Robert Blake Case Vs Watergate

May 4, 2001 Bonny Lee Bakley, wife of actor Robert Blake, was found dead in her car behind a Studio City restaurant after being shot twice.

Robert Blake and Bonny Lee Bakley were married only six months before her shooting and 11 months after the birth of their first child, Rose Bakley. Bonny Lee Bakely had the reputation for scamming men, especially those who were considered to be “well to do,” in order to obtain fame and prestige. It is known that her aspiration was to become the wife of a movie star. Robert Blake was part of this obsession. It is documented that the two met at a Los Angeles jazz club where they engaged in sexual activity that same night in Mr. Blake’s car. Bonny Lee then became pregnant with Mr. Blake’s child, compelling Mr. Blake to marriage in order to have guardian rights to the child.

When the case first broke in the late edition of the New York Times, Sunday, May 6th 2001, there were considered to be no known suspects. As later evidence surfaced, Robert Blake was arrested for the murder of his wife, his motive was said to be “contempt,” and was quoted speaking ill about his new wife. Robert Blake is denied bail repeatedly between the months of May 2002 to March 2003, under allegations that the murder had been preconceived. Finally on the 14th of March, headlines state that Robert Blake is released on bail after being held in jail for one year. December 2nd 2004, almost three years after the initial shooting, the jury was seated for the case to begin that following Monday. All evidence pointed to Robert Blake as being guilty of manslaughter, except for the fact that all the evidence came from untrustworthy sources, ultimately saving Robert Blake from a life doomed to prison.

In the Robert Blake case, journalists practiced the art of incremental reporting by un-weaving the tangled ends that surrounded this scandal quickly, while also remaining thorough and accurate in their reporting and representation of the case. The New York Times, among others, was given this case bit by bit and was responsible for the form this story took in the eyes of their readers.

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