The Suspicious Case of Martha “Sunny” von Bülow (Rhode Island)

Summary

Dark Downeast: The Suspicious Case of Martha “Sunny” von Bülow (Rhode Island)
Episode Released: April 17, 2025
Host: Kylie Lowe

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Introduction to the Case

In this gripping episode of Dark Downeast, investigative journalist Kylie Lowe delves into the mysterious and controversial case of Martha “Sunny” von Bülow. A well-known heiress from Newport, Rhode Island, Sunny’s life took a dramatic and tragic turn when she fell into two comas within a year under suspicious circumstances. The episode meticulously examines the events leading up to her comas, the ensuing investigations, the high-profile trials, and the lasting impact on her family and community.

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Background: The Von Bülow Family

Martha Sharpe Crawford von Bülow, affectionately known as Sunny, was born into wealth and privilege. Born in 1932 aboard her father’s private train car, Sunny was the only child of Annie Laurie Crawford Aitken and George Crawford, a magnate who built the Columbia Gas and Electric Company in Pittsburgh. After her father’s death when she was just four, Sunny inherited a substantial $75 million estate.

Sunny’s social life was as illustrious as her wealth. She married Austrian Prince Alfred von Ausburg in 1957, with whom she had two children before divorcing eight years later. In 1966, she married Danish-born aristocrat Klaus von Bülow, a lawyer who left his prosperous career to live off Sunny’s considerable estate. The couple lived between their opulent Fifth Avenue apartment in Manhattan and Clarendon Court, a lavish mansion in Newport’s prestigious Bellevue Avenue.

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The First Coma Incident (1979)

On December 26, 1979, Sunny, then 47, began experiencing severe health issues. Feeling weak and uncoordinated, she was assisted by her son, Alexander, to her bedroom. The following morning at 9:30 AM, their maid, Maria Schrelhammer, heard Sunny moaning in her bed but couldn’t wake her. Maria swiftly informed Klaus, urging him to call a doctor. Initially, Klaus delayed seeking help, only making the call at 2 PM, attributing Sunny’s unresponsiveness to her alcohol use the previous night.

By 6 PM, Sunny’s condition had deteriorated to cardiorespiratory arrest due to massive aspiration of gastric contents and unexplained hypoglycemia. She was revived but remained in a coma for 24 hours, diagnosed with bronchopneumonia and hypoglycemia of undetermined etiology. Despite treatment, the exact cause of her low blood sugar remained a mystery.

Notable Quote:
Maria Schrelhammer testified, "Some of what Klaus told the doctor on the phone that day wasn't true. Sunny hadn't been up and about earlier in the morning... she hadn't been drinking alcohol the night before either." (Timestamp: 02:17)

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The Second Coma Incident (1980)

A year later, on December 21, 1980, Sunny was found unresponsive again on her bathroom floor. Unlike the first incident, this time Klaus acted more promptly, calling emergency services. However, Sunny’s condition was critical, and she never regained consciousness, remaining in a coma for the rest of her life.

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Suspicion and Investigation

The recurrence of Sunny’s comas raised suspicions among her family members. Her children, Alexander and Ala, along with their grandmother, believed Klaus was attempting to kill her to inherit her fortune. They hired private investigator Richard Q., who uncovered alarming evidence:

1. The Black Bag:
   Maria found a small black bag containing needles, vials, and various drugs in Klaus’s closet. Initial tests revealed high concentrations of insulin and the presence of barbiturates, suggesting possible foul play.

2. Financial Motive:
   Prosecutors argued that Klaus stood to gain significantly from Sunny’s death, including controlling her estates and inheriting millions.

Notable Quote:
Alexander von Bulow stated, "The test results on the needles and powders were confirmation enough that my stepfather had tried to kill my mother twice." (Timestamp: 15:47)

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The First Trial (1981-1982)

In July 1981, Klaus von Bülow was indicted on two counts of attempted murder. The prosecution, led by Stephen Familigetti and Susan McWhirl, presented a case built on motive, means, and opportunity:

• Motive:
  Klaus’s potential financial gain from Sunny’s untimely death, especially in light of their fragile marriage and his alleged affair.

• Means:
  The presence of insulin and sedatives in Claus’s possessions, coupled with Maria’s testimony about the black bag.

• Opportunity:
  Klaus’s proximity to Sunny during her comas and his delayed response in the first instance.

Key testimonies included:

• Alexandra Iles, Klaus’s Former Mistress:
  She alleged that Klaus had pressured her to choose between marriage and leaving, supporting the narrative of his unfaithfulness and greed.

• Dr. George F. Cahill:
  An expert who testified that Sunny’s comas could only be explained by external insulin injections.

Despite these compelling arguments, Klaus maintained his innocence, asserting that Sunny’s condition was a result of her own health issues and substance use.

Notable Quote:
Dr. Cahill emphasized, "The only possible explanation for Sunny's comas is insulin being injected either by her or someone else." (Timestamp: 14:09)

In February 1982, the trial commenced, culminating in March with Klaus being found guilty on both counts and sentenced to 30 years in prison.

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Public Reaction and Advocacy for Appeal

Klaus’s conviction sparked public outcry, especially in Newport, where many believed in his innocence. Demonstrations outside the courthouse highlighted the community’s division.

