In the spring of 2006, according to the chronology, Blake and Duncan began documenting cars with Florida license plates and graffiti (some allegedly resembling Duncan's signature) in their neighborhood as more evidence of the conspiracy. Around this time, Blake tossed urine onto the barbecue of neighbors who the couple suspected were Scientologists. He and Duncan were living in an office complex adjacent to Muse Productions' Venice offices after having been evicted from their apartment when Schlei encountered Blake shortly before the couple moved to New York in early 2007.
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In a cocoon of their making
Friends sift through the clues left by Jeremy Blake and Theresa Duncan, the glittering 'It' couple who committed suicide.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Saturday August 04, 2007 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 2 National Desk 0 inches; 25 words Type of Material: Correction
Suicides: An article in Friday's Calendar about the deaths of Jeremy Blake and Theresa Duncan misspelled the last name of author George Pelecanos as Pelicanos.
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"He got a job at Rockstar," Schlei said. "He said, 'I like New York better. It's going to be awesome. I'm going into a new phase.' "
After the couple moved into the church apartment, Father Morales recalls them rapidly integrating into the church community. The two attended service every Sunday, a new thing for them, and kept a Bible on their coffee table. On July 3, Duncan helped orchestrate a benefit for restoration of the church.
Asked if he thought Blake and Duncan were running away from something, Morales said: "They felt they were being harassed by certain individuals. I have no way of knowing if it's true. I'd say, 'You're here now. We'll protect you.' I did sense they felt this was a sanctuary for them. They felt they had gotten away."
Schlei, who had tried to persuade Blake to direct a film for him even after the artist accused him of being in on the conspiracy, has a theory about what compelled them to take their lives.
"I think Theresa, in one of her rare moments of self-reflection, recognized she had burned all of these bridges in Jeremy's career with the paranoia," Schlei said. "Jeremy was her creation. And she was killing the thing she created, this great, terrific artist. She realized what she had done. To let him live, she had to go. But in a symbiotic relationship, one couldn't last without the other."
Schlei also pointed out that one of Blake's favorite movies was Robert Altman's adaptation of Raymond Chandler's "The Long Goodbye," in which a character played by Sterling Hayden takes his own life by walking into the sea.
"Life imitates art," Schlei said.
chris.lee@latimes.com
