Bonny Lee Bakley

American newsfigure and homicide victim, the wife of actor Robert Blake, shot to death on 5/04/2001, Studio City, CA. Bonny was found to have an involved past, a drifter who played on the sympathies of men with confidence games to elicit money. In the prior decade, she had a drug arrest in Tennessee, was jailed in Arkansas and sold nude photos of herself and other women by mail, according to family members and court records. In 1998, she was caught in Arkansas with seven driver’s licenses and five Social Security cards, all registered in different names. A "groupie," one who followed avidly the trail of men in the entertainment media, she spun tales to her family and friends of her intimate relationships with celebrities such as Jerry Lee Lewis and Frankie Valli. Her stated goal was to marry a music or movie star. "She liked to live on the edge, that's for sure," said her mother, Marjorie Carlyon of Tennessee, in an interview. "I always worried about her." In 2000, she finally landed the Hollywood husband she had always hoped for, Robert Blake, after managing to get pregnant with his baby, Rose Lenore Sophia Blake. When Bonny was found fatally shot, her body slumped over in the front passenger seat of Blake's car, the actor, star of the '70s television series "Baretta," told detectives he found his wife in the car after he went back to the restaurant to get his gun. He had been carrying a pistol because his wife feared for her safety. On the following day, police said that Blake was not a suspect; however, that status changed within a few days as he came under investigation. Lawyers for Blake insisted Sunday that Bonny led a risky life-style that could have created many enemies. In response, Bonny’s family raised questions about Blake's demeanor before the murder and said her past had nothing to do with the crime. Born in Morristown, NJ, Bonny Lee Bakley was the eldest of four kids in a working-class family. Her late father, Edward J. Bakley, was a tree surgeon. Her three siblings have lived relatively routine lives; Margerry is a secretary in Dover, NJ; brother Joey is in construction in San Diego; and Peter Carlyon, her half-brother, does landscaping in Tennessee. Because of problems at home, as a teenager she moved in with her grandmother before graduating from high school and pursuing a modeling and acting career in New York. Her mother said Bonny told her that she was studying with famous acting coach Lee Strasberg, but the scope and variety of her stories from youth soon began to stretch credibility. A pretty girl, she set her sights on either becoming a movie star or marrying one – or both. Her "career" started when she was 17 by sending nude and suggestive photographs to certain magazines. Bonny met her first husband in New Jersey, 27-year-old Paul Gawron ,and they were married in 1977, having two kids, Holly and Glen. She obtained a Mexican divorce in 1982. She was married to truck driver Robert Moon from 1984 to 1987; William Webber in Florida in 1993; John Ray from 1996 to 1998. She also became the 26th wife of Glynn H. Wolfe, the "world's most-married man." By several accounts Bonny was married nine times - and investigators are looking into the fact that she may have been married up to a *hundred* times, and that basically none of these marriages may have been valid at all. According to family stories, while her first husband stayed home and took care of the kids, she spent time traveling and starting several small mail order businesses. Her goal was now to be a female Donald Trump, her idol of the moment. Using the name Leebonny Bakley, she told family members that she had earned a Screen Actors Guild card and appeared briefly in the film "9 1/2 Weeks;" however a SAG spokesman was unable to confirm that information. Like so many of her stories, her tale of a movie debut was apparently unsubstantial. Bonny moved to Tennessee to be close to singer Jerry Lee Lewis, whom she pursued with fervor. She was arrested for drug possession in 1989 and told police in Tennessee she was holding the drugs for a celebrity and got off with a small fine. In 1991, Jerry Lee Lewis' sister, Linda Gail Lewis, and Bonny were co-plaintiffs in a federal libel suit against a London tabloid that had alleged they trafficked in pornography, according to court records and published reports at the time. Attending rock concerts and cozying up to male celebrities, Bonny made dozens of well-connected friends. She named her third child Jeri Lee Lewis, born on 7/28/1993, Desoto County, MS, claiming that Jerry Lee Lewis was the child’s father. Her siblings sometimes made fun of her dalliances, but they also marveled at her generosity. When Margerry Bakley's phone was shut off because of $500 in unpaid bills, Bonny took care of it. "She would help the family out, no matter what," said her sister. Family members said Bonny made her living by investing in real estate, running a dating service and selling nude photographs to lonely hearts by mail. In 1997, Bonny was prosecuted in federal court in Little Rock, AR for possessing several fake identifications. With a plea bargain, she was given three years probation and $1,050 in fines. Bonny met Robert Blake at a Hollywood party in 1999. Blake had made a name for himself playing tough guys, including the TV series "Baretta." His career had generally been up-and-down and he has battled depression and alcoholism. When Bonny became pregnant in September 1999, she believed that Christian Brando was the father, according to Blake's lawyers. But after the baby was born on 6/02/2000, a DNA test confirmed that the child was Blake's and Bonny claimed the conception had happened on 9/03/1999, the date of her first sexual encounter with Blake. They married on 11/19/2000, even as Blake hired investigators to look into Bonny’s background. Family and lawyers both concede that it was a difficult relationship. Margerry Bakley said the two often argued and there was tension over who would care for the child and Bonny and Rose lived in a bungalow behind Blake’s home. For the time-line of the crime scene: On 5/04/2001, at 8:30 PM, Robert Blake and wife Bonny Lee Bakley arrived for dinner at Vitello's in Studio City, CA. He parked a block and a half from the Italian restaurant, behind a large dumpster and under a burned-out street light. Blake was dressed in black. At 9:15 PM, after his meal, Blake went to the rest room at Vitello's and vomited into a trash can. At 9:30 PM, Blake and Bakley walked out of Vitello's to his car, a Dodge Stealth. At 9:35-9:40 PM, Blake claims he returned to Vitello's to pick up a gun he left behind on the seat of his booth. No one saw him return. During this time, Bakley was shot once in the back of the head. The killer dropped the gun into the dumpster in front of the car. At 9:43 PM, Sean Stanek, who lives adjacent to the murder scene, heard Blake frantically pounding on his door and called 911. At 9:45 PM, Blake went back to Vitello's where he told staff members that "something has happened" to Bakley and asked for a glass of water. At 9:50 PM, Blake returned to the murder scene, but did not go near Bakley as paramedics tried in vain to revive her. Link to Wikipedia biography Link to Astrodienst discussion forum