Sunny von Bulow dead after 28 years in coma

[Equipoise]

To be honest, I didn’t even realize she was still alive. I can’t imagine being in a coma for so long.

Sunny von Bulow dead after 28 years in coma

NEW YORK – Martha “Sunny” von Bulow, an heiress who spent the last 28 years of her life in oblivion after what prosecutors alleged in a pair of sensational trials were two murder attempts by her husband, died Saturday at age 76.

She died at a nursing home in New York, her children said in a statement issued by family spokeswoman Maureen Connelly.

Sunny von Bulow was a personification of romantic notions about high society — a stunning heiress who brought her American millions to marriages with men who gave her honored old European names.

But she ended her days in a coma, showing no sign of awareness as she was visited by her children and tended around the clock by nurses.

In the 1980s, she was the offstage presence that haunted her husband’s two sensational trials in Newport and 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. That verdict was thrown out on appeal, and he was acquitted at a second trial in 1985.

The murder case split Newport society, produced lurid headlines and was later made into the 1990 film, “Reversal of Fortune,” starring Glenn Close and Jeremy Irons.

…

[ivylass]

Well, I submit she died 28 years ago and her body finally joined her. What a tragic situation.

So we think Claus got away with murder?

[Equipoise]

I think he did, yes.

[ASAKMOTSD]

Let’s just hope he finds someone selling his memorabilia in Las Vegas sometime soon.

[gonzomax]

How much money was invested in keeping her around for 28 years?

[NinetyWt]

@gonzomax

How much money was invested in keeping her around for 28 years?

From the article:

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 $200,000 to $300,000 for round-the-clock private nursing.

[Ruby]

I popped in to say the same, I knew of her story and of Claus but was totally not aware that she was still alive. How did that slip off the radar screen?

[KGS]

@Ruby

I knew of her story and of Claus but was totally not aware that she was still alive. How did that slip off the radar screen?

Well, it’s not like she’s been hanging out at Hollywood nightclubs or anything.

I haven’t read the book Reversal of Fortune, but I’ve seen the movie several times, and from what I can gather, it doesn’t seem like Klaus von Bulow actually tried to kill her. It’s more like she tried to kill herself, and Klaus “aided and abetted” her suicide attempt, which is rather heinous but still a far cry from an O.J.-type slaying. Besides, he’s already been disgraced and humiliated, and he’s been disinherited from Sonny’s fortune, which is something to keep in mind.

[Sunrazor]

@KGS

(snip) and he’s been disinherited from Sonny’s fortune, which is something to keep in mind.

Bono?

[panache45]

Good, now they can re-try Claus . . . for actual murder this time.

[ivylass]

He’s been found not guilty of attempted murder. I don’t think they can make a case for murder now, something about underlying crimes, but IANAL.