Robert Blake — Sick Secrets Of His Marriage To Murdered Bride

Robert Blake and Bonny Lee Bakley had a bizarre marriage that was doomed to end in murder — with the romance starting as a perfectly-planned con by a woman desperate to land a Hollywood star!

Insiders revealed to The National ENQUIRER exactly how Bonny Lee Bakley used her feminine wiles to trick volatile actor Blake into fathering her child — before using the little girl to pressure him into marrying her. But once they were married, said sources, the "Baretta" star threatened to kill Bonny several times — and was put in cuffs after she was gunned down in May 2001!

"Blake hated Bonny because she wouldn't give him custody of their child and had tricked him into getting her pregnant by pretending to use birth control," said Robert Stefanow, who was close to Bonny for over 15 years. And Bonny's mom Lois told The ENQUIRER that Bonny feared Blake might one day carry through on his threats to kill her.

"He desperately wanted sole custody of their daughter," said Lois, "and was willing to do anything to get the girl." About two years before Bonny's murder, she met Blake at a party and they began dating. In a letter she wrote to Blake, Bonny said she'd conceived his child in a Holiday Inn on Sept. 3, 1999 — the first time they had sex.

Bonny gave birth to their daughter Rose on June 2, 2000. Five months later, the couple wed after a paternity test confirmed that Blake was the girl's father. Bonny had originally named the girl Kristian Shannon Brando — because at the same time she was having sex with Blake, she was also having an affair with Marlon Brando's son Christian!

"Bonny told Robert that he had to marry her or he wouldn't get to see Rose," said Stefanow. But before they could be married, a judge had to release Bonny from house arrest in Arkansas, where she was serving a sentence for possession of fake ID. The couple rushed to the altar after a temporary custody agreement gave Blake custody of Rosie — with the actor then ordering Bonny out of his life!

"Bonny wasn't allowed to stay in the main residence," her mother told The ENQUIRER. "She had to stay in the guest house out back. And when he did allow her into the house, it was only for sex. Other times he would lose his temper and get really rough with her, often leaving bruises on her body."

Lidia Benavides — a maid who worked for Blake for two years up until the murder — told The ENQUIRER: "Robert and Bonny's marriage was anything but normal. There were no hugs, kisses, hand-holding or other signs of affection." It was an arrangement that Blake hated — and before long, he reportedly had murder on his mind.

Bonny's best friend, Judy Howell, told The ENQUIRER: "The week before she was shot, Bonny told me, Blake drove her around to different neighborhoods almost every day — 'looking for just the right spot,' he would mumble."

"Blake drove up and down different streets," Judy continued, "and if he found a spot he liked, he pulled over, got out and told her to stay in the car while he looked around, like he was casing the area." Howell said she now wonders if Blake "was searching for a place where Bonny could be murdered discreetly."

Two days before she was killed, Bonny called her mom Lois and said she and Blake had had a furious fight. According to Lois, Blake told her: "I've got a bullet with your name on it!" Just 48 hours later, Bonny was was found dead in Blake's car.

The actor had an alibi. He had gone back to the restaurant where the couple just had dinner, telling staffers that he'd he'd accidentally left behind his gun. Blake beat murder charges in a 2005 trial — and later married Pamela Hudak, who'd testified in his defense!