Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
Married to Murder
()
The Robert Blake murder trial has reachedits half-way mark as the prosecution portion of the trial wraps up while the defense makes its case in the coming days.February seems to be filled with legal cases involving murderous spouses. In Whittier a woman faces retrail for in the death of her wealthy husband. Prosecutors insist she hired her cousins to kill husband in carjack attempt. A state appeals court said Rebecca Cleland and Jose Quesada's Fifth Amendment rights were violated when a prosecutor told jurors their silence, as they sat in the back of a patrol car, was evidence of guilt.
Unfortunately, Robert Blake won't have that advantage. Witnesses testify that Blake didn't give a very good performance the night his wife, Bonny Lee Bakley, died in Studio City and that he loved his daughter more than her mother. A case filled with drama, reporters note that the strangest witness so far has been a "boisterous gangster-turned-preacher preache named Frank Minucci," who said that the actor had "wanted to annihilate" his wife.
Minucci's testimony provided a dramatic high point in the celebrity murder trial and took even those who have closely followed the case by surprise. His name was not on an earlier prosecution witness list.
Support for LAist comes from
Minucci's brash courtroom performance -- he appeared to fluster a defense attorney by shouting "What?" after an objection -- overshadowed what had been expected to be the culmination of the prosecution case: detailed accounts from the stuntmen who said Blake solicited them to commit murder.
As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.
Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.
We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.
No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.
Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.
Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.
Chip in now to fund your local journalism
(
LAist
)
Trending on LAist
-
If approved, the more than 62-acre project would include 50 housing lots and a marina less than a mile from Jackie and Shadow's famous nest overlooking the lake. -
The U.S. Supreme Court lifted limits on immigration sweeps in Southern California, overturning a lower court ruling that prohibited agents from stopping people based on their appearance.
-
Censorship has long been controversial. But lately, the issue of who does and doesn’t have the right to restrict kids’ access to books has been heating up across the country in the so-called culture wars.
-
With less to prove than LA, the city is becoming a center of impressive culinary creativity.
-
Nearly 470 sections of guardrailing were stolen in the last fiscal year in L.A. and Ventura counties.
-
Monarch butterflies are on a path to extinction, but there is a way to support them — and maybe see them in your own yard — by planting milkweed.
Best of LAist