Claus von Bülow
Encyclopedia
Claus von Bülow is a British
socialite of German and Danish ancestry. He was accused of the attempted murder of his wife Sunny von Bülow
(née Martha Sharp Crawford) by administering an insulin overdose in 1980 but his conviction in the first trial was reversed and he was found not guilty in both his retrials.
, originally from Mecklenburg
. He was the maternal grandson of Fritz Bülow, Minister of Justice from 1910–13 and President of the first Chamber of the Danish Parliament in 1920–22.
Von Bülow graduated from Trinity College, Cambridge
, and worked as personal assistant to J. Paul Getty
after having practiced law in London in the 1950s. Getty wrote that von Bülow showed "remarkable forbearance and good nature" as Getty's occasional whipping boy
. Von Bülow remained with Getty until 1968. On June 6, 1966, von Bülow married Sunny
, the American ex-wife of Prince Alfred of Auersperg
. Sunny had a son and a daughter from her first marriage; together, she and von Bülow had a daughter, Cosima Iona von Bülow, in 1967.
level. The test was not repeated. The needle was used against von Bulow in court, with the prosecution alleging that he used it and a vial of insulin to try and kill his wife. The discovery of these items became the focal point of Von Bülow's appeal.
At the trial in Newport, von Bülow was found guilty and sentenced to 30 years in prison; he appealed, hiring Harvard Law
Professor Alan Dershowitz
to represent him. Dershowitz's campaign to acquit von Bülow was assisted by Jim Cramer, who was then a Harvard Law School student. Dershowitz and his team focused on the discovery of the bag containing the syringes and insulin. Sunny's family had hired a private investigator to look in to the coma. The private investigator, Eddie Lambert (an associate of the Von Bülows' lawyer Richard Kuh), was told by several family members and a maid that Claus had recently been locking a closet in the Newport home that previously was always kept open. Lambert and Kuh hired a locksmith to drive to the mansion, with the intention of picking the closet lock to find what the closet contained. They had lied to the locksmith and told him that one of them owned the house. When the three arrived, the locksmith insisted they try again to find the key, and after some searching, Kuh found a key in Claus' desk that fit the closet. At this point, according to the three men in original interviews, the locksmith was paid for the trip and left before the closet was actually opened, though the men would later recant that version and insist that the locksmith was present when they entered the closet. It was in the closet that the main evidence against Claus Von Bülow was found. In 1984 the conviction was reversed based on the fact that the main evidence was gained illegally, by someone who may have stood to gain from Claus' conviction. in 1985, after a second trial, von Bülow was found not guilty on all charges.
At the second trial the defense called eight medical experts, all university professors, who testified that Sunny's two comas were not caused by insulin, but by a combination of ingested (not injected) drugs, alcohol, and chronic health conditions. The experts were John Caronna (chairman of neurology, Cornell
); Leo Dal Cortivo (former president, U.S. Toxicology Association); Ralph DeFronzo (medicine, Yale
); Kurt Dubowski (forensic pathology
, University of Oklahoma
); 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 Sunny's 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.
Sunny's family remained convinced of Claus's guilt. For having sided with her father, Cosima von Bülow was disinherited by her maternal grandmother, Annie Laurie (Crawford) Aitken. Von Bülow's two stepchildren from Sunny's previous marriage sued him for $56 million. As a result, von Bülow renounced his claim to Sunny's $75 million personal fortune in exchange for Cosima's reinstatement as joint heiress to the Crawford fortune. Sunny von Bülow continued to live almost 28 more years in a vegetative state until dying at a New York nursing home on 6 December 2008. She was 77 years old.
As of 2010, Claus von Bülow lives in South Kensington
, London
, where he writes art and theatre reviews.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
socialite of German and Danish ancestry. He was accused of the attempted murder of his wife Sunny von Bülow
Sunny von Bülow
Martha Sharp Crawford von Bülow , known as Sunny von Bülow, was an American heiress and socialite. Her husband, Claus von Bülow, was convicted of attempting her murder by insulin overdose, but the conviction was overturned on appeal...
(née Martha Sharp Crawford) by administering an insulin overdose in 1980 but his conviction in the first trial was reversed and he was found not guilty in both his retrials.
