Sunny von Bulow dies after 28 years in coma

NEW YORK 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 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.