NEW YORK, Dec. 6, 2008
After 28-Year Coma, Sunny Von Bulow Dies
Heiress' Husband Claus Was Acquitted Of Attempted Murder In Two Sensational 1980s Trials
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Martha "Sonny" Von Bulow (in this undated file photo) survived 28 years in a persistent vegetative state, during which her husband was twice acquitted of attempting to kill her. She died in a New York City nursing home Saturday, Dec. 6, 2008, age 76. (AP Photo)
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Claus Von Bulow (right) sits in court during opening arguments on the first day of his retrial on charges that he attempted to murder his wife, Martha "Sunny" Von Bulow, in Providence, R.I. on April 25, 1985. (AP Photo)
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Exterior view of the von Bulow estate in Newport, R.I., January 1982. (AP Photo)
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Heiress In 28 Year Coma Passes
Martha "Sunny" von Bulow spent the last 28 years of her life in a vegetative state after what prosecutors alleged was two murder attempts by her husband, Claus.
She was 76. Her death was announced by her children in a statement released by family spokeswoman Maureen Connelly.
Mrs. von Bulow was a living example of romantic notions about high society - a stunning heiress who brought her American millions to marriages to men who gave her honored old European names.
But she ended her days as an ever-sleeping beauty, visited by her children, pampered around the clock by nurses, sometimes conscious but giving no sign of awareness.
She was the offstage presence that haunted her husband's two sensational trials in Providence, R.I.
At the first trial, in 1982, Claus von Bulow was convicted of trying twice to kill her by injecting her with insulin at their estate in Newport, R.I. The verdict was thrown out on appeal, and von Bulow was acquitted at a second trial in 1985.
The murder case split Newport society, produced lurid headlines and was later made into a film, "Reversal of Fortune," starring Glenn Close and Jeremy Irons.
Claus von Bulow is living in London, "mostly taking care of his grandchildren," said Alan Dershowitz, the defense lawyer who won his acquittal at the second trial.
"It's a sad ending to a sad tragedy that some people tried to turn into a crime," Dershowitz said. "I hope this finally will put to an end to this terrible tragedy."
"There are no winners in a case like this. I'm happy to have played a role in getting the criminal conviction reversed, because it was an unjust conviction, but there were no victory parties or celebrations afterwards because there was a woman in a coma," Dershowitz said.
His main accusers were Mrs. von Bulow's children by a previous marriage, Princess Annie Laurie von Auersperg Kniessl and Prince Alexander von Auersperg. They renewed the charges against their stepfather in a civil lawsuit a month after his acquittal.
Two years later, von Bulow agreed to give up any claims to his wife's estimated $25 million-to-$40 million fortune and to the $120,000-a-year income of a trust she set up for him. He also agreed to divorce her, leave the country and never profit from their story.
A sell-off of Mrs. von Bulow's property followed - her oceanfront estate in Newport for $4.2 million, her 12-room apartment on Fifth Avenue for $6.25 million, and the art and antiques from the homes for $11.5 million at a spirited two-day auction.
The government contended that von Bulow wanted to get rid of his wife to inherit a large hunk of her wealth and be free to marry a mistress. The defense countered by picturing Mrs. von Bulow, who suffered from low blood sugar, as a boozer and pill popper who drank herself into a coma.
Von Bulow was accused of injecting his wife with insulin first in December of 1979, causing a coma from which she revived. The second alleged attempt was a year later and this time, Dec. 21, 1980, at age 49, Mrs. von Bulow slipped into an irreversible coma.
Her world was reduced to a private, guarded room in the Harkness Pavilion and later the McKeen Pavilion of Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center. She died at the Mary Manning Walsh Nursing Home, her family said.
Her doctor testified that the cost of maintaining her was $375,000 the first year, 1981.
No figures were available for the years that followed, but by the early 1990s room charges were up to about $1,500 a day - $547,000 a year, plus another $200,000 to $300,000 for round-the-clock private nursing.
Mrs. von Bulow was born Martha Sharp Crawford in Pittsburgh, Sept. 1, 1931, daughter of utilities tycoon George Crawford, who died when she was 4.
"Sunny," nicknamed for her disposition, was raised by her mother in New York City. She attended Chapin School and St. Timothy's in Maryland, skipped college and came out in 1951.
While touring Europe with her mother, she met Prince Alfred von Auersperg, who was younger, penniless and working as the tennis pro in an Austrian resort catering to rich Americans.
They were married in 1957 and divorced eight years later after she returned alone to New York with their young son and daughter.
On June 6, 1966, she married von Bulow, who then quit his job as an aide of oilman J. Paul Getty.
© MMVIII The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Way to go. That was a good one.
If she was middle class, they would have pulled the plug while her husband and children watching.
Nowhere did I see anything about her being on life support.
What good did it do her to stay in a vegetative state for 28 years? - Posted by shanev137 at 03:23 PM
She was alive. Who are you to decide that those who aren''t living what you deem to be a life of "quality" aren''t worth the time and effort needed to care for them?
posted by tireofitnow...
Trust me, if she had been middle class, the doctors would have induced death on Christmas morning.
One way or the other....if not by drugs, then some other way that would have done the trick, without accepting blame on their part.
Just because the middle class ain''t worthy of our fine medical/health care.