Biography
Born as Claus Cecil Borberg, von Bülow's father was Danish playwright Svend Borberg. His mother Jonna belonged to the old Danish-German noble family BülowBülow
Bülow may refer to:*Bülow, Germany, a municipality in the district of Parchim, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, GermanyThe von Bülow family are a German / Danish noble family, with the titles Baron or Prince...
, originally from Mecklenburg
Mecklenburg
Mecklenburg is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Vorpommern...
. He was the maternal grandson of Fritz Bülow, Minister of Justice from 1910–13 and President of the first Chamber of the Danish Parliament in 1920–22.
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 170 Fellows...
, and worked as personal assistant to J. Paul Getty
J. Paul Getty
Jean Paul Getty was an American industrialist. He founded the Getty Oil Company, and in 1957 Fortune magazine named him the richest living American, whilst the 1966 Guinness Book of Records named him as the world's richest private citizen, worth an estimated $1,200 million. At his death, he was...
after having practiced law in London in the 1950s. Getty wrote that von Bülow showed "remarkable forbearance and good nature" as Getty's occasional whipping boy
Whipping boy
A whipping boy was a young boy who was assigned to a young prince and was punished when the prince misbehaved or fell behind in his schooling. Whipping boys were established in the English court during the monarchies of the 15th century and 16th centuries...
. Von Bülow remained with Getty until 1968. On June 6, 1966, von Bülow married Sunny
Sunny von Bülow
Martha Sharp Crawford von Bülow , known as Sunny von Bülow, was an American heiress and socialite. Her husband, Claus von Bülow, was convicted of attempting her murder by insulin overdose, but the conviction was overturned on appeal...
, the American ex-wife of Prince Alfred of Auersperg
Auersperg
Auersperg may refer to:* Principality of Auersperg, estates held by the princely Austrian family of Auersperg* Palais Auersperg, a large baroque palace in Vienna, build for the princely Auersperg family- Family members :...
. Sunny had a son and a daughter from her first marriage; together, she and von Bülow had a daughter, Cosima Iona von Bülow, in 1967.
Murder trials
In 1982, von Bülow was tried for the attempted murder of Sunny. The main evidence was that Sunny had low blood sugar, common in many conditions, but a blood test showed a high insulinInsulin
Insulin is a hormone central to regulating carbohydrate and fat metabolism in the body. Insulin causes cells in the liver, muscle, and fat tissue to take up glucose from the blood, storing it as glycogen in the liver and muscle....
level. The test was not repeated. The needle was used against von Bulow in court, with the prosecution alleging that he used it and a vial of insulin to try and kill his wife. The discovery of these items became the focal point of Von Bülow's appeal.
At the trial in Newport, von Bülow was found guilty and sentenced to 30 years in prison; he appealed, hiring Harvard Law
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...
Professor Alan Dershowitz
Alan Dershowitz
Alan Morton Dershowitz is an American lawyer, jurist, and political commentator. He has spent most of his career at Harvard Law School where in 1967, at the age of 28, he became the youngest full professor of law in its history...
to represent him. Dershowitz's campaign to acquit von Bülow was assisted by Jim Cramer, who was then a Harvard Law School student. Dershowitz and his team focused on the discovery of the bag containing the syringes and insulin. Sunny's family had hired a private investigator to look in to the coma. The private investigator, Eddie Lambert (an associate of the Von Bülows' lawyer Richard Kuh), was told by several family members and a maid that Claus had recently been locking a closet in the Newport home that previously was always kept open. Lambert and Kuh hired a locksmith to drive to the mansion, with the intention of picking the closet lock to find what the closet contained. They had lied to the locksmith and told him that one of them owned the house. When the three arrived, the locksmith insisted they try again to find the key, and after some searching, Kuh found a key in Claus' desk that fit the closet. At this point, according to the three men in original interviews, the locksmith was paid for the trip and left before the closet was actually opened, though the men would later recant that version and insist that the locksmith was present when they entered the closet. It was in the closet that the main evidence against Claus Von Bülow was found. In 1984 the conviction was reversed based on the fact that the main evidence was gained illegally, by someone who may have stood to gain from Claus' conviction. in 1985, after a second trial, von Bülow was found not guilty on all charges.
At the second trial the defense called eight medical experts, all university professors, who testified that Sunny's two comas were not caused by insulin, but by a combination of ingested (not injected) drugs, alcohol, and chronic health conditions. The experts were John Caronna (chairman of neurology, Cornell
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
); Leo Dal Cortivo (former president, U.S. Toxicology Association); Ralph DeFronzo (medicine, Yale
YALE
RapidMiner, formerly YALE , is an environment for machine learning, data mining, text mining, predictive analytics, and business analytics. It is used for research, education, training, rapid prototyping, application development, and industrial applications...
