born Martha Sharp Crawford into a wealthy family . She inherited a fortune conservatively estimated at $ 75 million , according to an article on the von Bulow case posted on truTV.com 's Crime Library Web site . In her early years , she drew comparisons to actress Grace Kelly . She became known as Princess von Auersperg with her first marriage , to Prince Alfred von Auersperg of Austria . That marriage produced two children : Alexander and Annie Laurie . The von Bulows married in 1966 and had a daughter , Cosima . On the morning of December 22 , 1980 , family members found Martha von Bulow unconscious in the bathroom of the family 's posh Newport , Rhode Island , home . She never regained consciousness . She had been hospitalized a year earlier after lapsing into a coma but recovered , according to the Crime Library site . Doctors had diagnosed her with hypoglycemia , or low blood sugar . Prosecutors accused Claus von Bulow of twice attempting to kill his wife by injecting her with insulin . The case also led to a major motion picture , `` Reversal of Fortune . '' Actor
NEW YORK -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- After spending nearly 28 years in an irreversible coma , heiress and socialite Martha `` Sunny '' von Bulow died Saturday in a New York nursing home , according to a family statement . She was 76 . Sunny von Bulow is pictured during her 1957 wedding to Prince Alfred von Auersperg . Von Bulow was subject of one of the nation 's most sensational criminal cases during the 1980s . Her husband , Claus , was accused of trying to kill her with an overdose of insulin , which prosecutors alleged sent her into the coma . He was convicted of making two attempts on her life , but the conviction was overturned on appeal . He was acquitted in a second trial . His retrial in 1985 received national attention . `` We were blessed to have an extraordinarily loving and caring mother , '' said the statement from Von Bulow 's three children -- Annie Laurie `` Ala '' Isham , Alexander von Auersperg and Cosima Pavoncelli -- released by a spokeswoman . `` She was especially devoted to her many friends and family members . '' Martha von Bulow was