Determined to overturn the verdict, Klaus sought the expertise of renowned Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz. Dershowitz argued that crucial evidence had been mishandled and that Klaus’s constitutional rights had been violated during the initial trial.

Notable Quote:
Alan Dershowitz asserted, "The prosecution withheld evidence, and the judge failed to allow the defense access to all pertinent information." (Timestamp: 25:50)

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The Second Trial (1985)

In April 1985, Klaus’s second trial began amid heightened media scrutiny, with CNN broadcasting live coverage. This trial differed significantly from the first:

• Exclusion of Key Evidence:
  Financial motives and certain testimonies from the first trial were barred, weakening the prosecution’s case.

• Defense Strategies:
  The defense introduced testimonies about Sunny’s extensive history with substance abuse, suggesting her comas were self-induced. Witnesses like Sunny’s private exercise instructor testified about her drug use, although some memories were hazy.

• Questioning Witness Credibility:
  Affidavits suggested that Maria, the maid, harbored animosity towards Klaus, casting doubt on her earlier testimonies.

After nine weeks, the jury acquitted Klaus of all charges, a verdict that underscored the complexities and uncertainties surrounding Sunny’s tragic condition.

Notable Quote:
Alan Rosenberg of the Providence Journal noted, "The integrity of the state's case was undeniably challenged, leading to Klaus’s eventual acquittal." (Timestamp: 42:15)

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Aftermath and Legacy

Following his acquittal, Klaus filed a civil lawsuit against Sunny’s children, alleging defamation and misconduct in the criminal trial process. Ultimately, a settlement was reached in 1987, wherein Klaus relinquished claims to Sunny’s estates and agreed to divorce her officially.

Sunny remained in a coma for 28 years, passing away in 2008. Klaus von Bülow died in London in 2019. The case left a lasting impact on those involved:

• Foundations Established:
  Sunny’s children founded the National Victim Center and the Brain Trauma Foundation to honor her legacy and assist other victims.

• Cultural Impact:
  The case inspired Alan Dershowitz’s book Reversal of Fortune and its subsequent film adaptation, further cementing its place in true crime history.

Notable Quote:
Alexander and Ala von Bulow expressed their frustration, "We felt the second trial focused on our mother's character, putting her on trial instead of Klaus." (Timestamp: 42:15)

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Conclusion

The story of Martha “Sunny” von Bülow remains a poignant narrative of love, betrayal, and the pursuit of justice. Whether Klaus von Bülow was innocent or guilty continues to be a subject of debate, reflecting the complexities of legal battles and the profound impacts they have on families and communities. Dark Downeast masterfully captures these intricate dynamics, honoring the human stories at the heart of Cold New England's most enigmatic true crime case.

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Follow Us:
For more detailed information and source materials related to this case, visit Dark Downeast. Stay connected and join the conversation on Instagram @darkdowneast.

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Disclaimer: This summary is based on the transcript provided and aims to encapsulate the key elements of the podcast episode. For comprehensive details, listeners are encouraged to tune into the full episode of Dark Downeast.

Transcript

[Ashley Flowers]

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[Kylie Lowe]

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[Kylie Lowe]

