STUDIO CITY, Calif. — Jurors in actor Robert Blake's murder trial turned a 15-minute cursory tour of the crime scene into a thoughtful, hour-long viewing Thursday evening when they asked the judge if they could walk back through the area again.

The panel even requested to look at areas that were points of reference during the past three weeks of trial testimony.

Blake, who was present for the viewing, but remained on the sidelines, did not speak to jurors nor make eye contact as they viewed the spot where prosecutors say the 71-year-old actor shot and killed his wife, Bonny Lee Bakley, on May 4, 2001.

At about 7 p.m., the panel of 12 jurors and six alternates arrived at the intersection of Woodbridge and Kraft streets in Studio City, transported by a large, black-and-white L.A. County Sheriff's Dept. bus with tinted windows.

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About 15 minutes later, they silently walked single file on the sidewalk heading toward a black 1991 Dodge Stealth parked in the location where Blake's car was parked when his 44-year-old wife was shot twice as she sat in the passenger seat.

Jurors were accompanied by uniformed deputies, prosecutor Shellie Samuels, lead detective Ronald Ito, defense attorney Gerald Schwartzbach, the court reporter, three press representatives, and presiding Superior Court Judge Darlene Schempp, who wore a suit instead of her usual black robes.

The panelists lingered around the vehicle, peered into the windows and took notes. One juror asked if the door could be opened, but the request was denied. It wasn't the same vehicle, the judge explained, and the interior lighting could be misleading.

The stand-in car, of the same make and model as Blake's, was purchased for about $6,500 by the LAPD two years ago for use in gunshot residue and forensics experiments related to the case, a detective told Courttv.com outside the presence of jurors.

The jury was not allowed to discuss what they were observing, to touch anything, or to attempt experiments.

However, the panelists appeared to be sizing up the vehicle, noticing the angles and lines from which a shooter might point a gun toward Bakley's head through an open passenger window, according to a press representative.

Jurors also observed the actual Dumpster in which the murder weapon, a 9 mm Walther P-38 pistol, was later recovered. The giant green bin was hauled in Thursday morning and carefully placed about 13 feet in front of the Dodge — the same spot it occupied on the night of the murder.

Neighborhood tour

The jury also viewed the exterior of the home of Sean Stanek, the neighbor who called 911 when Blake banged on his door at about 9:40 p.m.

The group made a special request to stand behind the tree a half-block away, where a couple testified they hid as they watched Blake banging on Stanek's door for help and acting in a manner they deemed strange.

The jurors also asked to view the home of an English couple who saw Blake pass them on the street as they walked down the block, as well as the alleyway behind Vitello's, where there is a back entrance into the restaurant and a trash bin.

One juror even asked if he could walk diagonally across the street, presumably to follow the same path Blake took when he passed the English couple.

A block from the viewing area, about two dozen reporters and camera operators waited for firsthand reports from the three press reps. A few curious onlookers also stopped to watch.

"I'm nosy, and I'm a Court TV junkie," bystander Merle Greene said when asked why she came out to watch the viewing from behind two lines of police barricades and yellow crime-scene tape. Greene said she had already formed the opinion that Blake hired someone else to kill Bakley.

"I don't think he pulled the trigger himself," Greene said.

Scenes from an Italian restaurant

Earlier Thursday, jurors walked through Vitello's restaurant and viewed table No. 42, the booth where Blake and Bakley ate their last meal together.

Three groups of six jurors each took turns touring the empty restaurant where Blake had dined "hundreds of times" and had a dish named after him.

Jurors also looked inside the men's bathroom, where the now-infamous spinach-laced vomit was discovered by two Vitello's patrons, who testified this week that Blake appeared upset on the night of the murder.

Vitello's is the anchor on a block-long stretch of specialty shops, clothing stores and cafes on Tujunga Avenue in a quiet middle-class residential area where young couples are often seen pushing strollers or walking their dogs.

During the restaurant viewing, Blake remained in the foyer — a small front room near the entrance, decorated with black-and-white head shots of actors and local celebrities. He sat on a bench, appearing somber and emotionless, his lips pursed and his head down, according to accounts from press reps.

Outside, two Los Angeles Sheriff's department detectives stood guard at the front door.

"We got the prime viewing spot," said Andy Eszenszay, who, with his wife Nancy, watched from the event from their convertible parked across the street from Vitello's.

The married couple, who appeared to be in their 50s, pulled up at 2 p.m., two hours before the jurors arrived, to get a clear view of the scene.

Nancy, an avid watcher of the 1970s "Baretta" TV series, commented on the appearance of the 71-year-old actor as he walked into Vitello's.

"I think he looked heartbroken, just dejected," she said.

"We have arguments," Andy joked as he rolled his eyes, "She's always on the side of the underdog. She thought O.J. was not guilty."