blake's former handyman, Earl Caldwell, is also named as a defendant.
Blake, 72, was acquitted in March of charges of murder and solicitation of murder in the 2001 shooting death of Bakley outside a restaurant.
Blake appeared upbeat before Wednesday's hearing.
"Last I checked, I'm doing good," he told The Associated Press. "I'm always in harm's way, and God is always on my shoulder."
During his criminal trial, both sides portrayed Bakley as a con woman who trapped Blake into marrying her by becoming pregnant. Prosecutors conceded Bakley sold nude photos of herself through the mail to lonely men.
On Wednesday, Schacter dealt a blow to Blake's defense by tentatively allowing recordings of conversations Bakley had with friends and relatives. The tapes, which were excluded from Blake's murder trial, allegedly show Bakley was afraid of the actor.
Schacter said he would make a final ruling on the relevance of the tapes after hearing them.
The judge excluded testimony from Blake's first wife, Sondra Kerr, about alleged threats the actor made to her during their 22-year marriage. The testimony was called irrelevant because the couple separated several decades ago.
Schacter declined to exclude jailhouse recordings of Blake talking to visitors, as well as a conversation between Blake and his criminal lawyer during a police interview on the night Bakley was killed. The judge said Blake should have known he was being recorded.
Dubin said the recordings show Blake was working on a criminal defense immediately after Bakley's death, even though he was not charged until a year later.
Blake's attorney Peter Ezzell argued unsuccessfully that the tapes were unduly prejudicial.
"All of his desires to assist in the criminal case are absolutely irrelevant," Ezzell told the judge.
Robert Blake's Wrongful Death Trial To Begin
Monday
Judge Sets Parameters For Evidence
POSTED: 4:37 pm PDT August 24, 2005
UPDATED: 4:58 pm PDT August 24, 2005
BURBANK, Calif. -- A Burbank judge set parameters Wednesday for what evidence attorneys can use in Robert Blake's wrongful death trial, set to begin Monday.
A Van Nuys jury acquitted Blake on March 16 of murdering Bonny Lee Bakley, his wife of six months, near a Studio City restaurant on May 4, 2001. The civil suit brought by her children had been on hold during the criminal case.
In a series of motions brought prior to trial to determine what evidence will be allowed and excluded, both sides gained victories and suffered losses. The judge granted, in part, a motion by Blake's attorney, Peter Ezzell, to exclude evidence related to Blake's relationship with ex-wife Sondra Kerr.
The actors wed in 1961 and divorced in 1983. They have two adult children -- Noah, an actor and singer, and Delinah, who is raising Josie, Blake's 5-year-old daughter with Bakley.
Kerr stated in a deposition taken in May that Blake tried to have her killed after the couple separated.
Eric Dubin, who represents Bakley's heirs, has argued that Kerr's testimony shows a modus operandi by Blake of threatening lovers, particularly when it comes to custody matters.
But Superior Court Judge David Schacter didn't agree, finding the marriage ended too long ago to be relevant to the case.
"The evidence from the prior marriage is inadmissible character evidence and is not relevant to show motive, opportunity, intent, preparation, plan, knowledge, identity, absence of mistake or accident in the case because it occurred before Blake was acquainted with the decedent," Schacter wrote.
The judge also dismissed Dubin's modus operandi argument, writing that "the testimony does not contain any facts showing Blake using procedures similar to the procedures used by the murderer of the decedent."
But Schacter said he would allow evidence on "relevant conversations" Kerr had with Blake after their marriage.
In a victory for the plaintiffs, the judge denied Ezzell's motion for exclusion of recorded statements made by Bakley that indicate she feared the former "Baretta" star.
Schacter said the statements "are necessary to show the decedent's state of mind when she was making the recordings."
The judge also denied a motion by Ezzell requesting that recordings of Blake talking at the jailhouse and other recordings allegedly made by the actor be excluded.
Dubin had requested that evidence relating to Bakley's business practices, which included a mail-order scam to solicit money from lonely men, be excluded, but Schacter refused.
"This evidence is directly relevant to determine the issue of damages and to Blake's defense," the judge wrote.
The trial will not be recorded, photographed or broadcast by media outlets -- a request by Blake that the judge honored.
Blake attended Wednesday's hearing, as did Earle Caldwell, Blake's former bodyguard and a co-defendant in the case.
Caldwell has said he was in Northern California at the time of Bakley's murder and hopes to be dismissed from the case at the start of the trial. A judge dismissed him as a co-defendant in the criminal case.
Attorneys for Blake and Bakley's children said they were anxious to get started with the trial.
"I think it's easy to say that I'm ready for this trial," Dubin said. "We've been ready for three years, and we're excited and I feel great about my case. I feel great about the rulings today and we're ready to go."
