Blake Lawyer Delivers Evidence to Police

May 11, 2001 -- Robert Blake's lawyer turned over two carloads of evidence to Los Angeles police headquarters on Thursday, and in a press conference with reporters, he admitted that the actor is considered a possible suspect in his wife's May 4 shooting death.

Attorney Harland W. Braun delivered steamer trunks, suitcases, and several file boxes belonging to 44-year-old Bonny Bakley, who was fatally shot in the head as she sat alone in Blake's car outside an Italian restaurant where she and her actor husband had just eaten.

Homicide detectives from the Los Angeles Police Department searched Blake's home a second time Wednesday night, apparently acting on new evidence in the woman's murder case. "The search warrant was affected as the result of new information received by the concerned detectives on May 8, 2001," the LAPD said in a statement. "Specific items of evidence were sought. No one has been ruled out as a suspect or suspects in the murder of Ms. Bakley."

Braun and his client have continually painted Bakley as a scam artist who may have been murdered by someone from her past (she allegedly sold photos of herself to lonely men through newspaper ads). They believe that her belongings could reveal clues about her death.

Braun, who was met by a throng of reporters, said police detectives considered the 67-year-old former Baretta TV star a suspect. It was a reversal for the lawyer, who had previously said his client was not a suspect in the case.

"He's got a cloud over him," Braun conceded. "But you have to live with who you are, make your peace with your maker about who you really are, and not what people perceive you as. He's learning that lesson very quickly."

When asked if Blake is now considered an "official" suspect, Braun curtly responded, "The LAPD is investigating Mr. Blake thoroughly and his involvement in this case. So whether you call him a suspect or a subject or a witness doesn't really matter."

Braun added that detectives planned to interview Blake's bodyguard and personal assistant, Earl Caulfield, on Thursday. Braun said Caulfield was in Northern California at the time of the murders after being "sent away" by Blake because Bakley did not like him and wanted her brother to have his job.

Blake, who married Bakley last year after DNA tests proved she was pregnant with his child, said she was shot while she was waiting for him to return from the restaurant. The actor said he had gone back inside to retrieve a gun that he had forgotten, adding that he carried the weapon because Bakley was afraid someone was after her.

Reuters contributed to this story.