Witness Says Blake Showed Real Grief

Robert Blake appeared to express genuine grief the night his wife was fatally shot four years ago, a fire captain testified Thursday.

Los Angeles Fire Department Capt. Kevin Bailey said he talked to Blake for six minutes as the actor’s wife lay mortally wounded about two blocks from a Studio City restaurant where the couple had just dined.

Blake moaned and covered his face, looking “like someone who would be upset,� Bailey testified in Los Angeles County Superior Court in Van Nuys. Blake, 71, is being tried on murder charges in the May 4, 2001, slaying of his 44-year-old wife, Bonny Lee Bakley.

Bailey, the lead fire official at the scene, was one of a series of defense witnesses who testified that the Emmy-winning actor appeared normal before the shooting and distraught after.

They were called to blunt the impact of more than a dozen prosecution witnesses -- including police, a neighbor and a nurse who tried to save Bakley’s life -- who testified that Blake’s grieving didn’t seem genuine.

Blake told police someone shot his wife while he went to retrieve his own revolver from the restaurant. Authorities contend Blake tried to persuade three men to kill Bakley, before fatally shooting her himself.

On cross-examination, Deputy Dist. Atty. Shellie Samuels said that all of the restaurant witnesses called by the defense had observed Blake only briefly.

Warner Bros. animation director James Timothy Walker, who dined at Vitello’s restaurant the night of the slaying, said Blake waved to him.

Chris Taylor, another diner, said he exchanged a “wave and a nod� with Blake.

The defense also called Vitello’s waiter Christopher O’Brien, who said Blake frequently parked on the street when he patronized the restaurant, despite prosecution allegations that parking two blocks away was part of Blake’s murder plan.