Robert Blake

[foxfair]

At the same time, just to play the devil's advocate, does the defence really have that sort of obligation?

Yeah, that's my stance/belief, anyway. The defense doesn't just have the right to defend their client in *any* way permitted by law (and currently, past history is generally permitted) - they have the obligation to do so. And this includes people like Scott Peterson who, as I said, I think is at least a sleazy scumbag and at most (and most likely) a wife murdering sociopath. The problem I have with 'the system' is that not everyone is afforded such a skilled defense - most of the unjustly convicted are poor. That's where it isn't fair.

Did you see what happened in Iran today? It makes me thank god I live here and get this legal system.

Also, Moldy - Blake was so, so creepy in Lost Highway. I couldn't even look at him when he was onscreen. It creeps me out even thinking of it now. Brrrr.

[thingee]

Moldy said:

Yeah...that bothered me, too. There was this underlying vibe to the whole trial that because of her past, she was an unsympathetic victim, and, you know, so what if she was dead...that sort of thing. I think it's sad - it sort of came off like it was less likely he was guilty b/c she wasn't a nice person.

Exactly. And I won't say I'm not somewhat guilty of this as well; I think everyone is to a degree. Look how emotional people got/get about all things Peterson -- the fact that Laci was pretty and sweet makes her murder a zillion times more heinous than Bonny's in the public's view (yes I know her being pregnant adds a whole new dimension, but still . . . ) My point is that wife abusers/murderers get varying levels of disdain depending on how whorish/not whorish the victim is percieved to be. It may be human nature, but it still makes me sad.

[MrsOldManBalls]

I had a feeling he'd be aquitted simply because the jury was out too long.

[Deleted]

My point is that wife abusers/murderers get varying levels of disdain depending on how whorish/not whorish the victim is percieved to be. It may be human nature, but it still makes me sad.

I agree that's the case in some crimes. And sadly I think race also plays a factor too. But in B.B.'s case it wasn't about her being a whore. It was about her being a grifter. This woman made a living conning people. She had a line of enemies around the block. I don't think you can help feeling a different level of sympathy for someone who spent their life lying, cheating, stealing from innocent people versus someone like Lacy who by all accounts was a genuinely kind and decent person. That's not to say that killing one is okay. Just that when you see how someone's life choices may have created a situation it's harder to feel the same.

[roxpopuli]

My coworkers and I have decided to become famous and move to LA. Because apparently no matter how washed up you are, you can do pretty much anything you want out there.

It's true! Yesterday I went down the street to Venice Beach and kicked a homeless person. Noone even blinked! Well, except the policeman who arrested me. Apparently you can only get away with things out here if you are FAMOUS (Star showed up later and fired the homeless man).

So, did anyone see RB's press conference after the verdict? His poor lawyer looked apoplectic, and begged RB to shut up more than once...

[yonkerschik]

I didnt really follow this trial... but i believed he had something to do with her murder.
As for the NG verdict.... I'm a bit shocked... but i guess so was RB... did ya see his face??? Like OJ, he could'nt believe that he was found NG.

Bottom line is that a woman is dead and a child has no mother.

[yonkerschik]

I believe it's Rose Sofia... they call her Rosie/Rosy.

Her mother actually named her Christian Brando.... no, no, no, not Christina Brando, but Christian..
After the paternity test, RB changed her name.

Poor baby.

[MrsOldManBalls]

Maybe she and Courney Love's kid can start a club.

[Deleted]

MrsOldManBalls said:

I had a feeling he'd be aquitted simply because the jury was out too long.

Yeah, but O.J.'s jury was out, what-2 hours?

[cattywampus]

I followed this case very closely and I think the verdict was just.

At first glance, everyone thinks he did it because of the absurd circumstances of her being shot as he was going back to the restaurant for his gun. But there are a lot of other people who wanted her dead, particularly Christian Brando whom she also tried to convince was the father of that baby she had with Blake. One of the stuntmen Blake supposedly solicited (Duffy Hambleton) was also a close friend of Brando's, and one of Brando's "handlers" overhead a speakerphone conversation wherethey discussed Bakley and agreed she needed someone to put a bullet in her head. Ironically, Brando had killed his sister's boyfriend (Dag Drollett) a few years earlier by shooting him in the cheek. Bakley was killed by a shot to the cheek and the shoulder.

Blake shot his mouth off about how much he hated Bakley, but he had been pursuing legal means to get her arrested and gain custody of the daughter once and for all. He'd contacted former law enforcement officers about the situtation, so he'd be stupid to kill her knowing that they knew. He had no reason to kill her at the time she died because he was making progress in his custody situation. There's a really good chance that she was murdered by someone who knew he could easily set up Blake and pin it on him. Also, Bakley's family is full of grifters, con men, ID thieves. Her brother is someone who would have killed a family member for money. He was quoted as saying he was after the $14 million he'd get in the civil suit once Blake was convicted in the criminal suit. At one time, Bonny's mother asked one of her daughters to get a gun and kill the other daughter. They are definitely the kind who would have killed their own for a price, and they knew Blake hated her. It would have been so easy for them to have done it and pinned it on Blake. Bakley also scammed thousands of men out of money, several she scammed of their entire estates, hundreds of thousands of dollars, and their heirs were never checked out by LAPD.

If anyone really cares, here's a [url=http://courttv.com/trials/blake/docs/thirdparty.pdf[/url] link to a PDF file[/url] of a motion filed by Blake's attorney explaining the Brando/stuntman connection. It's 66 pages long so it's not a light read, but it's really good information about Brando's motivation for her murder and the people who likely were involved in her killing, several of whom are dead now under mysterious circumstances.

Bottom line, even if you don't read it...don't be so convinced he got away with murder. There's a really good chance he didn't do it. They were not able to prove he'd touched the murder weapon, and there was no corroborating evidence that he ever asked those stuntmen to kill her. No wiretaps, nothing, just the words of two meth heads with agendas of their own, and who sold their stories to the tabloids. And one of whom only changed his story to what LAPD wanted to hear after they threatened to put him in front of a grand jury on a gun charge.

Also, the baby's name was Christian Shannon Brando on the birth certificate because the mother was trying to extort Brando and make Blake jealous. The baby's name was changed to Rose after paternity was established. The mother told Blake she was on the pill but actually used fertility drugs to make sure she'd get pregnant by a celebrity--that was her goal.

I would not say "poor baby" because she's in a stable home, Blake's professional married daughter and her husband have adopted her. And Blake is very involved in her life, he loves that little girl. She's far better off than she would have been with Bakley or her family. If you want to feel sorry for someone, feel sorry for Bakley's other three kids, one of whom she named Jeri Lee Lewis when she tried to extort that old R&R singer that this was his child. It turned out not to be.

Believe me, there's much more than meets the eye. If anyone is interested, PM me and I can point you to more info on the case. This is a good overview of the background (link) but it probably isn't updated to include the trial or verdict yet.