Claus von Bülow
Claus von Bülow was a Danish-born man who gained notoriety due to a high-profile legal case involving his wife, Martha (Sunny) Crawford von Auersperg. Born into a family that experienced a decline in wealth after World War I, Claus had a privileged upbringing and was educated in Switzerland and England. His life took a dramatic turn when Sunny was found unconscious at their home in Rhode Island in 1980, leading to Claus being accused and convicted of her attempted murder. Despite the conviction, he maintained his innocence, and after hiring prominent attorney Alan Dershowitz, he successfully appealed the verdict in 1985.
The case was marked by complexities, including Sunny's struggles with substance abuse and health issues, which contributed to the contentious nature of the trial. Claus's relationship with Sunny and her children was fraught with tension, leading to legal battles over her estate. Following his acquittal, Claus divorced Sunny in 1988 and agreed to a settlement regarding her estate, while also refraining from publicly discussing the case. Sunny remained in a coma until her death in 2008. The story of Claus von Bülow has since been popularized in the film "Reversal of Fortune," which explores the nuances of the case and invites viewers to draw their own conclusions about the events surrounding it. Claus von Bülow passed away in 2020 at the age of 92, leaving behind his daughter, Cosima, and three grandchildren.
Claus von Bülow
- Born: August 11, 1926
- Birthplace: Copenhagen, Denmark
- Died: May 25, 2019
- Place of death: London, United Kingdom
Accused murderer
Also known as: Claus Cecil Borberg (birth name); Klaus von Bülow
Cause of notoriety: Von Bülow was accused of attempting to murder his wife by giving her an overdose of insulin. In his first trial, he was found guilty and sentenced to thirty years in prison. At the second trial in 1985, he was found not guilty on all charges.
Active: 1982–1985
Locale: Newport, Rhode Island
Early Life
Claus von Bülow (klows vawn BYEW-loh) was born to playwright Svend Borberg and Ionna von Bülow Borberg. He was educated at Swiss schools and was known for using his charm and intelligence to make contacts among his extremely rich young schoolmates and others. Claus had the look and personal style of someone with enormous amounts of money, but his family’s fortunes had been lost after World War I. After the Nazis invaded Denmark in 1940, he escaped to England by hiding inside a British airplane. He graduated from Cambridge University and went to work as an assistant to oil magnate J. Paul Getty.
Business Career
After marrying Martha (Sunny) Crawford von Auersperg on June 6, 1966, he continued working for Getty. The marriage had considerable problems because Claus worked as an art adviser when Sunny wanted him to stay with her. Sunny had continuous drug and alcohol problems, which exacerbated her hypoglycemia. Claus and Sunny talked of separating; their plans were known only to them, not to their daughter or to Sunny’s two adult children from her first marriage. The family celebrated Christmas together in Rhode Island in 1979, and Sunny became inebriated, her movements becoming uncoordinated. She fell down, was taken to the hospital, and returned home after being stabilized.
On the morning of December 22, 1980, Sunny was discovered on her bathroom floor, unconscious. She was rushed to a hospital, where her body temperature was found to be 81 degrees. An insulin-encrusted needle was found near her body; Sunny took insulin by injection to keep her weight down.
Legal Action and Outcome
Thanks to insistent petitioning by his stepchildren, Claus was put on trial for attempted murder. He was found guilty and sentenced to thirty years in prison. He then hired famed attorney Alan M. Dershowitz to file his appeal. Dershowitz cast doubt on the most important evidence, including the needle. Dershowitz also stated that his client’s stepchildren, aided by their lawyer, could have framed von Bülow. In equally interesting accounts, he speculated on Sunny’s drug habits.
In 1985, Claus von Bülow was found not guilty. The von Bülows’ daughter, Cosima von Bülow, was disowned by her maternal grandmother for maintaining her father’s innocence. Claus’s two stepchildren sued him for fifty-six million dollars. The two parties agreed to settle the suit. As part of the settlement, Claus renounced all claims to Sunny’s personal fortune with the stipulation that Cosima receive an equal share, along with her half-siblings, of her maternal grandmother's estate. Claus also agreed to a divorce, which was finalized in 1988, and to not discuss the case publicly.
Sunny von Bülow remained in a coma at Columbia-Presbyterian Hospital in New York until her death in 2008. Claus died on May 25, 2020, at his home in London. He was ninety-two years old at the time of his death. His survivors include his daughter Cosima and three grandchildren.
Impact
In 1990, the film Reversal of Fortune (starring Jeremy Irons as Claus and Glenn Close as Sunny von Bülow), based on Dershowitz’s book of the same title, depicted the case, posing many questions and then leaving viewers to make their own decisions. Irons portrays the fear of a man facing thirty years in prison. The film also brings forth a woman who takes various drugs to control her weight.
Bibliography
Dershowitz, Alan M. America on Trial: Inside the Legal Battles That Transformed Our Nation. New York: Warner Books, 2004. A comprehensive history of trials, beginning with America’s Salem witch trials, through the scandal-ridden cases of Jean Harris, O. J. Simpson, and Dershowitz’s most famous case, that of von Bülow.
Dershowitz, Alan M. Reversal of Fortune: Inside the Von Bülow Case. New York: Random House, 1986. After being convicted of attempting to kill his wife, von Bülow hired Dershowitz to begin his appeal process. In the best tradition of great lawyers, Dershowitz asked the important question: “Who benefits [if Claus goes to prison]?” The answer was Sunny’s two adult children by her previous marriage.
Nemy, Enid. "Claus von Bülow, Society Figure in High-Profile Case, Dies at 92." The New York Times, 30 May 2020, www.nytimes.com/2019/05/30/obituaries/claus-von-bulow-dead.html. Accessed 5 Oct. 2020.
Weed, Frank J. Certainty of Justice: Reform in the Crime Victim Movement. New York: Aldine de Gruyter, 1995. Details changes in state and federal laws designed to benefit each individual crime victim, even those, as in the case of Sunny von Bülow, in an irreversible coma.