1. "Robert Blake Preliminary"
Posted by harry on Feb-26th-03 at 12:48 PM

For those interested, the Preliminary hearing for Robt. Blake started this morning on Court TV.  It is expected to last days if not weeks.

He's been incarcerated since April 2002. That's 10 months just for the Preliminary. Probably be another long wait for the trial.  Least Lizzie got her Preliminary the same month as the crimes.

Thanks for the info, Harry!
Are you going to watch it?
Some of us have admitted to not having any decent cable...can you give updates, if you are interested?

What the HELL was he thinking? (Blake)

If you watched the B Walters interview, you'd know the answer (broadcast TV on ABC). He seemed very bitter and sorry for himself, and told of his unhappy past (unwanted child who supports the family as a child actor). There are/were a lot of child actors who came to an unhappy end, like Bobby Driscoll. Remember him?

Those with the experience can comment on the complaints of others arrested for crimes. I read that many will confess under interrogation. About 90% plead guilty (reduced plea?), and the other 10% go to trial; half found not guilty.

Robert Blake was at the scene of the crime, and never left it. The murder weapon was found dumped miles away. Either he had an unknown accomplice, or, somebody from Bonnie's past was out to get her. No GSR on R Blake should say he didn't commit the murder. We shall soon read about the results of Preliminary Hearings. What if he is let go for lack of evidence?

But the Big Picture is that it occurred now. In 2001 his wife was killed. In 2002 he was arrested. In 2003 he's getting a Preliminary Hearing? Did he get a new lawyer last month?
Perhaps the result is his release due to lack of evidence? That's my guess, what's yours?

ALWAYS remember Judge Justin Dewey's comment on eyewitness testimony. It often occurs under circumstances where you can't check to see if the witness is mistaken or lying. Very common they say, for somebody in jail to testify for the police in order to get a reduced sentence.

"Yes, I saw Kate outside the Borden house, and Lizzie gave her something wrapped in a towel. It could have been a hatchet."

(Message last edited Mar-4th-03  6:32 PM.)

I remember it took them a long time to have enough on him to arrest him.  I don't know why it took 10 months to get to this Prelim.  It's sounding pretty bad for him.  Now this is a case where I would put him on the stand.  There's like 3 people he approached to kill his wife??  If they are to be believed.  One looks like he may have made it up to cut his own deal with the police. 

If you go to the Court Tv website, there's probably updates there daily if you don't have cable. 

Yes, I remember Bobby Driscoll - one of Disney's darlings.  "Treasure Island", etc.  OD'd as I recall.  Rusty Hamer, suicide (kid on "Make Room For Daddy").  All the "Different Strokes" kids.  You don't hear anything traumatic about Shirley Temple.  And she worked a ton.  Oh, Patty Duke had a horrible childhood too.  There's a lot of them.  There always did seem to be a sadness in R. Blake's eyes. 

They made a comment on Court TV that preliminary hearings don't last this long usually.  Didn't Lizzie's last five days?  I'll bet that was considered long back then, too.

I really don't care too much about this.
After the murder they found the gun dumped miles away. He could not have done it without an accomplice. But his wife led a wild life (blackmail, extortion, etc.). She sent out naked pictures under one name, then contacted the men under another name and extorted dollars to keep quiet. This could be dangerous.

I thought the same thing about Shirley Temple until I read her autobiography a few years back.  In it she claims her father, who was a banker, wasted her earnings through bad investments.  She was married at 17 to an alcoholic and philanderer.  That marriage didn't last.  I think she had a wonderfully protective mother, though, and that's all she needed.  She seems to be a remarkably normal person.

Leno joked tonight that one stunt man claimed Blake approached him to "Snuff" his wife.
Another said Blake asked him if he would "Whack" Bonnie.
A third claims he needed someone to "Pop"  his wife.

"Doesn't that sound like a morbid cereal?  'Snuff, Whack, & Pop'?"

Wasn't Bobby Driscoll the model for the Disney "Peter Pan" cartoon movie? I think I read that somewhere (good thing for him Michael Jackson wasn't around then) But, yes I also remember reading that he wound up a heroin addict. Very sad.

I'm confused when you say Robert Blake was at the scene of the crime and never left it.
Didn't he leave the *scene* 2 or 3 times?

According to the news, he left his wife in the car to go back to the restaurant to get his revolver. He started to carry one after getting threats, etc. Remember what happened to John Lennon? Playboy carried an article that said he went around Manhattan w/o a bodyguard; an invitation to any crazy.

Remember the story about all the guys who tried to punch Humphrey Bogart (5'7" 150 lbs) to see how tough he was? Do not mistake a movie for reality.

So he did leave the scene and all the questions are smoke?
Didn't he leave again to get help?

One of the guys that was approached by Blake to whack his wife testified that one of the scenarios Blake proposed was the exact one that happened. 

I know - Billy Borden came back and killed Nicole Simpson, Ron Goldman and Blake's wife!  I think he should be stopped before he kills another celebrity spouse.  But no one will listen to us!  We need evidence.  Ah, let's piece together Brown's shredded second book and see what he has to say about these.   

This type of posting only wastes my time (and yours).
DIdn't a guy named "Dave" get bounced for this?

I'm sorry, Rays.    Sometimes I get carried away.  ...  And some day I'm gonna GET carried away.  No malice meant.

So did Blake leave the scene again to get a drink of water or something?
Did he leave 3 times?
It was a *waste of time* to ask me about John Lennon & Humphrey Bogart when I am asking you about Robert Blake leaving the scene?
If I really don't know, which I really do not, just a simple answer will do.
I have asked others but not in any depth.