Dubin, who has more than 100 names on his witness list, has estimated the trial will take four to six weeks. Ezzell contends the trial should not take more than three weeks to complete.
Judge Sets Parameters For Evidence
POSTED: 4:37 pm PDT August 24, 2005
UPDATED: 4:58 pm PDT August 24, 2005
BURBANK, Calif. -- A Burbank judge set parameters Wednesday for what evidence attorneys can use in Robert Blake's wrongful death trial, set to begin Monday.
A Van Nuys jury acquitted Blake on March 16 of murdering Bonny Lee Bakley, his wife of six months, near a Studio City restaurant on May 4, 2001. The civil suit brought by her children had been on hold during the criminal case.
In a series of motions brought prior to trial to determine what evidence will be allowed and excluded, both sides gained victories and suffered losses. The judge granted, in part, a motion by Blake's attorney, Peter Ezzell, to exclude evidence related to Blake's relationship with ex-wife Sondra Kerr.
The actors wed in 1961 and divorced in 1983. They have two adult children -- Noah, an actor and singer, and Delinah, who is raising Josie, Blake's 5-year-old daughter with Bakley.
Kerr stated in a deposition taken in May that Blake tried to have her killed after the couple separated.
Eric Dubin, who represents Bakley's heirs, has argued that Kerr's testimony shows a modus operandi by Blake of threatening lovers, particularly when it comes to custody matters.
But Superior Court Judge David Schacter didn't agree, finding the marriage ended too long ago to be relevant to the case.
"The evidence from the prior marriage is inadmissible character evidence and is not relevant to show motive, opportunity, intent, preparation, plan, knowledge, identity, absence of mistake or accident in the case because it occurred before Blake was acquainted with the decedent," Schacter wrote.
The judge also dismissed Dubin's modus operandi argument, writing that "the testimony does not contain any facts showing Blake using procedures similar to the procedures used by the murderer of the decedent."
But Schacter said he would allow evidence on "relevant conversations" Kerr had with Blake after their marriage.
In a victory for the plaintiffs, the judge denied Ezzell's motion for exclusion of recorded statements made by Bakley that indicate she feared the former "Baretta" star.
Schacter said the statements "are necessary to show the decedent's state of mind when she was making the recordings."
The judge also denied a motion by Ezzell requesting that recordings of Blake talking at the jailhouse and other recordings allegedly made by the actor be excluded.
Dubin had requested that evidence relating to Bakley's business practices, which included a mail-order scam to solicit money from lonely men, be excluded, but Schacter refused.
"This evidence is directly relevant to determine the issue of damages and to Blake's defense," the judge wrote.
The trial will not be recorded, photographed or broadcast by media outlets -- a request by Blake that the judge honored.
Blake attended Wednesday's hearing, as did Earle Caldwell, Blake's former bodyguard and a co-defendant in the case.
Caldwell has said he was in Northern California at the time of Bakley's murder and hopes to be dismissed from the case at the start of the trial. A judge dismissed him as a co-defendant in the criminal case.
Attorneys for Blake and Bakley's children said they were anxious to get started with the trial.
"I think it's easy to say that I'm ready for this trial," Dubin said. "We've been ready for three years, and we're excited and I feel great about my case. I feel great about the rulings today and we're ready to go."
Dubin, who has more than 100 names on his witness list, has estimated the trial will take four to six weeks. Ezzell contends the trial should not take more than three weeks to complete.
I really find civil trials difficult to
understand. Either the person bringing suit is willing to feel "whole" if they
get paid (like Kobe Bryant situation..or Russell Crowe's phone toss) or they
hope to somehow feel better by saying "See, see, see...so and so IS the bad guy
afterall dispite the verdict in the criminal system" Like the Simpson case, no
one will be getting any real monetary reward here and even if a civil trial
finds fault...if the criminal trial did not..you will be no more "whole" than
you were in the first place. Everyone who thought OJ or Robert Blake were
murderers will still think so and if they thought them innocent, no civil trial
with reams of inadmissable evidence to find criminal liability won't convince
them. It just seems like another long drawn out trail of tears with only
attornies profiting in the long run. JMHO!
For those who don't know, I attended about 90% of
the criminal trial.
I will be attending as much of this trial as my time allows, up until the Spector trial starts. Jury selection begins on Monday, and if the alarm clock doesn't fail me, I'll be at the Burbank courthouse early to observe the first few days of jury selection.
I will be attending as much of this trial as my time allows, up until the Spector trial starts. Jury selection begins on Monday, and if the alarm clock doesn't fail me, I'll be at the Burbank courthouse early to observe the first few days of jury selection.