When a wealthy socialite was found face down and unresponsive on her bathroom floor. She soon slipped into her second coma in a year. This time she would never wake up. Suspicion surrounded the cause of the woman's condition from the very beginning, and that suspicion eventually led to an arrest. But two trials and endless speculation from the public and media later, the question still stands. Did someone attempt to end Sunny's life in order to inherit her fortune? Or was the suspect framed? I'm Kylie Lowe and this is the case of Martha Sonny von Bulow on dark down East. It was the day after Christmas, December 26, 1979 in Newport, Rhode island and something was wrong with 47 year old Martha Sharp Crawford von Bulow. Martha, who went by the nickname Sunny, had declined over the course of the evening and was feeling weak and uncoordinated. So her son Alexander helped Sunny to her bedroom to get some rest. Around 9:30 the next morning, one of the von Bulow's household staff members, a maid named Maria Schrelhammer, heard some concerning noises coming from Sunny's bedroom. Sonny was moaning in her bed, but Maria was unable to wake her up. Maria went to find Sonny's husband, Klaus von Bulow, and insisted that he call the doctor for his wife who appeared to be unresponsive. But Klaus did not jump to call for help. Not at first. It wasn't until 2pm that afternoon when he finally phoned a physician. The doctor wasn't available at the moment, so Klaus left a message. When the doctor finally called back about an hour later, Klaus explained that his wife had been struggling with alcohol use disorder and she had been drinking the night before, though she was unresponsive now. Klaus said that Sonny was up and out of bed earlier that morning. He told the doctor that Sunny was probably just sleeping off the previous night's indulgences. According to court filings, the doctor did not respond to the von Velo house until around 6pm that evening. Sunny's condition had taken a severe turn for the worst. So Klaus called the doctor in a panic and the physician made it there just in time. Sunny was vomiting and gasping for breath before she stopped breathing and went into cardiac arrest. The doctor was able to revive her, but she was rushed to Newport Hospital in a comatose state. Sonny had suffered cardiorespiratory arrest due to massive aspiration of gastric contents and she was near death when she arrived at the emergency unit. Doctors also discovered that her blood sugar was exceptionally and inexplicably low. She was administered large doses of sugar, but her levels stayed low for hours. Thankfully, after a full 24 hours of treatment at the hospital, Sunny finally regained consciousness. Doctors delivered a diagnosis of bronchopneumonia and hypoglycemia of undetermined etiology, meaning there was not an obvious or identifiable cause of the low blood sugar level. With that, Sunny was advised to be mindful of her sugar intake and avoid alcohol and to be careful not to go long stretches of time without eating. The incident was traumatic for Sunny and her family and it was also odd. According to the von Bulow maid, Maria. Some of what Klaus told the doctor on the phone that day wasn't true. Sunny hadn't been up and about earlier in the morning. As far as Maria remembered, Sunny hadn't been drinking alcohol the night before either. If he really did lie, as Maria alleged, why? Why indeed? To unpack the layers of this case, we need to first understand the life and circumstances of the wealthy, internationally known heiress Sonny von Bulow. Martha Sharpe Crawford von Bulow was a presence. She was tall and blonde and elegant and according to CBS News, she earned the nickname Sunny for her sunny disposition. She was born in 1932 aboard her father's private train car to Annie Laurie Crawford Aitken, who came from wealth of her own, and George Crawford, who built the Columbia Gas and Electric Company in Pittsburgh. The utilities magnate died when Sonny was just 4 years old and as reported by Doyle McManus for the LA Times, George left his only child a $75 million estate. Sunny was raised by her mother in New York City and she attended the finest boarding schools before coming out to society as a debutante in 1951. Several years later, while touring Europe with her mother, she met Austrian Prince Alfred von Ausburg. They married in 1957 and had two children, Prince Alexander George von Ausburg and Princess Annie Laurie von Arrowsberg, who went by Allah. The Couple divorced after 8 years of marriage and Sunny moved back to New York with the children the following year. On June 6, 1966, Sonny married a Danish born aristocrat named Claus von Bulow. Claus had studied law at the University of Cambridge and worked as a lawyer in London before becoming an aide to billionaire J. Paul Getty, who founded Getty Oil Company. Klaus quit his job once he married Sunny, though, and they lived off her estate. A year into their marriage, Klaus and Sonny welcomed