View source for Sunny von Bülow

{{short description|American heiress, socialite, and philanthropist}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2015}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Sunny von Bülow
| image              = Sunny von Bülow.gif
| caption            =
| birth_name         = Martha Sharp Crawford
| birth_date         = {{birth date|1932|9|1|mf=y}}
| birth_place        = [[Manassas, Virginia]], U.S.
| death_date         = {{death date and age|2008|12|6|1932|9|1|mf=y}}
| death_place        = [[Manhattan]], New York City, New York, U.S.
| other_names        =
| occupation         = [[Socialite]]
| known_for          =
| father             = [[George Crawford (American businessman)|George Crawford]]
| children           = 3, including [[Cosima von Bülow Pavoncelli]]
| spouse             = {{plainlist|
* {{marriage|Prince Alfred von [[Principality of Auersperg|Auersperg]]<br />|1957|1965|reason=div}}
* {{marriage|[[Claus von Bülow]]<br />|1966|1987|reason=div}}
}}
}}
'''Martha Sharp''' "'''Sunny'''" '''von Bülow''' ({{nee|Crawford}}; September 1, 1932 − December 6, 2008) was an [[List of American heiresses|American heiress]] and [[socialite]]. Her second husband, [[Claus von Bülow]] (1926−2019), was convicted in 1982 of attempting to [[murder]] her by [[insulin]] overdose, but the conviction was overturned on [[appeal]]. A second trial found him [[Acquittal|not guilty]], after [[expert]]s opined that there was no insulin injection and that her symptoms were attributable to overuse of [[prescription drug]]s. The story was dramatized in the book and film ''[[Reversal of Fortune]]''. Sunny von Bülow lived almost 28 years in a [[persistent vegetative state]], from December 1980 until her death in a New York City nursing home on December 6, 2008.
==Early life==
She was the only child of utilities magnate [[George Crawford (American businessman)|George Crawford]] (a former chairman of Columbia Gas & Electric Company)<ref name="globe">[http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/obituaries/articles/2008/12/07/martha_sunny_von_bulow_at_76_heiress_fell_into_coma_28_years_ago/ "Martha 'Sunny' von Bulow, at 76; heiress fell into coma 28 years ago."] ''Boston Globe''. December 7, 2008.</ref> and his wife, Annie-Laurie Warmack. She was born on her father's personal railway carriage in [[Manassas, Virginia]], en route from [[Hot Springs, Virginia]], to New York,<ref name="scotsman">[http://news.scotsman.com/obituaries/Sunny-von-Blow.4769584.jp "Obituary."] ''The Scotsman''. December 7, 2008.</ref> for which she was known as "Choo-Choo" as a child before being nicknamed "Sunny" because of her nature.<ref name=nyt>{{cite news| title=Sunny von Bülow, 76, Focus of Society Drama, Dies|first=Enid|last=Nemy|work=The New York Times|date=December 6, 2008| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/07/nyregion/07vonbulow.html?_r=2&ref=obituaries}}</ref>
Upon her father's death, when she was three years old, she inherited a reported US$100&nbsp;million.<ref name="scotsman"/> Her mother, the daughter of the founder of the [[International Shoe Company]], later married Russell Aitken, a sculptor and writer.