); Kurt Dubowski (forensic pathology
Forensic pathology
Forensic pathology is a branch of pathology concerned with determining the cause of death by examination of a corpse. The autopsy is performed by the pathologist at the request of a coroner or medical examiner usually during the investigation of criminal law cases and civil law cases in some...
, University of Oklahoma
University of Oklahoma
The University of Oklahoma is a coeducational public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two became the state of Oklahoma. the university had 29,931 students enrolled, most located at its...
); Daniel Foster (medicine, University of Texas); Daniel Furst (medicine, University of Iowa
University of Iowa
The University of Iowa is a public state-supported research university located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the oldest public university in the state. The university is organized into eleven colleges granting undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees...
); 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
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
).
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 Sunny's 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.
Sunny's family remained convinced of Claus's guilt. For having sided with her father, Cosima von Bülow was disinherited by her maternal grandmother, Annie Laurie (Crawford) Aitken. Von Bülow's two stepchildren from Sunny's previous marriage sued him for $56 million. As a result, von Bülow renounced his claim to Sunny's $75 million personal fortune in exchange for Cosima's reinstatement as joint heiress to the Crawford fortune. Sunny von Bülow continued to live almost 28 more years in a vegetative state until dying at a New York nursing home on 6 December 2008. She was 77 years old.
As of 2010, Claus von Bülow lives in South Kensington
South Kensington
South Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London. It is a built-up area located 2.4 miles west south-west of Charing Cross....
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, where he writes art and theatre reviews.
Literary, cinema, and television accounts
- Alan DershowitzAlan DershowitzAlan Morton Dershowitz is an American lawyer, jurist, and political commentator. He has spent most of his career at Harvard Law School where in 1967, at the age of 28, he became the youngest full professor of law in its history...
wrote the book Reversal of Fortune: Inside the von Bülow case (1985) that was cinematically adapted as Reversal of FortuneReversal of FortuneReversal of Fortune is a 1990 film adapted from the 1985 book Reversal of Fortune: Inside the von Bülow Case, written by law professor Alan Dershowitz...
(1990). Jeremy IronsJeremy IronsJeremy John Irons is an English actor. After receiving classical training at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, Irons began his acting career on stage in 1969, and has since appeared in many London theatre productions including The Winter's Tale, Macbeth, Much Ado About Nothing, The Taming of the...
starred as Claus von Bülow (a performance which won him both the Academy Award and Golden Globe for Best Actor), Ron SilverRon SilverRonald Arthur "Ron" Silver was an American actor, director, producer, radio host and political activist.-Early life:...
as Dershowitz, and Glenn CloseGlenn CloseGlenn Close is an American actress and singer of theatre and film, known for her roles as a femme fatale Glenn Close (born March 19, 1947) is an American actress and singer of theatre and film, known for her roles as a femme fatale Glenn Close (born March 19, 1947) is an American actress and...
as Sunny von Bülow. - Professor Vincent Marks and Caroline Richmond have a chapter on the science underpinning Sunny's medical condition in their book, Insulin Murders (London, Royal Society of Medicine Press 2007).
- Television reporter Bill KurtisBill KurtisBill Kurtis is an American television journalist, producer, narrator, and news anchor. He is also the current host of A&E crime and news documentary shows, including Investigative Reports, American Justice, and Cold Case Files...
narrated the American JusticeAmerican JusticeAmerican Justice is an American criminal justice television program on the A&E Network, hosted by Bill Kurtis. The show features interesting or notable cases, such as the Selena Murder of a Star, Scarsdale Diet doctor murder, the Hillside Stranglers, Matthew Shepard, or the Wells Fargo heist, with...
crime series episode titled Von Bülow: A Wealth of Evidence. - The television series BiographyBiography (TV series)Biography is a documentary television series. It was originally a half-hour filmed series produced for CBS by David Wolper from 1961 to 1964 and hosted by Mike Wallace. The A&E Network later re-ran it and has produced new episodes since 1987...
produced and aired a documentary episode titled Claus von Bülow: A Reasonable Doubt featuring interviews with Claus von Bülow and Prof. Dershowitz.