Sunny von Bulow Not Mrs. Clause or Faux Palin Has Passed On.

Has the final chapter on the "trial of the century" finally closed? No, this is not about O.J. Simpson who will serve at least the next 9 years in jail barring an overturning of his conviction on appeal. Nor is this about the death of Mrs. Santa Clause as my children first feared when they heard the news that Claus ex-wife had passed away. This is about a famous coma victim who after spending nearly 28 years in a coma, has now passed on. This is about the heiress and socialite Martha "Sunny" von Bulow (ex-wife of Claus) who at age 76 has now been laid to rest.

Who is Sunny von Bulow? Was she a Grace Kelly clone, Mrs. Santa Clause or a Faux Palin? Neither. She was born Martha Sharp Crawford. In 1957 she married Prince Alfred von Auerspergin her first marriage. She was thought to have inherited 75 million dollars. The couple had two children, Alexaneder and Annie Laurie. Von Bulow married Claus in 1966 and had a daughter, Cosima. She was married to Claus at the time she slipped into a coma. Keeping with the theme that the husband is always the first suspect, Claus was accused of trying to kill her with an overdose of insulin. Claus was originally convicted of making two attempts on her life, but the conviction was overturned on appeal. After a second trial, Claus was acquitted in 1985.

So what exactly happened? On December 22, 1980, family members found Martha von Bulow unconscious in the bathroom. She never regained consciousness. Approximately, a year earlier, she had been hospitalized after lapsing into a coma but recovered. She was thought to have had hypoglycemia (low blood sugar.) Prosecutors accused Claus von Bulow of twice attempting to kill his wife by injecting her with insulin. The accusations led to the movie, "Reversal of Fortune" with Actor Jeremy Irons winning an Oscar for his portrayal of Claus. Defense attorney Alan Dershowitz, successfully won the appeal that allowed Claus von Bulow a new trial. Ddershowitz has always maintained that the injection was self-induced. At the second trial, th defense team maintained that Martha von Bulow's alcohol use, among other factors, caused her coma. Martha von Bulow is survived by her children, their spouses and nine grandchildren.

Alexander von Auersperg and Ala von Auersperg Isham, filed a civil suit against their stepfather after his acquittal. The case was allegedly settled out of court in 1987. It is believed that Claus von Bulow agreed to waive his claim to his wife's money and to a divorce in exchange for the suit being dropped. Cosima, the couple's daughter, sided with her father.