the fragile state of her mind, she retained control over the vast fortune she inherited and though living in a hospital, she was free to come and go as she pleased. As the years passed, Winnie began to take on a kind of a Norma Desmond (Sunset Boulevard) persona and wore fur and ostrich-trimmed negligees during the day, then slipped out at night with her diamonds and gowns and headed for the Stork Club and El Morocco. As a rich widow, Winnie was never without her circle of handsome escorts.
The Prince of Darkness On one of Winifred’s many trips to Paris to have more gowns made for her, she met a man who claimed to be a prince. Prince Nicolas Sturdza, who designed dresses and hats, spoke seven languages and was a taller version of her late husband. The prince was fascinated by the $1 million necklace she was wearing, with the 10 huge emeralds that had originally belonged to King Ludwig of Bavaria. Over cocktails one night, Sturdza began to weave tall tales. He intrigued Winnie with a dramatic account about how he had just escaped from Communist Romania after spending three years hiding in a mountain cave, where government police had put a price on his head. He claimed his mother was starving in prison and his father had been shot trying to escape. Winnie was so taken by his story that without checking to see if it was true, she gave him $50,000 so he could try and save his family. A short time later, she cooed to the press, “I’m in love with a prince. He makes me feel 20 again.” He was 16 years younger than she was and when friends tried to warn her that he was not what he seemed, Winnie snapped, “He is not a gigolo like so many phony princes who target vulnerable rich women, like that poor fool Barbara Hutton.” Despite the warning signs, they became engaged and Winnie made plans to restore the long abandoned villa in Oyster Bay. They began to travel all over Europe buying expensive things for the house, staying in the best hotels – with her footing all the bills. Sturdza had promised to introduce her to the European royalty but never got around to it, nor did she leave him when it got back to her that he kept a string of young boys on hand wherever they traveled. But as time passed she was beginning to tire of him. Things took a dark turn when Sturdza realized he was about to lose his meal ticket and brought in an old psychiatrist friend, Dr. Gerard Savoy. Savoy had been in trouble 78 | 25A www.25Amagazine.com
with the law and his license had been suspended. Within a short time, Winnie was under the complete control of Sturdza and Savoy and was being forced to take as many as 100 pills a day. While she was in a fugue state, Sturdza would take Winnie shopping to the most expensive shops in Europe where he would manipulate her into spending $20,000 to $60,000 on jewelry. The gems were brought back to the hotel and stored in a vault. Records show that even in a drugged state, Winnie knew she was in trouble and cabled her attorney in New York claiming that she feared her life was in danger. Her pleas for help were ignored. In July 1961, Winifred’s lawyer received a cable stating that she had died during the night at the Beau Rivage Hotel in Lausanne. Dr. Savoy listed the cause of death as cerebral hemorrhage. Her millions in jewels vanished without a trace. The lawyer, suspicious, flew to Lausanne and informed the police about Winnie’s calls for help. Her funeral had already taken place and after much wrangling and paperwork, her body was exhumed and an autopsy showed she had been poisoned with a massive dose of morphine.
The Entrance Atria in Ruins The murder trial created a sensation on both continents. Sturdza, who as it turned out was not a prince, and Dr. Savoy, who was no longer a doctor,