Sprocket, how cool is that?! I'm envious! Make
sure to bring us daily reports! Lol
Peggy, I'm really curious about how the attorneys charge on a case like this... My first guess is that Bonny's family's attorney would be handling it on a contingent fee basis but Blake would have to actually pay his defense attorney. I can't think of any insurance he might have that would pay for his attorney.
QUOTE
It just seems like another long
drawn out trail of tears with only attornies profiting in the long run.
Peggy, I'm really curious about how the attorneys charge on a case like this... My first guess is that Bonny's family's attorney would be handling it on a contingent fee basis but Blake would have to actually pay his defense attorney. I can't think of any insurance he might have that would pay for his attorney.
Sprocket...I am tickled to death you will be
attending but I am really anxious to hear anything you might be able to share
with us about Spector. Now that is a case I really DO care about, from every
standpoint. Lana Clarkson sure didn't deserve to wind up deceased (however she
got that way) on a first date, for heaven's sake. Not that anyone "deserves" to
die an unfortunate death but unlike the ladies who married OJ and Robert
Blake..it's not like she got a thousand warning signs that she was keeping long
term company with a scarey man.
I sat next to Eric Dubin during most of the
criminal trial. He was always very nice and answered any questions I had. I also
got to meet several print and radio reporters who were always very professional
and helpful, when I missed some information.
I took notes every day I was there, but I really didn't have time to write them all up. I have about 8 notebooks of stuff....who knows, maybe one day when I have time and no one is interested, I'll get them up on the web.
I will try to write up what notes I do take at Blake, but I will NOT have as much time to be at the trial like I did at the criminal trial. I'm entering my "busy" sewing time from September on.
I am really looking forward to Spector, too. Spector will be a bit harder to get to. It will be in downtown LA, most likely on the 9th floor. That requires TWO security checkpoints. I'll most likely get a monthly pass, and take the train; downtown parking is terrible! I don't even know if I will be able to use my laptop there. I may have to take hand notes, again. Grrrr!
Dominick Dunne (I'm a big fan.) will be covering that trial for his monthly diary in Vanity Fair. During the Blake trial, I got him to autograph one of his books for me. I hope to get another one autographed again. It's also possible that Lisa Sweetingham from CTV will be assigned to the Spector trial. I met Lisa at the Blake trial, and she still keeps in touch. I'm guessing many of the reporters who covered the criminal trial will be assigned to the civil trial, too.
I haven't been following all the rulings, so I don't know what the judge has decided about cameras in the courtroom for this trial.
I took notes every day I was there, but I really didn't have time to write them all up. I have about 8 notebooks of stuff....who knows, maybe one day when I have time and no one is interested, I'll get them up on the web.
I will try to write up what notes I do take at Blake, but I will NOT have as much time to be at the trial like I did at the criminal trial. I'm entering my "busy" sewing time from September on.
I am really looking forward to Spector, too. Spector will be a bit harder to get to. It will be in downtown LA, most likely on the 9th floor. That requires TWO security checkpoints. I'll most likely get a monthly pass, and take the train; downtown parking is terrible! I don't even know if I will be able to use my laptop there. I may have to take hand notes, again. Grrrr!
Dominick Dunne (I'm a big fan.) will be covering that trial for his monthly diary in Vanity Fair. During the Blake trial, I got him to autograph one of his books for me. I hope to get another one autographed again. It's also possible that Lisa Sweetingham from CTV will be assigned to the Spector trial. I met Lisa at the Blake trial, and she still keeps in touch. I'm guessing many of the reporters who covered the criminal trial will be assigned to the civil trial, too.
I haven't been following all the rulings, so I don't know what the judge has decided about cameras in the courtroom for this trial.
QUOTE
Sprocket, how cool is that?! I'm
envious! Make sure to bring us daily reports! Lol
Ditto!
Little
Sprocket, LOVED your first day of notes! You made
me feel as if I was there with ya! I am also happy that you'll be attending the
Spector trial. That should be a real circus!
Thank you! I may drop by court today for a few
hours today, if my time permits. And, trial is expected to last four weeks,
instead of four MONTHS.
I heard from reporters/media at the Blake trial that Spector is not expected to start until probably January of next year.
!
I will try to write up my reports in a timely manner this time, instead of waiting weeks...
I heard from reporters/media at the Blake trial that Spector is not expected to start until probably January of next year.
!I will try to write up my reports in a timely manner this time, instead of waiting weeks...
Well, if Spector is in January, it will give you
time to get through the busy holiday season. Lol
What do you think if we dedicate one thread to your trial notes?
What do you think if we dedicate one thread to your trial notes?