The Mysterious Case of Sunny von Bulow

Morbid

01/08/26

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68m

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Weirdos!! On today's episode Alaina announced the third chapter in the Wren Muller series- The Butcher Legacy . Be sure to visit to PREORDER NOW by visiting butcherlegacy.com . Order NOW to get exclusive signed editions from BN.com AND the Special Edition from Target!

In the winter of 1980, wealthy socialite Martha “Sunny” von Bulow was found unconscious in the bathroom of the mansion she shared with her husband, Claus, in Newport, Rhode Island. An ambulance was called and Sunny was rushed to the nearest emergency room, but paramedics and doctors were unable to revive her and Sunny would remain in a coma until her death in 2008.

At first, Sunny’s coma was a mystery to doctors, but soon suspicion fell on her husband, Claus, who appeared indifferent to her condition and was openly carrying on an affair with another woman. The family launched a private investigation and eventually turned up strong evidence they believed implicated Claus in the attempted murder of Sunny, but, as they soon learned, believing it and proving it were two very different things.

References

Associated Press. 1985. "von Bulow stepchildren sue him for $56 million." New York Times, July 20: 30.

Burton, Tony, and William Kutik. 1981. "Charge socialite tried to kill wife." Daily News (New York, NY), July 7: 4.

Clendinen, Dudley. 1982. "von Bulow trial going to the jury." New York Times, March 11: 20.

Friendly, Jonathan. 1985. "von Bulow's mistress told of plea not to tesitfy about their affair." New York Times, June 6: B15.

Kutik, William. 1981. "Claus returns to the scene." Daily News (New York, NY), July 9: 4.

—. 1981. "In her will, $35M for hubby." Daily News (New York, NY), July 8: 189.

Nemy, Enid. 2019. "Claus von Bulow, tarred by scandal in the death of his wife, dies at 92." New York Times, May 31.

—. 2008. "Sunny von Bulow, whose near death started a society drama, dies at 76." New York Times, December 7.

New York Times. 1982. "von Bulow lover testifies on affair." New York Times, February 19: B14.

State of Rhode Island v. Claus von Bulow. 1984. 82-462-CA (Supreme Court of Rhode Island, May 24).

The Economist. 2019. "Did he or didn't he?" The Economist, June 15.

1997. American Justice. Performed by Towers Productions.

Cowritten by Alaina Urquhart, Ash Kelley & Dave White (Since 10/2022)

Produced & Edited by Mikie Sirois (Since 2023)

Research by Dave White (Since 10/2022), Alaina Urquhart & Ash Kelley

Listener Correspondence & Collaboration by Debra Lally

Listener Tale Video Edited by Aidan McElman (Since 6/2025)

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Previous Episode

The Pizza Bomber Conspiracy

January 5

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68m

On the afternoon of August 23, 2003, Erie, Pennsylvania pizza delivery driver Brian Wells walked into the local branch of the PNC Bank and handed the teller a note warning that he had a bomb and they had fifteen minutes to hand over $250,000 or it would detonate. Unable to access the vault, the teller gave Wells all the cash on hand and he left as the employees triggered the emergency protocol.

Fifteen minutes later, Wells was spotted by police and placed under arrest. However, when they went to put handcuffs on the suspects, the officers discovered that Wells did indeed have an explosive device on him—it was strapped to his neck and rigged to explode. Officers cleared the area, but failed to alert the bomb squad in time and the device eventually exploded, killing Wells just three minutes before the bomb squad arrived.

The bizarre death of Brian Wells seemed to bring his brief criminal career to an end; yet as investigators began digging into the background of the delivery driver-turned-bank robber, they discovered the plot to rob the PNC Bank was far more elaborate than anyone had imagined.

References

Associated Press. 2003. "Witness also helped in 1977 slaying." Scranton Times, September 25: 5.

—. 2003. "Woman charged in roomate's death." The Sentinel (Carlisle, PA), September 23: 2.

Dao, James. 2003. "A childlike pizza deliveryman at the center of a puzzling crime." New York Times, September 5: A12.

Fuoco, Linda Wilson. 2003. "Robber, co-worker death query." Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, September 1.

Fuoco, Michael. 2007. "Feds say collar bomb victim was part of plot." Pitsburgh Post-Gazette, July 12: 1.

Lin, Judy. 2003. "Erie bank robber explodes in police custody." Citizens' Voice (Wilkes-Barre, PA), August 31: 5.

