Wondery Presents: The Execution of Bonny Lee Bakley

Ghost Town: Strange History, True Crime, & the Paranormal

Jason Horton & Rebecca Leib

True Crime, Unknown, Paranormal, Weird History, Social Sciences, History, Science

3.7 • 928 Ratings

🗓️ 20 June 2022

⏱️ 6 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

On May 4, 2001, Bonny Lee Bakley was found fatally shot in a car on a dark North Hollywood street. The prime suspect was her husband, famed actor Robert Blake. But Bonny, a longtime con artist, had plenty of enemies. She left behind a trail of men she’d scammed, and she had a volatile relationship with Christian Brando, the troubled son of movie star Marlon Brando. Not since the O.J. Simpson case had the eyes of the nation been so fixated on a homicide. The search for Bonny’s killer took detectives on an eleven-month odyssey across the country and through Hollywood's underbelly of hustlers, drug addicts, and would-be hitmen. It would be the most expensive murder investigation in LAPD history to date. This is the story of Robert and Bonny’s toxic relationship, her shocking murder, and his chaotic trial. Did actor Robert Blake kill his wife? Or was the murder someone else's vendetta? From Wondery, and the team behind the hit series Hollywood & Crime (The Dating Game Killer, The Wonderland Murders, Death of Starlet) comes a six-part series about love, obsession and fame gone wrong. Co-hosted by Tracy Pattin and Josh Lucas. Listen by subscribing to Wondery Plus in Apple Podcasts or the Wondery App: http://wondery.fm/GT_TEOBLB Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Small town girl, Bonnie Lee Bakeley, always dreamed of marrying a movie star.
0:04.4	Her celebrity obsession resulted in nine divorces that is until Bonnie eventually married
0:08.9	famous actor Robert Blake.
0:10.8	However, Bonnie quickly learned being close to the spotlight, comes with consequences.
0:15.4	Within a year of her marriage, her Hollywood dream came to an abrupt and tragic end, when
0:19.7	she was found fatally shot outside of a diner in North Hollywood.
0:23.6	Bonnie's troubling past, complicated detectives, and the almost year-long investigation into
0:28.4	her murder.
0:29.5	Had the LAPD sifting through Hollywood's underbelly of gangsters, drug addicts, and would
0:34.9	be hitmen.
0:35.9	Her husband, Robert Blake, remained the prime suspect in her murder, but the media
0:40.4	shift the blame back at Bonnie, saying she had it coming.
0:44.2	From Wondery, the execution of Bonnie Lee Bakeley is a thrilling new chapter in the hit
0:49.0	Hollywood and crime podcast series.
0:51.6	Robert Blake knew Bonnie spent most of her life as a con artist, who dreamed of being famous.
0:56.9	But when Robert Blake reluctantly let Bonnie stay in his guest house, it would jump start
1:00.8	the role he become most famous for, an accused murderer.
1:04.4	You're about to hear a preview of the execution of Bonnie Lee Bakeley.
1:08.7	While you're listening, follow the execution of Bonnie Lee Bakeley on Apple Podcasts, Amazon
1:13.6	music, Spotify, or you can listen ad-free by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app.
1:18.8	This is the execution of Bonnie Lee Bakeley.
1:27.7	It's a little after 9.30 pm on May 4, 2001.
	...

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