Antony was found at the scene of the crime, and later confessed to and was charged with her murder. Barbara wasnt just pretty, she was incredibly ambitious. That year, fresh off her divorce from Brooks Baekeland and mired in a panic over her sons sexuality, Barbara took Tony on a summer vacation to Majorca to unwind and get away from the world. Childhood & Early Life. Brooks had also received abusive letters from Tony, some threatening to murder his . Until, that is, Barbara found out. On the cover of Time Magazine, May 20, 1940, Leo Baekeland was called the Father of Plastic. Oh, just bloody human figures. After the death of their parents, George took over the abuse of Virginia. Tony and I spent the entire morning lying in bed reading the papers. While Tony only smirked at this bizarre over-share, the rest of the guests got very uncomfortable, very fast. But Tonys father Brooks was against such moves and thought his son should have been found guilty of first-degree murder. Her son's erratic behavior caused concern among family friends. So believe me when I say she stopped at nothing to get him. Brooks decided that he had had enough of Barbara's behaviour, and decided to pursue a divorce. However, few have practiced incest in quite the same way as the Portuguese royal family in the eighteenth century. In the 1960s, while the couple was hosting a party in their Paris apartment, Brooks happened to meet an English diplomats daughter who, while strikingly beautiful, was also a full 15 years younger than him. From this moment both Barbara and Tony were ruthlessly ejected from Brooks new family life back in America. This dramatic episode was possibly the beginning of a stormy mother-son relationship that culminated both in Barbaras extreme behaviour to cure her gay son and also brought about her own divorce from Brook who, tired of his wifes emotional problems, had begun an affair with a young Spanish girl. This then became a 2007 film starring Julianne Moore and Eddie Redmaynebut the attention these works received also brought out one crucial detail about Barbaras life that might change everything. Tony and Barbara were reportedly shameless about their relationship while in Majorca, treating it more like an open secret than a skeleton in their closet. In Savage Grace . From 1960 onwards the family's main base was an apartment in Paris, where during one party Brooks met an English diplomat's daughter who was 15 years his junior. These groups are changing that. Aug. 18, 1985 12 AM PT It was a strident 1981 newspaper headline, "Plastics Heir Kills Mom," with its chilling reportage on matricide and incest that set Natalie Robins on a different path. Virginia was born on January 25, 1882, to Julia and Leslie Stephens. How could I resist the opportunity to profile a 21-year-old billionaire whose travel resume had floored even these hyper-well-traveled men? After returning to his cell at 3:30PM, he was found dead there 30 minutes later, suffocated with a plastic bag. In 1972, Barbara Baekeland, the ex-wife of Brooks Baekeland, grandson of Leo, was stabbed to death with a kitchen knife by her son, Tony. His 2016 Christmas card is illustrative of his jet-setting lifestyle. She was murdered at her London home when her son Antony stabbed her with a kitchen knife, killing her almost instantly. Of course, it didnt take long for her horrific plan to unravel. Jul 15, 2012 at 4:10 pm. The first Baekeland murder was made into the 2007 film Savage Grace, starring Julianne Moore, Stephen Dillane, Eddie Redmayne, Hugh Dancy, Elena Anaya and Unax Ugalde. To her, Tonys macabre taste in art, erratic behavior, and cruel sense of humor were just signs of his genius, and she adored him all the more for his, uh, quirks. Madame de Pompadour was the alluring chief mistress of King Louis XV, but few people know her dark historyor the chilling secret shared by her and Louis. Ex-wife of George Middleton Baekeland She was only saved by his physical weakness, and the intervention of her friend Susan Guinness. By this time, the adult Tony hadnt grown out of his childhood creepinessif anything, his issues had just gotten worse. Jason met Amanda, daughter of singer Paul Anka, when they . The first American missionaries began to arrive on the islands- and Keopuolani converted. Later introduced to her son, noted pop art curator Green was very unimpressed by his artistic capabilities. The series had given me a chance to meet some of the worlds greatest travelersmen who had been to not just every country in the world, but nearly every speck on the map. A few years after losing her father, she and her mother moved to New York City, posted