Sunny von Bülow

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Martha Sharp Crawford von Bülow (born September 1, 1932 in Manassas, Virginia) is an American heiress and was a socialite and philanthropist. She was the wife of Claus von Bülow. Known as Sunny, she has been in a persistent vegetative state since 1980, following an unexplained coma. Her husband, Claus von Bülow, was convicted of twice attempting her murder, but the conviction was overturned on appeal, as dramatized in the book and movie Reversal of Fortune. Many aspects of her persistent vegetative state remain unexplained and a subject of conjecture and controversy.

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[edit] Early life and marriages

The only child of utilities magnate George Crawford and his wife, Annie-Laurie, she inherited many millions of dollars as a result of her father's death when she was only four. She married His Serene Highness Prince Alfred of Auersperg, an Austrian nobleman, on July 20, 1957. They had two children, Annie-Laurie ("Ala") and Alexander Georg (who personally uses the surname Auersperg, without the "von"). Sunny and Alfred were divorced in 1965. By this time, Sunny's net worth was valued at over US$75 million.

On June 6, 1966, Sunny married Claus von Bülow, and they had a daughter, Cosima von Bülow, in 1967. By 1980, significant stresses and tensions had developed in their marriage. An episode of confusion and impairment in April 1980 was evaluated in the hospital, reportedly with confirmation of a diagnosis of "reactive hypoglycemia". She recovered uneventfully and over the next several months she followed a "hypoglycemic diet" to some extent.

[edit] 1980 incident and indictment

On the evening of December 21, 1980, while celebrating Christmas with her family at their mansion, Clarendon Court, in Newport, Rhode Island, Sunny again displayed confusion and incoordination. She was put to bed by her family, but in the morning it was apparent she was more deeply unconscious than could be attributed to ordinary intoxication. She was taken to the hospital where it became gradually clear this time she had suffered severe enough brain injury to produce a "persistent vegetative state." Although clinical features resembled a drug overdose, some of the laboratory evidence suggested hypoglycemia. After debate between her husband and children about turning off life support, with Claus reportedly arguing vehemently for terminating life support, it turned out Sunny continued to breathe on her own.

Because of the increased marital tensions between Claus and Sunny in the fall of 1980, her children were suspicious that her brain injury was the result of attempted murder by Claus. The terms of Sunny and Claus's prenuptial agreement stipulated that he would receive nothing if they were to divorce; however, as her widower, he would inherit approximately US$14 million. Sunny's two eldest children persuaded Richard H. Kuh, the former New York County District Attorney, to investigate the possibility Claus had tried to murder their mother. After accumulating some evidence, Rhode Island prosecutors were persuaded to present the evidence to a grand jury, and in July 1981, Claus was charged with two counts of attempted murder.

[edit] First trial

The case attracted nationwide publicity. The trial began in February 1982. Evidence presented by the prosecution consisted of circumstantial evidence, imputation of financial motive, extensive testimony by various maids, chauffeurs, doctors, and personal exercise trainers, a black bag with drugs, and a used syringe reported to contain traces of insulin found in Claus von Bülow's mansion. There was much evidence of excessive use of sedatives, vitamins, and other drugs by Sunny, including testimony of alcohol and substance abuse problems. Harvard endocrinologist George Cahill testified that he was convinced that her brain damage was the result of injected insulin. The jury was convinced and Claus was convicted.

[edit] Appeal

Bülow hired Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz for his appeal. Dershowitz and his other attorneys produced evidence of Sunny's excessive drug use, including testimony by both Truman Capote and Joanne Carson (second wife of Johnny Carson). They managed to exclude some of the evidence that had been damaging in the first trial, such as the "black bag" from the closet, excluded on grounds it was improperly obtained. Some of the expert witness testimony was excluded as hypothetical or hearsay. Additional expert witness testimony cast doubt on the validity of evidence a syringe contained traces of insulin. After seven months, the appeals court reversed the conviction.

[edit] Aftermath

Sunny's family remained convinced that Claus had tried to murder her. He reportedly renounced his share of his wife's estate to have their daughter Cosima retained as an heiress to her maternal grandmother's fortune. Ala Kniessel (now Annie Laurie Isham), and Alexander von Auersperg reportedly received US$45 million each upon their grandmother's death several years later; Cosima von Bülow received US$30 million. For inheritance tax purposes, Sunny's individual fortune is earmarked for her future grandchildren rather than her children, which effectively absolved all of Sunny's children of any suspicion of guilt during the numerous investigations into her comas.

As of 2008, there has been no published report of Sunny's death and she apparently remains in a permanent vegetative state.

[edit] Televised accounts

The 1990 film Reversal of Fortune was based on Dershowitz' book about the case, with Glenn Close and Jeremy Irons playing Sunny and Claus von Bülow.

Bill Kurtis narrated an episode of the series American Justice titled Von Bulow: A Wealth of Evidence.

The television series Biography produced and aired a documentary episode titled Claus von Bülow: A Reasonable Doubt, with interviews of Claus Von Bulow and Alan Dershowitz.

[edit] External links

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