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Sick juror stalls deliberations in Blake civil trialBy Lisa Sweetingham  Actor Robert Blake takes a nap in his car as a jury deliberates a civil suit by his slain wife's children. BURBANK, California (Court TV) -- Deliberations were postponed Thursday in actor Robert Blake's wrongful-death trial after a juror called in sick. Blake, 72, is accused of intentionally causing the death of his wife Bonny Lee Bakley, who was shot twice on May 4, 2001, as she sat in the passenger seat of the "Baretta" star's sports car. Instead of replacing the male juror with an alternate, the jury was sent home for the week. The nine-man, three-woman panel has Friday off for Veterans Day and will resume deliberations on Monday at 9 a.m. "It's like the Tom Petty song: 'The waiting is the hardest part,'" said Blake's defense attorney, Nancy Lucas. Blake was acquitted of murder charges at his criminal trial in March and is now being sued by Bakley's four surviving children, who say the actor conspired with his handyman to have his wife killed. They are asking for an unspecified amount of damages and have previously rejected a $250,000 settlement offer. The panel has spent 11 hours over three days in the jury room, occasionally buzzing the bailiff to signal new requests to review evidence. On Monday, the panel rummaged through evidence bags filled with the clothes -- jeans, boots, T-shirts, socks and a belt -- that Blake wore when his wife was killed. Forensic investigators found no evidence of blood or DNA linking Blake to his wife's murder. The panel had portions of the actor's testimony read back to them, as well as the 911 call made from a home of director who lived next to the crime scene in Studio City. Blake, who did not testify at his murder trial, spent seven days on the stand in the civil trial. On Tuesday, the panel asked to view charts and maps offered by the defense that pointed to alternate theories about who might have killed Blake's wife. The defense claims there were plenty of dangerous men in Bakley's past whom she conned and swindled out of cash. Blake's defense also has asked jurors to consider Bakley's volatile affair with Christian Brando, son of actor Marlon Brando. Christian Brando was heard telling Bakley in a recorded phone conversation many months before her murder that she was lucky no one had put a bullet in her head. The defense has suggested that one of Brando's drug-addicted friends might have killed Bakley to impress the acting legend's son. "I'm pleased that they're taking their time and looking at everything, because I feel the evidence is in our favor," said the plaintiffs' attorney, Eric Dubin. Blake maintains that he had nothing to do with his bride's murder, even though he spoke scornfully of her to friends and disapproved of her mail-order porn business. Blake told jurors that he loved Bakley -- whom he called "toots" -- the way a man loves a pet dog, but that after their child was born, he believed he could fall in love with her and had every intention of creating a stable family life for their infant daughter, Rose Lenore Sophia Blake. Rosie, now 5, has been legally adopted by Blake's adult daughter from a previous marriage. Bakley's heirs say Blake always had murder on his mind, and they point to testimony from two stuntmen, a private investigator and a mobster-turned-preacher who claim the actor was obsessed with her death, and spoke of having her "popped" and "whacked." For the plaintiffs to prevail, nine of the 12 jurors must believe that Blake "more likely than not" intentionally caused Bakley's death by shooting her himself or arranging for her to be shot. If they find Blake liable, jurors then must agree on a dollar amount for how much Bakley's "love, companionship, comfort, care, assistance, protection, affection, society and moral support," would have been worth. They must also decide whether Blake's handyman Earle Caldwell, who was out of town when Bakley was killed, conspired with Blake in her wrongful death. "As far as I'm concerned, they can take their time," Dubin said. "I just hope they come to the right decision." 
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