Von Bulow Says Plan for Divorce Failed

Claus von Bulow said Thursday that he agreed to divorce his comatose wife, provided that his stepchildren dropped their civil suit against him and split their inheritance with his daughter, but that the offer was rejected.

The Danish-born socialite, acquitted last year of trying to kill his heiress wife, Martha (Sunny) von Bulow, also said the offer included his renouncing of any claims on his estimated $14-million share of her $75-million gas and utilities fortune, her Newport mansion and their New York apartment.

“I agreed to any formula that would take me out of the picture and give Cosima (Von Bulow’s daughter) her fair share, including divorce,” Von Bulow said in an interview. “It was turned down categorically.”