==Personal life==
On July 20, 1957, Sunny married Alfred Eduard Friedrich Vincenz Martin Maria [[Principality of Auersperg|Auersperg]] (1936–1992),<ref name=nyt/> the son of Prince Alois Maria Joseph Alexander von Auersperg (1897–1984) and his wife, Countess Henriette Maria Luise [[:File:Larisch-Moenich-Wappen.png|Larisch von Moennich]] (1902–1994).<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.genealogics.org/getperson.php?personID=I00036864&tree=LEO | title=Alois, Prinz von Auersperg : Genealogics }}</ref> He came from a very distinguished [[Mediatised Houses#List of Princely mediatised houses (Durchlaucht)|Austrian princely family]] family that once ruled over the [[Principality of Auersperg]], but due to the collapse of the [[Austria-Hungary|Austrian Empire]], his family became relatively impoverished. Alfred's elder sister, Princess Henriette von Auersperg (1933–2019), also married an heir, [[Arndt von Bohlen und Halbach]], the last male heir of [[Krupp]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.genealogics.org/getperson.php?personID=I00036865&tree=LEO | title=Henriette, Prinzessin von Auersperg : Genealogics }}</ref> Sunny and Alfred met while he was her tennis instructor in a Swiss resort.<ref>{{cite book|author1=William Wright|title=The Von Bulow Affair|url=https://archive.org/details/vonblowaffair00wrigrich|url-access=registration|publisher=Dell|date=1984|pages=[https://archive.org/details/vonblowaffair00wrigrich/page/29 29]|isbn=9780440193562 }}</ref>
They had two children together:
*Annie-Laurie ''Ala'' von Auersperg (born 1958), co-founder of the [[National Center for Victims of Crime]], who married financier Ralph H. Isham, son of diplomat [[Heyward Isham]].<ref>{{cite news|first=Carl|last=Swanson|url=https://www.townandcountrymag.com/leisure/travel-guide/a26414967/sunny-von-bulows-daughter/|title=How Sunny Von Bulow's Daughter Ala Isham Found Her Voice|work=[[Town & Country Magazine]]|date=14 March 2019|access-date=26 January 2022}}</ref>
*Alexander Georg von Auersperg (born 1959), co-founder of the [[National Center for Victims of Crime]], who married investment banker Nancy Louise Weinberg.<ref>{{cite news|first=|last=|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B06EEDD1F3AF932A15755C0A9639D8B63|title=Paid Notice: Deaths WEINBERG, JERROLD G|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=June 21, 2015|access-date=January 26, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Notorious Still |url=https://people.com/archive/notorious-still-vol-54-no-25/ |first=Pam|last=Lambert|access-date=26 January 2022 |work=[[People Magazine]]|date=11 December 2000 }}</ref>
The Auerspergs were divorced in 1965. At that time, Sunny's net worth was over $75 million. Alfred Auersperg died in 1992 after lingering in an irreversible coma for nine years following a 1983 car accident in Austria.<ref name=nyt/>
On June 6, 1966, Sunny married [[Claus von Bülow]], a former aide to oilman [[J. Paul Getty|J. P. Getty]], at the [[Brick Presbyterian Church (New York City)|Brick Presbyterian Church]] in New York City. His maternal grandfather, whose surname he took, was [[Frits Bülow|Frits Toxwerdt von Bülow]], [[Justice Minister of Denmark]] in the government of [[Klaus Berntsen]] (1910–1913) and also came from a noble background.<ref name="BulowWedding">{{cite news|title=London Lawyer Weds Princess Auersperg|url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1966/06/07/121725537.html?pageNumber=54|access-date=15 November 2016|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=June 7, 1966|page=54}}</ref>
Together, they had a daughter:
*[[Cosima von Bülow Pavoncelli|Cosima von Bülow]] (born 1967),<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/07/nyregion/07vonbulow.html |title=Sunny von Bülow, 76, Focus of Society Drama, Dies|work=The New York Times | date=2008-12-07 |access-date=2021-09-30 |quote=A daughter, Cosima, was born in 1967, and the three siblings apparently got along well until their mother’s comas aroused the suspicions of the Auersperg children.… Mr. von Bülow was acquitted in 1985 after a second trial in Providence, R.I., where his chief defense counsel was Thomas P. Puccio. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111106130334/https://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/07/nyregion/07vonbulow.html |archive-date=2011-11-06 |last1=Nemy |first1=Enid }}</ref> who married Count Riccardo [[:File:Stemma_Pavoncelli_completo.jpg|Pavoncelli]].
