2nd Von Bulow Trial Begins--He’s Optimistic

A smiling Claus von Bulow strolled by a throng of reporters and into court today to begin his second trial on charges of twice attempting to murder his heiress wife.

The Danish-born Von Bulow, 58, arrived at the Providence County Courthouse at 10:20 a.m.

“Yes, I am,” he said when asked if he is optimistic about the outcome of his second trial on charges that he twice tried to kill his diabetic wife with insulin overdoses to collect $14 million from her estate and marry his New York lover.

As he entered the courthouse, Von Bulow set off a metal detector at the entrance several times. The embarrassed Von Bulow finally had to remove his belt to gain entry.

300 Prospective Jurors

Von Bulow was ushered into a room to await the beginning of jury selection in Superior Court before Judge Corinne Grande. The court has called at least 300 people in an effort to eat 12 jurors and four alternates.

Jury selection is expected to take as long as two weeks.

On March 16, 1982, an emotional 31-day trial in Newport came to an end and a jury found Von Bulow guilty on two counts of assault with intent to murder his wife, Martha (Sunny) von Bulow, heiress to a reported $70-million fortune. He was sentenced to 30 years in prison.

Von Bulow, a former aide to billionaire J. Paul Getty, was freed on $1-million bail and an appeal effort began.

The Rhode Island Supreme Court overturned the convictions in 1984 on a technicality, and defense attorneys began compiling new evidence and witnesses that they hope will free Von Bulow during the second round. Following his appeal, bail was reduced to $100,000.

Sunny von Bulow has been in a New York hospital since 1980 in a coma that doctors say is irreversible.