their daughter, Cosima von Bulow. The family of five lived between two homes which were paid for and furnished with millions of dollars worth of art, antiques and decor by Sunny. There was the 14 room Fifth Avenue apartment overlooking Central park in Manhattan. And then there was Clarendon Court, a 20 room oceanside mansion in Newport, Rhode Island. According to reporting by Bethany Brunel for the Providence Journal, Sonny bought the mansion for $250,000 in 1970 and spent $600,000 in renovations. Most recently in 2021, it sold for $30 million, potentially the highest ever residential property sale in the state of Rhode Island. The mansion was designed by the famous architect Horace Trumbauer in 1904. It features a carriage house and three separate guest quarters. The whole estate sits on over seven acres of land with landscaped lawns, a cobblestone courtyard and panoramic ocean views overlooking Newport's Cliff Walk. High stone walls and an iron gate surround the entire property, which sits on Bellevue Avenue, also known as Millionaires Row. If you've listened to the Dark down east episode about the suspicious death of Eduardo Torella, you're already acquainted with Bellevue Avenue and another of its infamous former residents, Doris Duke. It's hard to say for certain what happened behind the iron gates of Clarendon Court because there are so many contradictory stories gleaned from the pages of endless court filings and testimony. What we do know to be fact is that on the morning of December 21, 1980, a year after the first medical incident that briefly put Sunny into a coma, Sunny was once again found unresponsive on her bathroom floor. On the evening of December 19, 1980, Sunny, Klaus and their daughter Kozima left New York for Newport, where they'd be spending Christmas together as a family. Sunny's son Alexander met everyone at Clarendon Court, and The next day, December 20, he and Cozuma joined their mother for a movie. Before turning in for the night. Alexander chatted with his mother in her bedroom for a while before she went to the bathroom. They continued their conversation later on in the library, and as the mother and son caught up, Klaus poked his head in to see if his wife needed anything. Sunny asked for some soup, and so Klaus went to fetch it. According to Alexander's later court testimony, about an hour into the conversation with his mother, she started feeling weak and seemed to have a lack of coordination. She could barely stand herself up. It was nearly the same scene as the year prior. As Alexander carried his mother to her bedroom. Alexander found Klaus in his study and let him know something was wrong with Sunny and then returned to his mother's room. She had made it to the bathroom herself and walked back to her bed, but was still feeling weak. A few minutes later, Klaus came to check on Sunny and Alexander left the two of them alone. Alexander woke up on the morning of December 21st and looked out the window to see Klaus walking along the ocean. When Klaus returned, Alexander asked his stepfather if Sunny had woken up yet, and Klaus seemed surprised that his wife might still be sleeping. When they both went to check on Sunny, they found her bed empty. She was lying unconscious on the bathroom floor. Alexander watched as Klaus put his finger under Sunny's nose to see if she was still breathing. Her breath was shallow, but she was alive. Klaus left the room to call emergency services, and paramedics arrived a few minutes later. According to reporting by H.G. quigg for United Press International, one of the physicians who treated Sunny when she arrived at the emergency unit that day remembered that she'd been admitted to the hospital about a year earlier with an unusual case of low blood sugar. The doctor shouted for the patient's insulin levels to be tested before any treatment other than oxygen was administered. Sunny's temperature was 81.6 degrees Fahrenheit. That's 17 degrees below normal human body temperature. Her blood pressure was so low it could not be measured, and she was in such a severe comatose state that there was no response when tested for pain. It was one of the most severe cases of coma the doctor had ever seen. The insulin tests came back showing low blood sugar and a comparatively high insulin level. According to the doctor's later testimony, the two different levels don't usually occur in a normal person under normal circumstances. End quote. Further blood tests also showed the presence of amobarbital, a barbiturate with sedative and hypnotic properties. With the insulin test complete, the doctor ordered for intravenous salt and sugar, among other treatments, to stabilize Sunny. But her condition was critical. She'd suffered a severe and irreversible brain injury. Sunny was transferred to a different hospital out of state, but after weeks in a comatose state, she showed no signs of conscious awareness or voluntary behavior. She was not expected to ever regain consciousness.

