Bakley’s three children filed a civil suit against Blake, asserting that he was responsible for their mother's death. The trial included an event described as a Perry Mason moment when Eric Dubin, the attorney for Bakley's family, called the girlfriend of Blake's co-defendant Earle Caldwell to the stand and asked if she believed Blake and Caldwell were involved in the crime, something no one had asked her before. "Dead silence filled the court", Dubin recalled. "Tears filled her eyes as she paused for what seemed like a decade, then leaned into the microphone and said that yes, she did believe that they were involved."