The Newport Heiress Slept for 28 Years. Her Husband Was Tried Twice for It: Sunny von Bulow

Hey guys! We're now on Spotify 🎧 Join us here: https://open.spotify.com/show/3Cvs0yj... Martha "Sunny" Crawford was heir to a natural gas fortune that was reported at anywhere from $25 million to $100 million. In 1970 she paid $250,000 for Clarendon Court, the Newport mansion where High Society had been filmed in 1956. On December 21, 1980, her son found her unconscious on her bathroom floor, and doctors testified that her body temperature was 81.6°F. Her husband, Claus von Bulow, was convicted in 1982 of trying to kill her and sentenced to 30 years. He was acquitted on both counts at a retrial in 1985. She lay in a coma for almost 28 years, and what happened that night has never been settled. Subscribe to the channel: @velvetsociety-s7l In this video, we talk about the life of Sunny von Bulow, including her birth in her father's private railway car, the Columbia Gas fortune and her father's death when she was a toddler, her marriage to Prince Alfred von Auersperg after meeting him at Schloss Mittersill, Claus von Bulow and his years with J. Paul Getty, the lowered lawn and private pool at Clarendon Court, her one printed quote about wanting a single party a week, the Christmas comas of 1979 and 1980, the maid Maria Schrallhammer and the black bag, the private search that led to an indictment, the 1982 conviction in Newport, Alan Dershowitz and the 1984 appeal, the 1985 acquittal in Providence, the 1987 settlement that restored Cosima's inheritance, Reversal of Fortune and Jeremy Irons's Oscar, and her 28 years in a hospital bed in New York. 🔔 Subscribe for more of the women whose stories were told by everyone except themselves. 💬 Comment where you're watching from, and tell me which moment you think decided Sunny von Bulow's story. 📢 Share this with someone who remembers the trials, on Facebook, Reddit or in the family group chat. Your shares are what keep this channel going. Chapters: 00:00 Opening 07:14 The Heiress Raised by Two Strong Women 19:54 The Princess Who Missed America 33:47 The High Society House on Bellevue Avenue 47:49 The Laxatives, the Pills and a Medical File 1:02:17 The Eggnogs and the Doctor Called at Two 1:09:47 The Black Bag in the Walk in Closet 1:24:07 The Son Who Hired a Detective 1:38:42 Thirty Years, and Free Claus on a T Shirt 1:53:14 Nine Doctors and a Needle in Providence 2:08:43 The Settlement That Bought a Daughter Back 2:24:25 Twenty Seven Years, Eleven Months, Fifteen Days Sources: Rhode Island Supreme Court, State v. von Bulow (1984) https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion... UPI, Chronology of the von Bulow case (1985) https://www.upi.com/Archives/1985/04/... Time, For Love or Money (1985) https://time.com/archive/6703339/for-... Washington Post, Von Bulow Is Found Not Guilty (1985) https://www.washingtonpost.com/archiv... Boston Globe, Martha 'Sunny' von Bulow, at 76 (2008) http://archive.boston.com/bostonglobe... National Center for Victims of Crime, Our History https://victimsofcrime.org/our-history/ American Aristocracy, Clarendon Court https://americanaristocracy.com/house... DISCLAIMER: This video is based on real historical events and figures, drawn from the sources listed above alongside primary archives, biographies, court records, period press, and leading historical scholarship. While every video is heavily researched, occasional minor inaccuracies in dates, quotes, or specific details may occur — historical sources sometimes disagree, and interpretation is sometimes required where the historical record is silent. Any errors are unintentional. #SunnyVonBulow #ClausVonBulow #VelvetSociety #ClarendonCourt #Newport #RhodeIsland #ReversalOfFortune #AlanDershowitz #JeremyIrons #CosimaVonBulow #Heiress #OldMoney #NewportMansions #HighSociety #NewYork #1980s #WomenInHistory #AmericanHistory #TrueStory #Biography #History #Documentary