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[Dr. Patrick McGrath]

What if I told you that right now millions of people are living with a debilitating condition that's so misunderstood, many of them don't even know that they have it. That condition is obsessive Compulsive disorder or or OCD. I'm Dr. Patrick McGrath, the Chief Clinical Officer of NOCD, and in the 25 years I've been treating OCD, I've met so many people who are suffering from the condition in silence, unaware of just what it was. OCD can create overwhelming anxiety and fear around what you value most, make you question your identity, beliefs and morals, and drive you to perform mentally and physically draining Compulsions or rituals. Over my career, I've seen just how devastating OCD can be when it's left untreated. But help is available. That's where NOCD comes in. NOCD is the world's largest virtual therapy provider for obsessive compulsive disorder. Our licensed therapists are trained in exposure and response prevention therapy, a specialized treatment proven to be incredibly effective for OCD. So visit nocd.com to schedule a free 15 minute call with our team. That's nocd.com.

[Kylie Lowe]

Sunny falling into a second coma within a year's span. This one so severe she would never wake up again, seemed to her family the sign of something sinister at play. Sunny's children and her mother believed someone was trying to harm her and they intended to prove it. Within weeks, Sunny's son Alexander, along with his sister Alla and their grandmother, hired former Manhattan District Attorney Richard Q. As a private investigator. Alexander told the PI his theory. He suspected that his stepfather Klaus induced his mother's comas by injecting her with insulin. His theory seemed to be supported by the contents of a small black bag filled with needles and various drugs that the von Bulo maid claimed she found among Klaus's things. Shortly after the first coma you see, in February of 1980, Maria was cleaning Klaus's bedroom closet in the von Bulow's New York City apartment when she says she found a large travel bag that belonged to Clouse. According to Maria's future court testimony, inside the travel bag was a smaller black bag that contained three vials, one full of pills, another with powder, and the last with liquid. Maria put the bag back where she found it, but she said she returned sometime later. Could have been days or weeks. She wasn't sure to examine the contents again. The vials and substances were strange enough to Maria that she decided to write down the information on the labels of each vial. Maria encountered the bag again around Thanksgiving of 1980, and this time, along with the same three vials were two or three needles, a syringe, and a small bottle labeled insulin. She called Sunny's son Alexander into the room to show him what she'd found and she again put the bag back where she found it. Source material indicates that Maria claims she saw the little black bag again on December 19, the day the von Bulows left for Newport and the day before Sunny fell into the second and final coma. Alexander wanted the private investigator to see this black bag for himself while Klaus was away for a few days, visiting Sunny in a Boston hospital where she was receiving Continued care. Alexander tried to track the suspect bag down at Clarendon Court, but he was unable to find it. On December 27th or 28th, 1980, he went to check Klaus's closet for the bag, but the closet was locked, so Alexander and the private investigator decided to hire a locksmith to crack it open. Inside the closet, the pair located a metal box containing a small black bag similar to the one Maria had shown Alexander before. He said that this time the bag contained a prescription vial with different types of pills and another vial holding a light blue liquid. There were also packets of ampules, a syringe, and three hypodermic needles, one of which was unsealed. Inside the metal box next to the bag, they also found a cardboard box labeled lidocaine with an ampule and syringe. As he continued searching the house for clues he thought would support his theory of foul play, Alexander also found a vial in Claus study with French wording on it he believed to be Valium, as well as another vial in his clothes. One of the vials had powder in it. Alexander gathered up everything he found and brought it to New York for safekeeping at his sister's place before turning it over to the private investigator, who would arrange to have the vials and needles and substances tested. The bioscience Laboratory in Great Neck, Long island, tested samples from a used needle and discovered the presence of insulin on that needle. In fact, the levels were referred to as extraordinarily high concentrations of insulin. Another specimen from the needle, as well as the mystery powder and liquid found in the vials were sent off to the Boston Medical Laboratory. Testing there found that the needle sample contained Valium. The powder was found to contain amobarbital, and the liquid was identified as a mixture of amobarbital and a drug called diazepam. The test results on the needles and powders and other substances were confirmation enough for Alexander that his stepfather had tried to kill his mother twice by injecting her with insulin and possibly other substances that caused both of her comas. Alexander turned the black bag and much of the contents over to Lieutenant John Riza of Rhode Island State Police, except for some samples and a hypodermic needle that were first given to the family doctor and some pills he had found in Sonny's bedroom. Lt. Raisa found Alexander's theory and the private investigator's findings compelling enough to submit the samples he received as evidence for his own testing on March 20, 1981. The state police analysis also determined that the pills and vials contained valium and possible unknown barbiturates. Rhode Island State Police picked up where the private investigator had left off. Four months later, the investigation led to an arrest. On July 6, 1981, 54 year old Klaus von Bulow was indicted by a Rhode island grand jury on two counts of attempted murder on his wife Sunny. Klaus pleaded not guilty to the charges and was released on a $100,000 bond. The state alleged that Klaus von Bulow twice attempted to murder his wife through insulin injections so he could run off with a mistress and millions in inheritance from his wife. But Klaus was adamant that the prosecution had gotten it all wrong. He believed and intended to prove that Sunny's comas were the result of her own habits and substance use, combined with her low blood sugar condition aggravated by eating too many sweets. The trial of Klaus von Bulow began February 2, 1982. Before a superior Court justice and jury, the state, led by chief prosecutor Stephen Familigetti and Susan McWhirl, argued that evidence would show Klaus von Bulow had motive, means and opportunity to attempt to kill his wife. They called witnesses who testified about the little black bag found in Klaus's personal closet. Among everything allegedly found in that black bag, the insulin took center stage. Sonny's low blood sugar levels, as expert witnesses for the prosecution claimed, could only be caused by the deliberate injection of insulin, which would cause insulin induced hypoglycemia. But why would Klaus attempt to kill his wife? What possible motive could he have? Prosecutors painted the defendant as a greedy, philandering husband who knew his blank check lifestyle was at risk. Sonny's son Alexander testified for the prosecution that his mother told him she wanted a divorce just a month before falling into the second coma. And a divorce was the worst case financial scenario for Klaus. According to Beverly Bayette's reporting for the Los Angeles Times, if the pair were to divorce, Klaus would only receive an annual income trust of $120,000 that was established in their premarital agreement. But if Sonny died while they were still married, Klaus was financially set for life. Diane Dumanowski reports for the Boston Globe that according to testimony by the family banker, Sunny's will would leave $14 million of her $75 million estate to Klaus if she died. He went on to say that since being married to Sonny, the most Klaus had made in a year as a financial consultant was $25,250. And he brought in no income in the six years leading up to the comas. This speculation was furthered when a bombshell witness took the stand for the state. Klaus's former mistress, a soap opera actress named Alexandra Iles, told the jury that she'd given Klaus an either marry her or she was gone. The prosecution also used testimony from Harvard Medical School professor Dr. George F. Cahill, an expert on diabetes and low blood sugar disorders, to argue the cause of Sunny's coma. According to the Hartford Courant, Cahill testified that the only possible explanation for Sunny's comas is insulin being injected either by her or someone else. Now, he had never treated Sunny himself, but he said he reviewed her medical records. And though tests discovered the presence of barbiturates in Sonny's system when she was admitted to the hospital for her second coma, it was Dr. Cahill's medical opinion that the levels of barbiturates at that time were just too low to cause her condition. But as the defense would attempt to demonstrate through witness and expert testimony, those barbiturates, along with alcohol and overindulgence in sweets and spiked eggnog, were precisely what led to Sunny's first coma and her present condition.