By 1979, significant stresses and tensions had developed in their marriage, and both Sunny and Claus spoke openly about the possibility of a divorce.<ref>{{cite web|last=Gribben|first=Mark|url=http://www.crimelibrary.com/notorious_murders/family/bulow/4.html|title=The Claus von Bulow Case|publisher=Crimelibrary.com|page=4|access-date=December 7, 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081021092627/http://www.crimelibrary.com/notorious_murders/family/bulow/4.html|archive-date=October 21, 2008|df=mdy-all}}</ref>
==1979 incident==
On December 26, 1979, after the family had come together for Christmas at their [[Newport, Rhode Island]] mansion, she was found unresponsive and was rushed to the hospital where she slipped into a coma, but was revived. After days of testing, doctors determined the coma was the result of low blood sugar and diagnosed her as [[hypoglycemia|hypoglycemic]], warning her against overindulging on sweets or going too long without eating.<ref>{{cite web|last=Gribben|first=Mark|url=http://www.crimelibrary.com/notorious_murders/family/bulow/5.html|title=The Claus von Bulow Case|publisher=Crimelibrary.com|page=5|access-date=December 7, 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081020051005/http://www.crimelibrary.com/notorious_murders/family/bulow/5.html|archive-date=October 20, 2008|df=mdy-all}}</ref> While no foul play was suspected at the time, Claus von Bülow was later accused of causing this incident by injecting her with insulin.<ref>{{cite web|first=Verena|last=Dobnk|url= https://www.thestar.com/News/World/article/549673|title=Sunny von Bulow dead after 28 years in coma|work=The Star|date= December 6, 2008|access-date=December 7, 2008}}</ref> In April 1980, she was again hospitalized after appearing incoherent and disoriented; their doctors reconfirmed she suffered from [[reactive hypoglycemia]]. She was advised to maintain control of the hypoglycemia by following a strict diet, limiting her sugar intake, and avoiding alcohol.<ref>{{cite web|last=Gribben|first=Mark|url=http://www.crimelibrary.com/notorious_murders/family/bulow/6.html|title=The Claus von Bulow Case|publisher=Crimelibrary.com|page=6|access-date=December 7, 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081021092632/http://www.crimelibrary.com/notorious_murders/family/bulow/6.html|archive-date=October 21, 2008|df=mdy-all}}</ref>
==1980 incident==
[[File:ClarendonCourt.JPG|thumb|right|Clarendon Court in [[Newport, Rhode Island]]]]On the evening of December 21, 1980, while celebrating Christmas with her family at their mansion, Clarendon Court, in Newport, Rhode Island, she again displayed confusion and lack of coordination. She was put to bed by her family, but in the morning she was discovered unconscious on the bathroom floor. She was taken to the hospital where it became clear that 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]]. The Court of Appeal ordered disclosure of the notes taken by the Auersperg children's attorney. These showed that Claus von Bülow did not want to terminate life support, as had been alleged.
Because of the increased marital tensions between Claus and Sunny von Bülow in the fall of 1980, her children were suspicious that her brain injury was the result of foul play by him. Her two eldest children persuaded [[Richard H. Kuh]], the former New York County District Attorney, to investigate the possibility Claus von Bülow had attempted the murder of their mother. After the gathering of evidence, Rhode Island prosecutors presented the case to a grand jury who returned an indictment, and in July 1981, he was charged with two counts of attempted murder.
===First trial===
The case attracted nationwide publicity in the United States. The trial began in February 1982. Evidence presented by the prosecution consisted of circumstantial evidence, imputation of financial motive, extensive testimony by various maids, including Maria Schrallhammer who was a prominent witness at both trials,<ref>{{cite web|last=Gribben|first=Mark|url=http://www.crimelibrary.com/notorious_murders/family/bulow/26.html|title=The Claus von Bulow Case|publisher=Crimelibrary.com|page=26|access-date=December 7, 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081204111918/http://www.crimelibrary.com/notorious_murders/family/bulow/26.html|archive-date=December 4, 2008|df=mdy-all}}</ref> 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 her, including testimony of alcohol and substance abuse problems. [[Harvard University|Harvard]] [[Endocrinology|endocrinologist]] [[George F. Cahill Jr.|George Cahill]] testified that he was convinced that her brain damage was the result of injected [[insulin]]. Claus von Bülow was convicted.
===Appeal===
Claus von Bülow hired Harvard law professor [[Alan Dershowitz]] for his appeal. Dershowitz's campaign to acquit him was assisted by the then [[Harvard Law School]] student and later [[television personality]] [[Jim Cramer]]; Cramer felt then and later wrote publicly that von Bülow was "supremely guilty" of the crime.<ref>{{cite book|first=Jim|last=Cramer|publisher=[[Simon & Schuster]]|isbn=978-0-7432-2489-5|year=2005|page=[https://archive.org/details/jimcramersrealmo00cram/page/27 27]|title=Jim Cramer's real money: sane investing in an insane world|url=https://archive.org/details/jimcramersrealmo00cram|url-access=registration}}</ref> Dershowitz and his other attorneys produced evidence of Sunny von Bülow's excessive drug use, including testimony by both [[Truman Capote]] and [[Joanne Carson (model)|Joanne Carson]] (second wife of [[Johnny Carson]]) and more than ten of Sunny's friends. Some of the expert witness testimony was excluded as hypothetical or hearsay. Additional expert witness testimony cast doubt on the validity of evidence that a syringe contained traces of insulin. The appeals court quashed the conviction on several grounds, including the appellate court's ruling that justice for the accused should override attorney–client privilege; and that therefore the notes taken by Kuh, the Auersperg children's attorney, should be disclosed. These notes called into question the credibility of her maid, Ms. Schrallhammer, who had been a key witness for the prosecution.