up in the iconic Delmonico Hotel, and almost overnight, Barbara became the talk of the town for her big dark eyes and thick head of luscious hair. I knew that she was going to take it badly, but I had no idea about the insane lengths she would go to just to get revenge and mess with my life. I concluded that Baekeland had better things to do with his time. Barbara Daly Baekeland lived a fantasy life of glamorous parties, wealthy admirers, and Hollywood starlets. Although Anthony displayed increasingly regular signs of schizophrenia with paranoid tendencies, his father refused to allow him to be treated by psychiatrists, a profession he believed to be "amoral". Barbara, as vain and insecure as she always had been, was devastated that a woman so much younger than her had caught her husbands eye. Barbara Daly Baekeland and son Anthony as a baby. Mother of Anthony Baekeland, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbara_Daly_Baekeland. Arrested by the New York City Police Department, he was charged with attempted murder. As young Tony grew into a toddler, the Baekeland heir started to exhibit some disturbing signs. For example, I am really keen on islands. In 1969, during a holiday in Majorca, she seduced her drunk and high son, later boasting about it to friends. Although Tony was out of the psychiatric hospital, Barbara did at least pay a therapist to visit her son at home. Anthony was institutionalized at Broadmoor Hospital prison until July 21, 1980 when, at the urging of a group of his friends, he was released. But no matter, the road is life. She was thirteen. Nini loved her grandson and believed that under her supervision he could lead a normal happy life. All Rights Reserved. Excerpted from Mad Travelers: A Tale of Wanderlust, Greed, and the Quest to Reach the Ends of the Earth by Dave Seminara. Men who thought they had been everywhere would be stumped when, in his posh, upper-crust British accent, he would name-drop places like Kapingamarangi, a forgotten atoll in the Federated States of Micronesia, or Trindade and Martin Vaz, a stunning archipelago in the southern Atlantic Ocean that serves as a garrison for the Brazilian Navy. After all, he was a busy young man who apparently had billions at his disposal. Over a short period of time where arguments had turned physical and Tony was witnessed trying to harm or kill his mother on numerous occasions by pushing her in front of vehicles an irreversible atmosphere of tension, suppressed anger and grievances would finally explode into the fatal stabbing of a mother who doted too passionately on her only son. On the face of it, she was an unlikely candidate for incest. Rather than mingling with backpackers his own age on the beaches of Ibiza or Santorini, he frequently traveled with extreme travelers more than twice his age. She was the ex-wife of Brooks Baekeland, who was the grandson of Leo Baekeland, inventor of Bakelite plastic. When Tony attacked his mother that fateful night, she was only 51 years old, but he was just 25 himself. The source of such conflicts was due to Barbara having arranged and encouraged her son to sleep with female prostitutes in the hope of curing his homosexuality. He flew to New York City, posted up with his 87-year-old maternal grandmother, andjust six days after he won his freedomstabbed her eight times with a kitchen knife. Just before Barbaras death she had been dining with a friend in London and enthusing about her extravagant, fun-filled life that she shared with her much-adored son, Anthony. The networks want stars who are in the right demo, said my contact at the production company, an industry veteran. By 1967 the family resided in Switzerland and it is at this time that the twenty-year-old Tony embarked on an intimate relationship with a bisexual Australian man while visiting Morocco which infuriated Barbara and saw her travelling by car to Spain in order to bring her son home. Although Barbara Baekeland was nothing if not self-absorbed, even she must have seen that her son was in need of some professional help. William had no occupation, save for managing some of his familys lands in Scotland, and was decades younger than most of the other top travelers, who had spent a lifetime building the kind of travel resume he had accumulated seemingly overnight. So why did the match occur? Anthony was subsequently admitted to The Priory private psychiatric hospital, but was released soon afterwards. MyHeritage Family Trees George Washington Baekeland, 1895 - 1966 George Washington Baekeland was born in 1895, to Leo Hendrik Baekeland and Celine Baekeland (born Swarts). Just as she had done when he was