—. 2003. "Bomb-case probers urge patience." Patriot-News (Harrisburg, PA), September 5: B5.

—. 2003. "Man may have been forced to rob Erie bank." The Daily Item (Sunbury, PA), August 31: 3.

Mandak, Joe. 2011. "Woman gets life plus 30 in collar-bomb death." Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, March 1: 1.

Nephin, Dan. 2003. "Woman acquitted of boyfriend's death 15 years ago charges with killing another." The Morning Call (Allentown, PA), September 23: 14.

Schapiro, Rich. 2011. "Collar bomb." Wired, Janaury.

Times-Tribune. 2005. "Woman pleads guilty in killing." Times-Tribune (Scranton, PA), January 9: 2.

United States of America v. Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong. 2009. 1:07-cr-26-SJM (United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, September 8).

United States of America v. Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong. 2012. 11-1601 (United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, September 25).

Wire News Service. 2003. "Neighbors say bank robber led quiet life." Patriot-News (Harrisburg, PA), September 4: B3.

Cowritten by Alaina Urquhart, Ash Kelley & Dave White (Since 10/2022)

Produced & Edited by Mikie Sirois (Since 2023)

Research by Dave White (Since 10/2022), Alaina Urquhart & Ash Kelley

Listener Correspondence & Collaboration by Debra Lally

Listener Tale Video Edited by Aidan McElman (Since 6/2025)

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Next Episode

The Sleeping Sickness Epidemic (1919-1930)

January 12

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52m

In late 1916, while treating a group of patients at his psychiatric clinic at the University of Vienna, Dr. Constantin von Economo began noticing the appearance of strange symptoms that he could not account for. At the same time, in France, Rene Cruchet began noticing similarly strange and unexpected symptoms in his patients. Though the two men had never met and knew nothing of one another’s patients, they would come to learn they were both witnessing the emergence of a new mysterious disease that would soon affect millions of people around the world.

The illnesses documented by von Economo and Cruchet would eventually come to be know as encephalitis lethargica, or sleeping sickness, a strange condition that caused profound lethargy, hypersomnia, and a wide range of other frightening symptoms. Between 1919 and the early 1930s, millions of people all around the world contracted the illness, with nearly half of all cases resulting in death, and many more suffering long-term effects; yet a cause of the illness has never been established and the terrifying epidemic appears to have faded from memory not long after the disease itself ostensibly disappeared.

References

Brook, Harry Ellington. 1921. "Care of the body." Los Angeles Times, March 6: 18.

Crosby, Molly Caldwell. 2011. Asleep: The Forgotten Epidemic that Remains One of Medicine's Greatest Mysteries. New York, NY: Penguin Publishing Group.

Hassler, Dr. William. 1919. "No sleeping sickness in S.F." San Francisco Examiner, March 10: 1.

Hoffman, Leslie A., and Joel A. Vilensky. 2017. "Encephalitis lethargica: 100 years after the epidemic." Brain: A Journal of Neurology 2246-2251.

Montreal Star. 1920. "Sleeping sickness puzzling doctors." Montreal Star, January 15: 3.

New York Times. 1936. "Awakens from sleep continuing 440 days." New York Times, June 14: 13.

R.R. Dourmashkin, MD. 1997. "What caused the 1918-30 epidemic of encephalitis lethargica?" Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine 515-520.

Sacks, Oliver. 1973. Awakenings. New York, NY: Vintage.

San Francisco Examiner. 1919. "New sleeping sickness hits S.F. residents." San Francisco Examiner, March 14: 1.

—. 1921. "Ten succumb to sleeping sickness." San Francisco Examiner, August 18: 13.

Western Morning News. 1919. "Notices." Western Morning News, January 1: 1.

Williams, David Bruce. 2020. "Encephalitis Lethargica: The Challenge of Structure and Function in Neuropsychiatry." Archives of Medicine and Health Sciences 255-262.

Wright, Oliver. 2002. "His life passed in a trance but his death may solve medical." The Times, December 14.

Cowritten by Alaina Urquhart, Ash Kelley & Dave White (Since 10/2022)

Produced & Edited by Mikie Sirois (Since 2023)

Research by Dave White (Since 10/2022), Alaina Urquhart & Ash Kelley

Listener Correspondence & Collaboration by Debra Lally

Listener Tale Video Edited by Aidan McElman (Since 6/2025)

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.