At the second trial the defense called nine medical experts, all world-renowned university professors, who testified that the two comas were not caused by insulin, but by a combination of ingested (not injected) drugs, alcohol, and her chronic health conditions. The experts were John Caronna (vice chairman of neurology, [[Cornell University|Cornell]]); [[Leo Dal Cortivo]] (former president, U.S. Toxicology Association); Ralph DeFronzo (medicine, [[Yale University|Yale]]); Kurt Dubowski (forensic pathology, [[University of Oklahoma]]); [[Dan Foster (physician)|Daniel Foster]] (medicine, [[University of Texas]]); Daniel Furst, (medicine, [[University of Iowa]]); Harold Lebovitz (director of clinical research, [[State University of New York]]); [[Vincent Marks]] (clinical biochemistry, Surrey, vice-president [[Royal College of Pathologists]] and president, Association of Clinical Biochemistry); and Arthur Rubinstein (medicine, [[University of Chicago]]).
Other experts testified that the hypodermic needle tainted with insulin on the outside (but not inside) would have been dipped in insulin but not injected (injecting it in flesh would have wiped it clean). Evidence also showed that her hospital admission three weeks before the final coma showed she had ingested at least 73 aspirin tablets, a quantity that could only have been self-administered, and which indicated her state of mind.<ref>{{Cite book|author1=Alan M. Dershowitz|author-link1=Alan Dershowitz|title=Reversal of Fortune: Inside the von Bülow Case|date=1986|publisher=Random House|location=New York|isbn=0394539036|page=202|chapter=The True-or-False Defense|quote=Dr. Dal Cortivo ... As a live witness... bolstered the defense contention that Sunny had taken "at least sixty-five aspirin tablets" during a half-hour period just three weeks before her final coma.}}</ref><ref>Trial transcripts, June 1984</ref>
Cahill recanted his testimony from the first trial and opined that insulin was the most reasonable explanation for von Bülow's coma, but that "neither he nor anyone else could ever be 100 percent certain of the cause of the comas."<ref>{{cite news|last=Friendly|first=Jonathan|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?sec=health&res=9800E2D9123BF934A25756C0A963948260|title=Insulin Probably Caused Comas, Doctor Asserts In Von Bulow Trial|work=New York Times|date=May 17, 1985|access-date=December 7, 2008}}</ref>
===Aftermath===
Sunny's family remained convinced that her husband had tried to murder her and was upset that Cosima had chosen to take her father's side. As a result, in 1981, Sunny's mother, Annie Laurie Aitken, disinherited Cosima,<ref name="crimelibrary1">{{cite web|last=Gribben|first=Mark|url=http://www.crimelibrary.com/notorious_murders/family/bulow/29.html|title=The Claus von Bulow Case|publisher=Crimelibrary.com|access-date=December 7, 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081205001502/http://www.crimelibrary.com/notorious_murders/family/bulow/29.html|archive-date=December 5, 2008|df=mdy-all}}</ref> denying her share of the estate upon Aitken's death on May 4, 1984.<ref>{{cite web|title=Annie Laurie Aitken|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=990DE1D91138F936A35756C0A962948260|work=New York Times|date=May 5, 1984|access-date=December 7, 2008}}</ref> In July 1985, ten days after Claus von Bülow was acquitted at his second trial, Ala and Alexander filed a $56 million civil lawsuit against him, on their mother's behalf.<ref name="nytimes1">{{cite news|last=Hevesi|first=Dennis|url= https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DEFDD1539F937A15751C1A961948260|title=Von Bulow Says He Will Drop Claim to Money|work=New York Times|date=December 24, 1987|access-date=December 7, 2008}}</ref> On December 24, 1987, this case was settled out of court when Claus von Bülow agreed to divorce her, give up all claims to her fortune, then estimated between $25 million and $40 million, and leave the country. In exchange, Cosima was reinstated in Aitken's will and received $30 million as her one-third share of the estate.<ref name="crimelibrary1"/><ref name="nytimes1"/>
After the trials, Ala and Alexander founded the Sunny von Bülow National Victim Advocacy Center<ref>[https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-03-30-vw-1967-story.html "Von Bulow Stepchildren Speak Out : They Open Victim Advocacy Center in Mother's Name"][[Los Angeles Times]] March 30, 1986</ref> in [[Fort Worth, Texas]], now the National Center for Victims of Crime<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.ncvc.org |title = NCVC - Informative Source For Your Health {{!}} NCVC – Information Source For Your Health}}</ref> in Washington, DC, and the Sunny von Bülow Coma and Head Trauma Research Foundation in New York.<ref name=nyt/>
===Death===
Sunny remained in a persistent vegetative state until her death from [[cardiopulmonary arrest]] on December 6, 2008, at Mary Manning Walsh Nursing Home in New York City.<ref name=nyt/> Her memorial service, given by her three children, was held on January 14, 2009, at the [[Brick Presbyterian Church (New York City)|Brick Presbyterian Church]] in New York which was the same church where the von Bülows married.<ref>[[Dominick Dunne|Dunne, Dominick]]. [http://www.vanityfair.com/style/features/2009/01/sunny-von-bulow200901 "Sunny Memories."] ''[[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]]''. January 30, 2009.</ref> She is buried near her mother in the cemetery of St. Mary's Episcopal Church in [[Portsmouth, RI]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Sunny von Bulow |url=https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/32001787/sunny-von_bülow |website=Findagrave}}</ref>
==In popular culture==
===Books===
[[Alan Dershowitz]], Claus's attorney, wrote a book about the case, ''Reversal of Fortune: Inside the von Bülow Case'' (New York, [[Random House]] 1986 and London, [[Penguin Books]] 1991).