My posting was for msg # 14.
...
I remember it as he crossing the street to walk back to the restaurant. Only a minute or two gone; not 2-3 miles away.

(Message last edited Mar-10th-03  4:13 PM.)

So how about Phil Spector!!! Very little in today's papers. I wonder which lawyer he hired? The newspapers made it look "open and shut".

"So did Blake leave the scene again to get a drink of water or something? Did he leave 3 times?" My information is that Blake left Bonny in his car, walked back to the restaurant, looked for and/or found a gun he said he left there, and found Bonny dead when he got back to the car.  At this point he went to a neighbor to have them call 911, then he walked back to the restaurant where he asked for water, got it, and left the restaurant with a nurse who happened to be eating dinner there. When he got back to the scene the police were there.

Thanks.  That sounds like two times left with one trip away being extended into 2 errands.
I wonder what he needed water for.  Medication?

At breakfast, my husband and I were discussing a Safari Club convention that he attended recently in Nevada.  He commented that a lot of the old geezers who were there brought their "trophy wives."  While we were talking, the television had a story about Robert Blake's release on bail.  I said to my husband: "Ah, now I get it!  Robert Blake probably misunderstood the term 'trophy wife.'  He thought he was supposed to shoot her and mount her head on the wall."

Edisto, you're bad.  Probably right though.

I don't think I have ever seen anybody age in front of my eyes before but watching him on TV is almost painful. He is a short man but when he walked into the courtroom the other day I thought he had shrunk even more.  His facial expressions are also VERY strange.

I don't think he's a candidate for fleeing (no O.J. slow ride through L.A. for him) but he's probably be better off in a hospital somewhere before his case comes to trial.

Actually, Blake and I are almost the same age AND the same height.  His diet worked better than mine though.  (He does look pathetic, but I wonder how much of that is by design.)

Can you say anthing about being in jail and eating their food?

Are you insinuating that I've spent time in the slammer?  'Fraid not.  However, I've noticed that some people seem to thrive on jailhouse food (e. g., Lizzie Borden).  I know Lizzie sometimes had catered lunches, but I imagine some of what she ate was prison fare, and it looks as if she porked up a bit during her time in stir. O. J. looked as if he might have picked up a few pounds too. IMHO, a lot of what Robert Blake says and does is scripted, possibly including his letting his hair go white and losing a lot of weight.

I agree Edisto, Blake is acting and playing the part of
martyr.  Why would he marry that bimbo in the first place,
if he is so concerned of his image etc., I find the case to
be pretty low-life, even tho it is big time California stuff.

The testimony I heard last week from the restaurant employee who saw Blake drink the water (evidently two glasses) didn't indicate that he took any medication with it. The witness said he arrived back at the restaurant, said something about "her" being mugged, etc. then asked for water, then asked for some medical person if there to help him and a lady nurse got up and went out with him. 

What I find odd is that the witnesses said when he and Bonny were eating that night, he had an Italian dish with spinich in it (which was named after him on the menu)and that sometime after he ate it he was seen barfing in the wastepaper basket in the men's room. This was early on reported to the personnel and they checked on the basket, found the urped up food with spinich in it, and put a towel over it so the other patrons wouldn't be offended. 

My question is why would he be barfing up his own favorite food unless he had something that was really upsetting him.  It wasn't just that he had dinner with a woman he didn't like any more, or he wouldn't have had dinner with her in the first place.  Could he have been under duress thinking about what was about to happen?

Nothing intended at all. Lizzie was on remand, not a convict. She could order out, and wasn't restricted to jail food. Things may be different today. You may have heard some stories.

Some years ago, while waiting for a tire repair, one of the repairmen was talking about the various jails in the county. The best gave a hot meal the first day. Another gave only sandwiches. The worst gave no food the first day. (Obviously economically run by an Andrew J Borden VIII ?)
...
The remarkable thing is his release with a Murder One indictment!!! Is Hollywood a company town, or what?

(Message last edited Mar-17th-03  7:23 PM.)

Sounds like my questioning of Bridget's barfing around the time of Abby's murder.
Valid point.

You MAY question it, but nobody at the time did.
Was this checked out and verified, so no questions were ever asked?
It is only speculation on your part, isn't it?

Some say the first time you kill your first human you may throw up, or mess your pants. (Of course I wouldn't know, except from literature.) Maybe this is what suggested Bridget as guilty to E Radin, a reporter who covered hundreds of murder trial for his newspaper?

I don't want to prejudge this case, altho I care nothing for it.
It is possible that Bonnie said something that literally turned his stomach, and resulted in her death? Like, "I made some porno videos and they are coming onto the market"? (Use your imagination!)

Oh gosh Ray, if you're not too interested in this case can you drop it?
Unless Bonnie made that remark it really shouldn't be in quotes, right?
And the comments have been about MURDER turning people's stomach, not anything else.

(Message last edited Mar-18th-03  9:45 PM.)

NO, I indicated what might have upset Blake. So why did he walk?
Why was he arrested until nearly a year later?

I did browse Michael Moore's book "Downsize This". He has 2 chapters of essays on OJ trial. Some of these comments apply here: "Rich people never commit murder; they hire it done."

They may cheat, steal, and lie every hour of every day, but will NEVER risk their privileged position. Some comments on movie stars who get their fingernails and toenails trimmed; also their underarm hair shaved!

No, he did not leave the "scene", if you include the restaurant one block away(?). The report I heard in 2001? was that the murder weapon was "found in a dumpster 2 or 3 miles away". Impossible for anyone to run there and back. Either he had an accomplice, or some one else did this.
Didn't we all go over this 2 years ago? You can look up my comments then, or now.

Has it been that long?

I need to drop out here because I don't know anything about this subject.