Blake liable for wife's killing

Robert Blake has always denied being behind the killing

US actor Robert Blake has been found liable for the killing of his wife and ordered to pay $30m (£17m) in damages to her four children.

The 72-year-old star of the 1970s TV Baretta series was acquitted of the murder of Bonny Lee Bakley at a criminal trial in March.

But a civil jury has now ruled he was liable for his wife's death in 2001.

Ms Bakley, 44, was found shot dead inside her husband's car after the pair had dined at a Los Angeles restaurant.

After eight days of deliberations, the jury decided by a vote of 10-2 that Blake had "intentionally caused the death" of Ms Bakley.

The actor made no comment as he left the court.

Denied charges

Ms Bakley's children brought the civil case of wrongful death, seeking to make Blake liable for their mother's death and to win damages.

The degree of proof in a civil case is lower than in a criminal case.

Bonny Lee Bakley was a mother of four children

The jurors had to decide whether it was more likely to be true than not that Blake had intentionally caused Ms Bakley's death or plotted to cause it.

A criminal conviction requires a finding of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

Blake denied either hiring anyone to kill his wife, or pulling the trigger himself.

In his testimony before the civil jury, he said his wife stayed in the car when he went back into the restaurant after accidentally leaving behind a handgun he carried for protection.

He said he found his wife shot when he went back to the vehicle.

His defence lawyers contended that there were others who might have wanted to kill his wife as she had been running a lonely hearts scam.

The Bakley family's lawyer, Eric Dubin, claimed Mr Blake had previously tried to hire others to kill his wife.

He suggested Mr Blake wanted Mrs Bakley dead to secure sole custody of their young daughter.