Professor Vincent Marks, an insulin expert of the [[University of Surrey]], England, and Caroline Richmond have a chapter on the science underpinning Sunny von Bülow's medical condition in their book, ''Insulin Murders'' (London, Royal Society of Medicine Press 2007).{{citation needed|date=June 2019}}
===Television===
Sunny von Bülow's coma is referenced in ''[[Seinfeld]]'', ([[Seinfeld (season 3)|Season 3]] Episode 15 "[[The Suicide (Seinfeld)|The Suicide]]"), ''[[Will and Grace]]'' (Season 3 Episode 21 "The Young and the Tactless" and Season 4 Episode 17 "Someone Old, Someplace New"), and ''[[Gilmore Girls]]'' (Season 3 Episode 1 "Those Lazy-Hazy-Crazy Days").
In [[The Nanny]] Season 2 Episode 15, Fran references a trip to see Claus and Fran was "stuck upstairs with Sunny" and said "the woman doesn't say two words"
In [[Will and Grace]] Season 4 Episode 17, Jack asks Karen to guess the identity of the surprise guest he has in store for her. Karen exclaims "Sunny's out of bed? Finally! Von Bülow, get your ass in here!"
===Media portrayals===
The 1990 film ''[[Reversal of Fortune]]'' was based on Dershowitz's books about the case, with [[Glenn Close]] playing Sunny and [[Jeremy Irons]] playing Claus von Bülow, a performance for which he was awarded an [[Academy Award for Best Actor]].
[[Bill Kurtis]] narrated an episode of the series ''[[American Justice]]'' titled "Von Bulow: A Wealth of Evidence".
The American television series ''[[Biography (TV series)|Biography]]'' produced and aired a documentary episode titled "Claus von Bülow: A Reasonable Doubt", with interviews of Claus Von Bülow and Alan Dershowitz.
In 2015, ''Mansions and Murders'' produced and aired an episode detailing the major events surrounding the alleged attempted murder.
This story was also featured on ''[[Dominick Dunne's Power, Privilege, and Justice]]'' in the episode titled "The Von Bülow Affair" on [[truTV]].
The case and its successful appeal were also cited by the judge in the 1993 ''[[Law & Order]]'' episode "[[Law & Order (season 3)|Extended Family]]".
[[Sunny Baudelaire]] of the ''[[A Series of Unfortunate Events]]'' novels is named after Sunny von Bülow.
==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}
==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20040618050032/http://www.crimelibrary.com/notorious_murders/family/bulow/1.html The Bülow case at www.crimelibrary.com]
* [http://www.quahog.org/attractions/index.php?id=43 Clarendon Court Mansion, Bülow's former home]
* [http://www.legacy.com/Star-Gazette/Obituaries.asp?Page=LifeStory&PersonID=121015636 Obituary] in the [[Star Gazette]]
* [http://www.victimsofcrime.org/about-us/our-history National Center for Victims of Crime (formerly the Sunny Von Bulow National Victim Advocacy Center)]
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bulow, Sunny von}}
[[Category:1932 births]]
[[Category:2008 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century American people]]
[[Category:20th-century American women]]
[[Category:American socialites]]
[[Category:Bülow family|Sunny]]
[[Category:Drug-related deaths in New York City]]
[[Category:People with severe brain damage]]
[[Category:People from Manassas, Virginia]]
[[Category:People from Newport, Rhode Island]]
[[Category:Chapin School (Manhattan) alumni]]
[[Category:People with disorders of consciousness]]
[[Category:House of Auersperg]]