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[Dr. Patrick McGrath]

To the People what if I told you that right now millions of people are living with a debilitating condition that that's so misunderstood many of them don't even know that they have it? That condition is Obsessive compulsive disorder, or OCD. I'm Dr. Patrick McGrath, the chief clinical officer of NOCD, and in the 25 years I've been treating OCD, I've met so many people who are suffering from the condition in silence, unaware of just what it was. OCD can create overwhelming anxiety and fear around what you value most, make you question your identity, beliefs and morals, and drive you to perform mentally and physically draining compulsions or rituals. Over my career, I've seen just how devastating OCD can be when it's left untreated. But help is available. That's where NOCD comes in. NOCD is the world's largest virtual therapy provider for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Our licensed therapists are trained in Exposure and Response Prevention Therapy, a specialized treatment proven to be incredibly effective for OCD. So visit nocd.com to schedule a free 15 minute call with our team, that's nocd.com.

[Howie Mandel]

Foreign.

[Kylie Lowe]

To the defense, led by Harold Price Faringer. All the medical evidence at the crux of the prosecution's case was faulty or unreliable in some way. There were expert witnesses who testified on behalf of the defense that Sunny's condition was just as easily explained by Sonny's own habits and use of substances. The defense wanted the jury to see that Sunny had previously struggled with substance and alcohol use, which exacerbated her pre existing health conditions, including hypoglycemia. It's reported in trial coverage by the New York Times that Klaus's lawyers introduced something they referred to as the eggnog episode during opening statements. They claimed that the night before the first medical episode, Sunny had supposedly consumed something like 12 generous glasses of spiked eggnog and that not injections of insulin, is what caused her to fall into the first coma. According to reporting by Steve Szostak for UPI, Dr. Cahill had already addressed and negated the eggnog theory during his testimony. In his medical opinion, eggnog actually would have been exactly what Sonny needed. I couldn't think of a better antidote to prevent hypoglycemia. Dr. Cahill doubled down, testifying that Sunny's condition was caused by exogenous injected insulin. The trial was a battle of the experts. Dr. Milton Homolski, an endocrinologist affiliated with Rhode Island Hospital and Brown University, testified that contrary to what Dr. Cahill told the jury, it was near impossible to decide based on medical records, whether the two comas were caused by insulin that came from outside sonny's body. Following Dr. Homolski's analysis of Sunny's medical record, it was his opinion that 10 separate incidents in her past demonstrated, quote, a woman with a potentially serious psychiatric problem, a woman who is excessive in the use of laxatives, aspirin, alcohol, tobacco, end quote. The defense also argued that the medications and vials and syringes the maid found among Klaus belongings were either obtained and used for legitimate purposes or perhaps for Sonny's own activities. One witness from the defense was Sonny's private exercise instructor, who testified that Sonny had recommended injections of insulin to lose weight and shots of Valium to relax. The instructor claimed that Sonny told her it was easy to inject herself. However, this witness also testified that her memory of the conversation was admittedly foggy. Finally, the defense argued that attempting to kill his wife just wasn't within Klaus's character. They challenged the prosecution's assertions that Klaus was some cold, uncaring, Husband with one foot out the door. Testimony by the von Buelos butler portrayed Klaus as a doting spouse who was concerned about his wife's health following her first coma. The witness claimed that he'd even instructed staff to water down any alcoholic drinks she requested. The trial was lengthy and complex. What's covered here is a high level summary, but it barely scratches the surface of the extensive evidence, nuanced testimony and vigorous arguments from both sides. It's no surprise that when the case was finally turned over to the jury, it would take nearly a week for them to reach a verdict. But after six days, they did. On March 16, 1982, the jury found Klaus von Bulow guilty on both counts of attempted murder. He was sentenced to 30 years in prison. However, the verdict was not the last word in this case, far from it, because Klaus wasn't the only person who believed he was innocent and wrongfully convicted of a crime he did not commit. After the guilty verdict was passed down, Hartford current reporter Charles McCollum reported that the people of Newport were overwhelmingly in support of Klaus von Bulow's innocence. Crowds stood outside the Newport county courthouse cheering for the defendant, yelling free Klaus. While booing the prosecution and jurors. Klaus immediately moved for a judgment of acquittal and a new trial. But those motions were denied in March and April of 1982. Undeterred, Klaus sought new legal counsel. But his luck began to change when he hired Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz to represent him on appeal. Before representing Klaus, Dershowitz had gained national reputation as a civil liberties lawyer who had represented a number of people in high profile cases, including Patty Hearst and Natalie Sharansky and multiple individuals who were inmates on death row. Interestingly, Klaas had been granted $1 million post conviction bail, meaning he was released and free. During the appeals process, he only had to pay $100,000 with proof that he had the additional $900,000 in assets should he try to flee. Now. After the guilty verdict, people started to come out with stories about Sonny that supported Klaus case, most notably author Truman Capote, who was known for partying with New York's elite. He did an interview with People magazine where he argued that Klaus von Bulow was innocent because he knew Sonny used drugs recreationally and so he believed she caused her own coma. The day reports that during the interview, Capote recalled how Sonny frequently injected herself with amphetamines and was, quote, certainly capable of suicide, end quote. Capote went on to say that he did not come forward during the first trial because he believed that the defense would come up with a strong case because, quote, lots of people knew the truth about Sonny. Capote said he never met Klaus, but