Former Hollywood star Robert Blake, seen

here in 2004, was acquitted of murdering his con-artist wife, who was

gunned down in a the couple's car outside a restaurant where they had just

dined.(AFP/File photo) BEIJING, Mar. 17-- Tough-guy actor Robert Blake was acquitted of murder Wednesday in the shooting death of his wife Bonny Lee Bakley four years ago, bringing a dramatic end to the case that played out like pulp fiction.

Robert Blake may have hated his wife, but not enough to kill her, to borrow the title of his most famous film, in cold blood.

The 71-year-old star of the 1970s detective drama"Baretta" visibly relieved as the verdict was read in the Van Nuys, California, courthouse. He rubbed his eyes, hugged his attorney, M. Gerald Schwartzbach and, minutes later, broke down and cried.

Jurors received the case Friday, March 4, and deliberated for about 35 hours over nine days before reaching their decision Wednesday afternoon.

Bakley was killed in Studio City on May 4, 2001, as she sat in Blake's car outside of Vitello's restaurant, where the couple had just dined.

Blake's defense team contended that the actor had left Bakley in the car while he returned to the restaurant to retrieve a forgotten firearm that he carried for protection.

When he returned to the car, he found his wife bleeding to death from two gunshot wounds to the head.

The prosecution, on the other hand, alleged that Blake shot his wife twice in the head himself in order to end his unwanted marriage.

Actor Robert Blake, right, and his

lawyer M. Gerald Schwartzbach respond to questions during a news

conference Wednesday, March 16, 2005, outside the Municipal Courthouse in

the Van Nuys section of Los Angeles. Blake was found not quilty in the

slaying of his wife Bonny Lee Bakley.(AP Photo)

During the trial, which began in December, jurors heard from two former stuntmen--Ronald"Duffy" Hambleton and Gary"Whiz Kid" McLarty--star witnesses for the prosecution who alleged that Blake had approached them and attempted to hire them to kill Bakley.

However, the defense managed to discredit Hambleton and McLarty's testimonies by bringing up their past histories of drug abuse, ultimately discounting the stuntmen's recollections of how Blake offered them money to"whack,""pop" and/or"snuff" Bakley.

At the press conference following the verdict, Nicholson dismissed Hambleton as a"prolific liar" who was unable"to keep his story straight."

Blake never took the stand at his trial. Instead, his defense team screened a February 2003 interview in which the Emmy winner told Barbara Walters,"It's all about Rosie. It's always been about Rosie. The greatest gift in the world, and I'm going to try to mess it up by being selfish?"

Now that Blake has been absolved of Bakley's murder, it is unclear whether he will reclaim custody of Rosie.

Speaking to reporters after the verdict, Blake thanked his defense team, but complained that he had no money left. Quoting Johnnie Cochran, he quipped,"You're innocent until proven broke."

(Agencies)