According to information provided by his niece, Noreen Austin, the once-famous child actor, who was exonerated of the murder of his second wife after standing trial for the crime, passed away while accompanied by members of his family.

Robert Blake, an actor in both television and cinema who was exonerated of the murder of his second wife, Bonny Lee Bakley, has passed away. Bonny Lee Bakley was Robert Blake’s second wife. He was 89.

On Thursday, Blake’s niece Noreen Austin issued a statement confirming the news of his passing and revealing that the actor passed away as a result of heart illness. She said in a statement that was issued to PEOPLE that he was at home in Los Angeles with his family and that he was safe.

The actor, who was born and raised in New Jersey, had his professional debut as a child performer in the Our Gang series of comedic short films when he was just 5 years old. Following a string of performances on television, including his debut on the series The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok, he became a leading man in the film In Cold Blood, which was nominated for an Academy Award in 1967.

After his success in the film, he was cast in the title role in the television series Baretta, which aired in the 1970s and featured him in the role of New York City detective Tony Baretta. The series ran for a total of four seasons between the years 1975 and 1978 and earned him his first nomination for an Emmy Award in the category of the 5best lead actor in a drama series in 1975.

After his victory in that year’s Emmy competition, he was nominated for the same role in 1977, and he would go on to get two further nods in 1983 and 1993.

Both his work in the tv crime drama Blood Feud and his involvement in the miniseries or special Judgement Day: The John List Story earned him nominations for best lead actor in a limited series or special and outstanding lead actor in a miniseries or special, respectively.

His last role in a television series was in the 1985 episode of Hell Town, which was only shown for one season.

Later on, he would be arrested for the 2001 shooting loss of his wife, Bakley, although he would eventually be cleared of any wrongdoing in the case.

On May 4, 2001, Bakley, a mother of four who was 44 years old, was fatally shot in Blake’s vehicle, which was parked around the corner from an Italian restaurant in the vicinity of their home in Studio City, California. The pair had just finished eating at the restaurant. In his statement to the police at the time, Blake claimed that he had left his wife alone in the restaurant while he went back to grab a pistol that he said had slipped out of his clothes. Nevertheless, the authorities later concluded that the gun had not been used in the murder.

A little over a year later, the police took him into custody. During the proceedings of his trial, the prosecution presented the testimonies of two former stuntmen who told authorities that Blake had sought to employ them as hitmen. This accusation was challenged by the defense as being untrustworthy, and the statements were used as evidence.

In interviews conducted immediately after the shooting, both Blake and his attorney, Harlan Braun, speculated that Bakley, who both the defense and prosecution later conceded was a career con artist for men, may have been killed by a former boyfriend or one of the many men she had bilked in con schemes. This was suggested in interviews conducted by both parties. When DNA testing established that Blake was Rose’s biological father, Bakley and Blake had been engaged for around five months prior to the murder. At the time of the murder, Rose was 11 months old.

There was no evidence linking Blake to the crime, including eyewitnesses, blood, or DNA.

After eight days of deliberation, the jury ultimately decided that Blake was not guilty of the charges.

When some time passed, Bakley’s family decided to file a civil claim against Blake. The jury that heard the case judged Blake to be at fault for Bakley’s loss and sentenced him to pay $15 million in damages. This sum was subsequently resolved for an amount that cannot be revealed, and an appeals court reduced it to half of its original value.

For many years after the murder, Blake never wavered from his stance that he was innocent.

When asked about it at the time, she said that she “sort of didn’t know where she was buried for the longest time.” “It would have been easy enough for me to check it up, but I didn’t. I don’t believe I was prepared for that at all. After that, when I became 18, I thought to myself, “I’m ready. I really want to pay her a visit.”

She said, “I’ve dealt with more than my fair share of misery throughout my life.” “Yet despite everything, I’m certain that everything will turn out all right.”