Blake Aquitted

By now you've probably heard that Robert Blake was aquitted of murder today. Having no interest in criminal law or a murder trial where a husband is accused of killing his wife, made sensational merely because the accused is an actor, I did not follow this case closely and indeed avoided it for the most part. Yet I was somewhat curious, as a lawyer, as to how Blake's attorneys' got him off, given that the little evidence I had heard about seemed to be pretty compelling evidence of guilt. After reading the AP column linked to above, I still have no idea how they did it. From the AP article:

"Blake told authorities that he walked his wife to the car after dinner, then discovered he had left his gun back in the booth at Vitello's Restaurant. He went back to get it, then returned to the car and found his wife shot, he said."

Whoops, honey, I forgot my gun in the restaurant booth. I hate it when I do that. Hold on a second here in the car and let me go back and get it. [2 minutes later. . .] Oh my god, my wife has been shot!

How utterly incredible is that story? Mr. Blake owes his life to his defense attorneys.