that he first met Sunny in the 1950s when she taught him how to use a hypodermic needle and told him she had been injecting amphetamines for a long time. Then he said in the 1970s, Sunny told him over drinks that she'd been using the painkiller Demerol mixed with amphetamines. Meanwhile, there was drama between Sunny's three children over the use of her Newport mansion following Klaus conviction. According to United Press International, during a year long effort to have Sunny declared incompetent and appoint overseers of her mansion, Fifth Avenue apartment and their furnishings, then 16 year old Cosima von Bielo accused her half siblings of barring her from the mansion. She said they threw lavish parties her mother would not approve of that included people she loathed. Her other siblings called Cosima's claims baseless. Sunny's three children were all reportedly friends before the trials began. But Kozima had sided with her father Klaus, and was apparently facing the familial fallout from that. According to court documents, Kozima's maternal grandmother cut Kozima out of her will before passing away in April 1984, depriving Kozima of a $30 million inheritance. During the appeals process, more drama came to light in the form of claims from potential witness David Marriott. The 25 year old originally agreed to testify for Klaus, saying in affidavits that he had delivered drugs and hypodermic needles to Sonny's son Alexander, which Klaus attorney claimed he then gave to his mother. However, the Hartford Courant reports that David Marriott went on to say he was actually forced by Klaus von Bulow to sign the affidavit. He was granted immunity by the prosecution in exchange for 30 hours of tape recordings that he secretly took during meetings with Klaus that he claimed would incriminate the defendant. But Dicklair's reporting for the Boston Globe indicates that the prosecution ultimately decided not to use David Marriott as a witness and he lost immunity. The tides of the case really turned on April 27, 1984 when Klaus request for appeal was granted and both of his convictions for attempted murder were overturned. The decision was made on two grounds. First, the court found that police did not legally obtain the black bag alleged to belong to Klaus. While private seizure of his black bag by the family was legal, the court decided that the state should have obtained a warrant before taking and analyzing the bag and substances inside. By not obtaining a warrant, the court said the state violated Klaus Fourth Amendment rights. The court ruled that the prosecution withheld evidence, finding that the judge who tried the case failed by refusing to give the defense access to all the evidence obtained by private investigator Richard Q. The PI had claimed the information was protected by attorney client privilege, but the court found that he selectively disclosed findings that would help the prosecution before the start of Klause's second trial. Alan Dershowitz said Richard Q's notes that were not shared with the defense during the first trial would, quote, blow the prosecution's case case out of the water. One of the prosecution's star witnesses, the von Bulow's maid Maria, had testified that she saw needles and insulin in the black bag in Klaus's closet. But the private investigator's notes said there was no insulin, no syringes and no needle. Instead, the notes state that Maria saw some medicine in the bag, but the labels were scratched off. Klaus von Bulow's second trial began April 8, 1985. While the first trial received national coverage, it was nothing compared to the media spectacle around klaus second trial. According to reporting by Alan Rosenberg for the Providence Journal. This time around, cnn, which was only a few years old at the time, broadcast the trial live, bringing the courtroom into living rooms across the country. It was one of the first cases to be broadcast on live television, ushering in a new era of public interest in criminal court proceedings. CNN spokeswoman Kitsey Barrett told Catherine Imbry of the Providence Journal that the network received many complaints anytime they cut away from the trial to cover breaking news. CNN executive vice president for broadcasting Ed Turner said that the network conducted a phone in poll of viewer preferences and of the 35,000 viewers who responded, the tally was more than 2 to 1 in favor of continuing the extended live coverage of the von Bulow trial. CNN aired its live coverage much more than other networks, clocking in with a record time of 60 hours of trial coverage. According to Turner, initially the ratings were average, but when Klaus mistress Alexandra Iles testified, they doubled from about 300,000 to 600,000 viewers. Now, Alexandra Isles was not exactly an eager witness. She actually had to be brought to court by way of warrant for her arrest because she was hiding out, afraid to appear because she claimed Klaus sent her threatening letters. Since her testimony in the first trial, Klaus denied doing this. When she finally did take the stand as a prosecution witness, Alexandra testified that on the day Klaus found Sunny in her first coma, he made two calls to her and told her during one of those calls, he tried to let his wife die before calling the doctor. Prosecutors focused on that call Klaus made to the doctor after the first coma, claiming he lied when he told the doctor Sunny had been drinking the night before and had been up that day. A star witness from the first trial, Sunny's maid Maria, testified that she came in and out of the room trying to wake Sunny up multiple times to no avail, and that her breathing sounded like a rattle. She also said Klaus stayed in the room with his unconscious wife, refusing to call the doctor all afternoon. The prosecution maintained that before the first coma in 1979, Sonny was in good health and never showed signs of low blood sugar. They alleged that during the first hospitalization, Klaus insisted to doctors that the cause of her coma was that she drank a lot of spiked eggnog the night before. But this was contradicted by blood and urine tests that showed no signs of alcohol in her system, just unusually low blood sugar and unusually high levels of insulin. A big part of the state's case from the first trial. Something that really held up the motive for Klaus to do alleged harm to his wife wasn't allowed at the second trial. The prosecution could not present any testimony about Sonny's will and the money Klaus would inherit should she die. Pieces of Alexandra Iles testimony from the first trial, like the part about the marriage ultimatum, also could not be presented as evidence in the second trial.