a child, Barbara stubbornly refused to see that anything was wrong with Tony. Her incredible beauty got her into some of the highest echelons of societybut behind that exquisite face, she was hiding a terrible secret, and it was one that would drive her to an utterly gruesome act. You see, Frank Daly wasnt the only family member to suffer from mental health issuesboth Barbara and her mother had psychological demons, with Barbara later employing a series of expensive therapists to help her find some modicum of happiness. Death: 2007 (85-86) Immediate Family: Son of George Washington Baekeland and Cornelia Fitch Middlebrook. And remember, Barbara didnt take breakups well. Instead, she settled on her fathers 43-year-old brother, Pedro. Then one day, it all came crashing down. Dinner guests noted Barbaras emotional instability, her occasionally vile manners, and her excessive drinking. Tonys paternal grandmother Nini Daly took a more compassionate view of her grandsons troubles and was instrumental in garnering powerful family allies such as Hugo Money-Coutts (connected to the famous bank family) to help steer a campaign to get Tony repatriated back to the US. Just six days after he had left Broadmoor Tony got into a heated argument with his grandmother over a telephone call he wanted to make to England. And he wasnt boastfulunlike most young globetrotters, he didnt have a website or a blog to document his extensive travels. Sophia Di Martino plays Sylvie in "Loki." Disney Platform Distribution. Although Barbara managed to track down Tony easily enough and stuff him back into the car with her, her plan soon took a dark turn. When Mrs. Baekeland was informed of this by her friend Barbara Curteis, she travelled by car to Spain to bring her son back to Switzerland. By this time (the summer of 1968) the Baekelands were divorced. Then, after this brush with the law, Barbara Baekelands life really went off the rails. After Brooks requested a divorce and Barbara subsequently tried to commit suicide, Brooks terminated the affair. Do you question the accuracy of a fact you just read? Nahienaena may have loved her new husband- but she still had feelings for her brother. After failing to make it in Hollywood as an actress, she married Bakelite heir, Brooks Baekeland and they had one child, a son called Anthony. Tony was gay, a circumstance that neither Barbara nor her husband could tolerate. He was born on November 14, 1863, in Sint-Martens-Latem, Belgium, to Charles Baekeland and Rosalie (Merchie) Baekeland. In the 1940s, Brooks and Barbara were getting hot and heavy, but that didnt seem to be enough for our girl. His wife Celine was a talented artist. However, the case was adjourned by the judge, due to a delay in the transfer of his medical records from England. Instead, Tony was found guilty of manslaughter and sent to Broadmoor, one of the UKs top security hospitals where he was visited by the rich and famous, possibly due to his mothers celebrity status and association with the Baekland dynasty. Your suggestions can be as general or specific as you like, from Life to Compact Cars and Trucks to A Subspecies of Capybara Called Hydrochoerus Isthmius. Well get our writers on it because we want to create articles on the topics youre interested in. He kept traveling, and, in February 2017, while on a trip to Antarctica, Baekelands father died, and he couldnt get to the funeral. By 1790, she was in a deep state of melancholia. Gorgo was her fathers only child. His father Charles Baekeland was a cobbler and mother Rosalie Baekeland was a housemaid. Barbara Daly Baekeland (September 28, 1921 - November 17, 1972) was a wealthy American socialite who was murdered by her son, Antony "Tony" Baekeland. He probably wasnt expecting a calm conversationbut nothing could have prepared him for what he got. Barbara Daly Baekeland, with her son Antony Baekeland. In 1823, Keopuolani died, and the nine-year-old Nahienaena now became a pawn between the missionaries and the old Hawaiian tribal chiefs. Officers found his cold body in his cell on March 20, 1981, his face covered in a plastic bag. She also drank heavily, and both parties had many affairs. On May 31, 1880, the pregnant young Queen was making her way to the royal summer palace by boat when the vessel capsized. Then Tony snapped. $17.95. Around this time, Barbara fell head over heels for the debonair Brooks Baekeland, a man people in the know called the intellectual Errol Flynn. Brooks was the grandson of Leo Baekeland, the inventor of Bakelite plastic, and his family was stinking rich. But all of that changed once they got back from their vacation. Catherine of