Sarcasm)
So you would want to be in a vegetative state for 28 years then is what you''re saying.
shanev137, you could describe your own normal life processes in just such a disgusting manner if you wanted to.
I have what''s called a living will.
I made it precisely to prevent morons like you from letting a doctor pull the plug on me, and living out 28 years of your version of "life".
Or maybe the person initially using the word "moron" has a bit of trouble communicating exactly what he means?
Moron, idiot, imbecile.... are all the same words you could use to define the type of person who would want someone to spend 28 years in a vegetative state calling it "living a life".
Take your pick.
Look up "moron", "imbecile" and "idiot". They do not mean "person who has views that differ from shanev''s".
Also, try to find a dictionary or biology textbook whose definition of "life" matches yours. You might have to write your own.
I''m all ears. Go ahead and start backing up your views on here then, and stop with the insults. Give us your best argument as to why it''s "so good" to hook vegetables up to life support for 28 years.
"Give us your best argument as to why it''''s ''so good'' to hook vegetables up to life support for 28 years."
Please point to where I used the term "so good" in reference to hooking up life support to vegetables. What vegetables are you claiming I used that term in reference to, anyway? Carrots? Potatoes?
What I said was that starving/dehydrating human beings who are in either a coma or a persistent vegetative state (they are not the same thing) is the same as murder, and not everyone would choose that for themselves. To say "who would want to live that way" compared to the way we live now, those of us who have enough functionality to comment on this article, is very different than to say "who would want to live that way" if the alternative is to be murdered.
People do come out of these states. Perhaps you read the articles a few weeks back about a boy whose doctors thought he was brain-dead and were actually getting ready to harvest his organs when he woke up. And even if they don''t - we''re all going to die anyway, including you and I. What is the big rush?
But you don''t have to counter any of this. Just find another insulting word to call me, and then you don''t have to admit that a reasonable person wouldn''t necessarily agree with all of your opinions.
Not everyone reports the bad experience you had. The boy I mentioned earlier could hear people saying he was really dead and the plug needed to be pulled, and he said he wanted to throw them out the window.
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Posted by Lemonskink at 03:19 PM : Dec 06, 2008
I take it you don''t like Bush. Ok What about tiy Den''s that gave are money away to the nO GOOD AUTOMAKERS AND THE WORST NO GOODS OF ALL THE UAW. You SUCK
This is the main reason doctors etc. like to keep people...on machines etc. MONEY
A doctor can make a few thousand in an hour visting patinets. The place where they stay can make millions a year.... SAD....
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Posted by Lemonskink at 03:19 PM : Dec 06, 2008
I take it you don''''t like Bush. Ok What about tiy Den''''s that gave are money away to the nO GOOD AUTOMAKERS AND THE WORST NO GOODS OF ALL THE UAW. You SUCK
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Posted by hitoyou11 at 07:02 PM : Dec 06, 2008
Your both complete f''''''ing idiots.
Posted by markjessup1 at 08:55 PM : Dec 06, 2008
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Typical comment from an illiterate idiot
Also, she was, at the time of the comas, worth $25 million to $40 million, and as of the late 90''s room charges were up to about $1,500 a day - $547,000 a year, plus another $200,000 to $300,000 for round-the-clock private nursing; that is maintenance right there. And she apparently had sufficient funds to cover her care. The article says nothing about life support.
She was in what was known as "A persistent vegetative state (PVS) is a condition of patients with severe brain damage in whom coma has progressed to a state of wakefulness without detectable awareness. ". Individuals in PVS are seldom on any life-sustaining equipment other than a feeding tube because the brainstem, the center of vegetative functions (such as heart rate and rhythm, respiration, gastrointestinal activity), is relatively intact.
That was not her case. She was in a vegetative state (life support is when you are "artificially" kept alive; blood pumping and breathing for you), she was breathing with a pulse, thus resulting in "sometimes conscious but giving no sign of awareness".
As CBS so nicely and eloquently put (sarcastic eye-rolling) she "spent the last 28 years of her life in oblivion".
CBS, please try to remember you were reporting on someone''s mother and do try to remember that humans do have emotions.
As with all good mysteries, you want to know how it ended or the conclusion.
What have they done for the country that benefits the greater good? It''s likely that you and your neighbors have done more, yet when was the last time you saw your neighbor''s obituary on CBS?
I''m more than tired seeing the media inform us about about the so-called elite.
What have they done for the country that benefits the greater good? It''''s likely that you and your neighbors have done more, yet when was the last time you saw your neighbor''''s obituary on CBS?
I''''m more than tired seeing the media inform us about about the so-called elite.
Posted by cbsblogger at 08:33 PM : Dec 07, 2008
Wow, that is really.... sad-- how do you sleep at night with such bitterness and loathing? Apparently her family cares very much. I hope you have a family who cares about you, if you don''t then I feel for you.
There are those who are interested in the case, and this story is a "footnote" as it were. It is educational for those who are studying criminal justice, and part of the reason forensic science is so integral to the investigative process.
Someone else may not care, others might. For some it is a histoy lesson, others it isn''t. It is a good wake-up call to make sure to protect yourself going into a marriage if you have anything of value. And, to make certain to get out of a bad situation before it is too late.
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by meinnv
December 10, 2008 1:24 PM PST
- And contrary to everyone else''s belief, the current president was not to blame for the incident which occurred back in the early 80''s.
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