As the Peterson trial just ended, this is just in the nick of time:
LOS ANGELES (AP) - The judge in Robert Blake's murder case Wednesday reversed her previous decision and allowed portions of recorded jailhouse conversations to be used at trial, including one in which Blake referred to the family of his slain wife as "monsters."
Superior Court Judge Darlene Schempp also permitted use of a segment of a February 2003 jailhouse interview that the former "Baretta" television star had with journalist Barbara Walters.
Last week, she had barred the prosecution from using the material but agreed to listen to the recordings and reconsider.Blake, 71, said nothing during the nearly two-hour hearing on pretrial motions that is a run-up to opening statements in his trial, scheduled for next Monday. He is accused of shooting to death his wife, 44-year-old Bonny Lee Bakley, in May 2001 outside a Studio City restaurant where they had just had dinner.
There are no eyewitnesses to the shooting. Blake has pleaded not guilty to murder, two counts of solicitation of murder and a special circumstance of lying in wait.
Details here from the AP via Bakersfield.com.
UPDATE (3/16/05): Blake acquited of 1st degree muder and one charge of soliciting murder. (Jury deadlocked on second soliciation charge, which the judge then dismissed.) Details here.