Aragon is now infamous as King Henry VIIIs rejected queenbut few people know her even darker history. Usually, Brooks had no reason to go flaunting his sidepieces around his wife, but this time it was different. Fortunately, this marriage produced no children! Expand. Virginia recorded her incestuous abuse in her diaries and later in her novels and memoirs. So its no surprise that trouble came knocking. So Chulalongkorn chose three of his half-sisters as his queens. Was William a con man or just a kid with incurable wanderlust who had gotten in over his head while trying to fund his travel ambitions? She took to roaming the palace moaning and wailing incoherently and declaring herself damned. Barbara Daly was born in the year 1922 in Boston, Massachusetts to Nini and Frank. Now, this news would upset many an uptight mother, but Barbara took it to the next level. At some point, Tony's father, Brooks, began having an affair with Sylvie instead. Anna Delvey: The socialite who didn't exist. It transpired that in his mind after injuring Nini he had thought it kinder to kill her while also admitting in a confession that he wanted to have sex with his 87 year old grandmother. Thanks for your time! Virginia later recalled in Moments of Being how Gerald would stand her in front of a mirror just outside the dining room and explore her private parts. In the comics, Sylvie is actually the second version of Enchantress. But Barbara had her sights set on a different mark. Brooks didnt simply divorce Barbara; he also took right up with Sylvie after, actually marrying the girl and having another son with her. Morrow. After failing to make it in Hollywood as an actress, she married Bakelite heir, Brooks Baekeland and they had one child, a son called Anthony. Baekeland had a complex and allegedly incestuous relationship with her gay son, Anthony. If the Baekelands thought that escaping to Europe would help them outrun their marital issues, they were very, very wrong. But Tonys response was so disturbing, its impossible to forget. Does Historical Accuracy Matter in Historical Fiction? Overall, Chulalongkorn had 153 consorts, concubines and wives who gave him over 77 children between them. Maria, I of Portugal was born on December 17, 1734, the daughter of King Joseph I. Attractive and well educated, Maria was also extremely devout. When Barbara was barely an adult, she got the attention of some very powerful men. Leo was born in 1863. One mother who most certainly seduced her son was Barbara Daly Baekeland. He was the eldest son of Mongkut or Rama IV, immortalized as the king in The King and I. King Chulalongkorn, as he was known during his lifetime, took over the throne in 1863, after his fathers death. Baekeland oozed sincerity and people of all nationalities found him to be personable and good company. Florida Coast, 1937, oil on canvas 24 1/2 by 29 inches. It was part of Hawaiian culture that royalty married royalty. September 15, 1985. ______Accolades from: Mom & her Mahjong group _______Top writer: in a group of one, When My Son Was Killed By Gun Violence, I Could Not Be Silent, The tech workforce is mostly white and male. Before joining the team, she worked as a course lecturer while completing her Ph.D. in English Literature. She was the ex-wife of Brooks Baekeland, who was the grandson of Leo Baekeland, inventor of Bakelite plastic. In 1972, Anthony Baekeland stabbed his mother to death with a kitchen knife at their London house. I am f***ing my mother, he told a friend. Tony had made morbid craft . But many of the worlds top travelers attended the conference, and as they began to share stories and compare notes on a flurry of trips that William had recently canceled, it became clear that the young billionaire owed a number of travelers tens or perhaps hundreds of thousands of dollars. As weve seen, Barbara was so obsessed with maintaining her picture-perfect facade that there was almost nothing about her troubled son that she couldnt wave awayemphasis on almost. Barbara Daly Baekeland, a previous model for Vogue and Harpers Bazaar, had married into wealth and high-society when she wed Brooks Baekeland, whose grandfather was chemist Leo Baekeland, the inventor, Black History Month 2018 X the Gun Violence Prevention Movement, SHOCKING TRUE CRIME./// (& some other stuff). While her mother was still trying to cope with her own nervous . Nahienaenas conscience remained a problem. It couldnt have come at a worse time. The brutal murder was the violent climax to an emotional rollercoaster ride for the beautiful socialite who was linked by marriage to the Bakelite empire the worlds first plastic. [CDATA[// >