Robert Blake 'Confessed' To Killing Bonny Lee Bakley, Raged To Detectives 'My Wife Deserved To Die'

Actor Robert Blake allegedly confessed to killing Bonny Lee Bakley and still got away with murder, sources close to the 1970s television star claimed years before he died from heart disease at the age of 89.

RadarOnline.com can exclusively report on a shocking moment in the case following the famed Baretta star's arrest in 2002.

"You can't do this to me. I'm Robert Blake, the actor. I'm Baretta," he allegedly raged to detectives after being whisked away in cuffs, blurting out, "She's responsible for all this garbage. My wife deserved to die!"

Bakley was found slumped over in the passenger seat after dinner at a California restaurant on May 4, 2001. Her window was down in the blood-drenched car, leading some to believe that she may have known the shooter.

More convincing was the fact the couple had known to be in a tumultuous relationship.

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Blake told police that he left her alone to retrieve his personal handgun, a .38 Special Smith & Wesson revolver, in a booth before returning to the vehicle.

The murder weapon was a Walther P38 9mm pistol, which was found in a nearby dumpster.

It wasn't until a year later that he was taken into custody and charged with the shooting.

Cops believed he attempted to hire two hitmen to kill Bakley but failed, so he sadistically pumped the fatal bullet into her head himself.

At the end of a trial, he was acquitted in March 2005, but was later found liable by a civil jury.

"I was surprised when Robert Blake was acquitted in the criminal trial because there seemed to be a lot of good evidence against him, including two friends who testified that he had asked them to help murder his wife," famed medical examiner and lawyer Cyril H. Wecht said.

Sources close to the duo said the actor had plenty of motive after their own relationship struggles and learning of her sordid past.

Blake and Bakley met at a jazz club in 1999 shortly after she had been in a romantic relationship with Christian Brando, the son of actor Marlon Brando. Blake and Bakley wed in 2000.

Blake later insisted on a paternity test which ultimately determined that he was the father of Bakley's youngest child.