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When it was time for the defense to call their witnesses and present their rebuttal to the arguments made by the state for a second time, it was clear that Klaus was prepared to fight to prove his innocence once and for all. Traci Breton reports for the Providence Journal that the defense presented new evidence in the second trial, including testimonies from longtime friends of Sonny who say her use of drugs and alcohol went Back to the 1950s.Affidavits from other members of the von Bulow's house staff claim Sonny's maid, Maria Schrelhammer, hated Klaus. The defense argued this made her testimony unreliable and suggested she worked with Sonny's son to frame Klaus. The defense also used medical testimonies to assert that the needle with traces of insulin that convicted Klaus the first time never even poked Sonny's skin. Affidavits state that the laboratory tests done on the needle were scientifically invalid and that the results indicate there was no insulin on the needle and a false positive reading was originally recorded. Not only that, but they say the needle, the state's proposed attempted murder weapon, never could have touched Sunny because she had no visible marks on her skin and no skin or blood traces were found on the needle. According to the defense, there were any number of explanations for Sunny's condition, but the defendant trying to kill her was not one of them. They argued that both of Sunny's comas could have been the result of hypoglycemia. The comas also could have been the result of her supposed excessive use of aspirin or her use of drugs and alcohol, or maybe by purposefully taking an overdose of barbiturates and alcohol. On June 7, 1985, the jury began deliberations on the nine week long trial. Sonny's family, Klaus, every person watching the trial unfold in the courtroom and on televisions across the country waited to hear if this time things would end differently for the defendant. The second trial was different in many significant ways from the first. The integrity of the state's case was undeniably challenged and certain procedural issues from the first trial were since corrected. For the second, evidence that had been improperly admitted before was now excluded, like any mention of the financial upside Klaus might see from Sonny's death. Alternate medical explanations were presented and the credibility of the prosecution's witnesses was rigorously challenged. Three days later, the jury returned with the much anticipated verdict. Klaus von Bulow was acquitted of all charges. Shortly after the acquittal, Sonny's children Alexander and Ala, filed a civil action in federal court against Clouse to the tune of $56 million, alleging common law assault, negligence, fraud and RICO violations. As part of their lawsuit, the children did another laboratory test on the needle that originally convicted Clouse. And the new test apparently confirmed the original finding. It contained insulin, valium and amobarbital. In an interview with Beverly Bayette of the Los Angeles Times, Sunny's children said they felt the second trial focused on their mother's character, putting her on trial instead of Klaus, who they believe the system favored. They also believed that the judge for the second trial influenced the outcome by disallowing evidence they saw as essential, primarily the tapped testimony from the first trial where Klaus former mistress Alexandra Iles confessed to giving him a marriage ultimatum and testimony from a bank trust officer that outlined Sunny's will. Sunny's daughter Ala, went on to say that some in their community felt we should have kept our mouths shut and dealt with this internally because that's the way things are done in Newport. End quote. But then they saw their stepfather's August 1985 Vanity Fair cover and couldn't stay quiet. The article, published mere months after his acquittal, was written by Dominic Dunne, a confidant to both sides Sides during the second trial. The article centered around Klaus and his new girlfriend and was filled with pictures of them lounging around Sonny's Fifth Avenue apartment where they were living together. Dunne explained that Sonny's estate paid for the upkeep of the apartment, meaning Klaus and his girlfriend were basically being supported by his wife who remained in a coma. At the time of the article, Klaus was still married to Sonny and therefore still technically had control over her life and stood to inherit the Fifth Avenue apartment, the Newport mansion and $14 million. Klaus filed his own lawsuit against Sonny's son Alexander, alleging that he locked the infamous black bag in the metal box himself and placed it in Klaus closet before arranging the discovery of evidence and that he committed perjury by testifying he found the bag in Klaus closet. The lawsuit also alleged that Alexander influenced his grandmother into cutting Cozima out of her will. The legal battles between Klaus and his stepchildren finally ended with a settlement in 1987. Klaus lawyer told Tracy Breton of the Providence Journal that as part of the settlement, Klaus agreed to give up the millions of dollars he would have inherited upon his wife's death, as well as a trust fund from his wife that provided him with $120,000 a year. Year. He also had to move out of his wife's Fifth Avenue apartment and officially divorce Sunny. He agreed on the grounds that Kozima's inheritance from her grandmother's $105 million estate be reinstated. According to their lawyer, Alexander and Ala agreed to settle because they didn't want Klaus to have any power over their mother's medical treatment. They wanted to be rid of him as far as their family and their mother was concerned, and they wanted to make sure that he did not profit from what he did. End quote In May of 1986, Random House published Reversal of Inside the von Bulow Case, a book by Alan Dershowitz, the defense attorney who represented Clause on his appeal. The book details Klaus first criminal trial, the successful appeals, and his ultimate acquittal. The book makes the case for Klaus innocence, which Dershowitz came to accept while working as his defense attorney, suspecting he had been framed by the children. The book even includes a chapter titled Suitable for Framing where he speculates that Sonny's children, with the help of her maid and others, planted the drugs and evidence among Klaus possessions after Sonny fell into the irreversible coma. The book would later be turned into the 1990 movie by the same name. Reversal of fortune. Sunny's children, Alexander and Ala took steps to leave their mother a legacy beyond salacious court cases and lawsuits. Following the acquittal, they founded the National Victim center and the Brain Trauma foundation in her honor with a focus on helping other victims. The work of these foundations continue to this day to assist crime victims and promote brain trauma research. The National Victim center in Fort Worth, Texas, serves victims of violent crime by fighting to improve victims treatment in and access to the courtroom. With the help of thousands of grassroots organizations and a growing database, the Brain Trauma foundation in Manhattan researches secondary injury to the brain following an accident or trauma by giving grants to researchers. Cosima von Bulow, meanwhile, Klaus daughter with Sonny, manages the Sunny Crawford von Bulow Fund at Morgan Library and Museum in New York City. The fund buys artwork in Sunny's name for the remainder of her life. Alexander and Ala made sure to surround their mother with what she loved during their regular visits to her private guarded hospital room in the McKean Pavilion of Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center. They told Karen Zeiner of the Providence Journal how they would bring her favorite flowers and plants, ensure there was a fresh supply of her own linens and play her favorite operas for her on a cassette tape. Sonny von Bulow never woke up after 28 years in a coma. On December 6, 2008, she died at the age of 76. Klaus von Bulow died in London on May 25, 2019. Without a doubt, the story of Sonny von Bulow is heartrending. She was a vibrant, beloved woman reduced to a comatose state under tragic yet debated circumstances. Her suffering and condition deeply impacted those who loved her, leaving them to navigate their own grief amidst unanswered questions. At the same time, if Klaas von Bulow was indeed innocent of the crimes he was accused of committing, his conviction in the first trial represents a grave injustice. Wrongful convictions are themselves tragedies. Although Klaus was ultimately acquitted, the cloud of ambiguity surrounding Sonny's tragedy still looms over all involved. It just goes to show that justice and certainty do not always Al thank you for listening to Dark Down East. You can find all source material for this [e-mail] Be sure to follow the show on Instagram arkdowneast. This platform is for the families and friends who have lost their loved ones and for those who are still searching for answers. I'm not about to let those names or their stories get lost with time. I'm Kylie Lowe and this this is Dark Down East. Dark down east is a production of Kylie Media and Audio Chuck so what do you think Chuck? Do you approve? Earn a business degree on your terms at Capella University.

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