Actor Robert Blake's murder trial was put on hold on Thursday, possibly for months, after his lawyer abruptly quit over "irreconcilable differences" with the "Baretta" star less than two weeks before jury selection was set to begin.
The move, which stunned prosecutors, was expected to delay the trial for up to six months while Blake finds new counsel who will have to review some 60,000 pages of evidence and the potential testimony of some 800 witnesses.
Blake has pleaded not guilty to murdering his wife, Bonny Lee Bakley, in May 2001.
Details here from Reuters via Findlaw.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.