'Dark Shadows' Victoria Winters' Lover Was Accused of Killing His Wife to Be with Her - She Is a Widow at 77

• Alexandra Isles portrayed Victoria Winters in the hit TV show "Dark Shadows."
• After becoming famous, she started an affair with a married man, who was later accused of murder. Her lover has since passed away.
• These days, Alexandra lives her life with her remaining family members, making documentaries after her husband passed away.

Before starring in the TV show "Dark Shadows," Alexandra Moltke Isles was just another New York kid. Her father worked for the Danish Mission to the United Nations, while her mother was an editor for VOGUE. Her parents' careers left an impact on the young Alexandra, which can be seen throughout her later work.

Growing up as the child of a U.N. ambassador taught Alexandra to be sensitive to the suffering of others and aware of the struggles people often have to face. Young life for the yet-to-be actress also taught her what it was like to be an outsider, since she spent most of her time reading, and she abhorred school.

Growing up, she gradually took up acting and landed her role as Victoria Winters on the popular TV show "Dark Shadows." Although she enjoyed the role at first, she noted that she wanted more from her character, explaining that the rest of the characters were all interesting, while Victoria remained rather pedestrian.

After the conviction, Claus paid his $1 million bail and decided to clear his name of the 30-year prison term.

While working in television, Alexandra met the man she would eventually marry. On July 11, 1967, her parents released a statement to the New York Times announcing her engagement to Philip Henry Alexandra. The very same year, on October 28, 1967, Alexandra married her first husband, but the union was destined to fail.

Alexandra's first marriage lasted just shy of ten years, and she divorced her husband in 1976. The couple had one child before they went their separate ways. After her first marriage, Alexandra would go on to have a relationship with a high-profile man, which ended in tragedy, both for her and her lover.

An Affair and a Tragic Death

By the 1980s, Alexandra's career in television had made her beloved by the public, and she had many options open to her in the future. What few people knew at the time was that she had gotten involved with a Danish-born socialite named Claus von Bulow; however, their romantic entanglement would soon see the light.

The actress last appeared in a project with the rest of her "Dark Shadows" co-stars in a 2021 performance of "A Christmas Carol."

While he started seeing Alexandra, Claus was still married to the wealthy Martha "Sunny" von Bulow. He and Alexandra kept their relationship quiet, but their comingling was revealed after Claus' wife, Martha, fell into a coma. Doctors determined that Martha's catatonic state had been brought about intentionally.

After the news broke that Martha may have been deliberately sent into a coma, Claus and Alexandra's affair became public during the trial that followed. One judge working on the case commented that the crime seemed like something from a murder mystery, with aristocrats, an affair, and even butlers (who luckily didn't bear the blame).

After Martha fell into a coma, Claus became the primary suspect. When his affair with Alexandra became public, it seemed all the odds were against him. The running notion was that the love-stricken aristocrat had hoped to poison his wife, who suffered from hypoglycemia, with regular insulin injections without her knowledge.

During the trial, Alexandra stood in front of the prosecution. Alexandra confessed that she had been seeing Claus since 1978 and noted that she had given him an ultimatum, asking him to leave Martha. The prosecution also pointed out that a divorce would have voided Claus' claim on Martha's fortune.

Many people theorized that after Martha passed away, Claus had hoped to inherit her tremendous $75 million fortune and finally marry his mistress, Alexandra. In 1982, Claus was convicted of murder in Newport, Rhode Island, in what was one of the most publicized trials of its era. But Claus wouldn't go down without a fight.

After the conviction, Claus paid his $1 million bail and decided to clear his name of the 30-year prison term. With the help of Professor Alan Dershowitz, Claus managed to appeal the original verdict, and a new trial kicked off. Thomas Puccio represented Claus in the second trial, and the pair fought tooth and nail.

While the prosecution once again hoped to prove that Claus masterminded his wife's coma, the defense took the position that Martha had induced the coma herself, either deliberately or by accident. After another bout of cross-examinations and deliberations, Claus managed to acquit himself of all charges.

Throughout the trial, it became clear that Alexandra had been in love with Claus and had hoped he would leave his wife for her. In the end, Claus saw little of Martha's fortune, while his stepchildren remained adamant he was guilty. Martha spent years in a coma until she died in December 2008. He also passed at 92 in 2019.

Surviving the Trial and Losing a Husband

After her relationship with Claus was exposed and she was cross-examined as a critical witness, Alexandra moved on with her life. Claus largely kept to himself following his second trial, but the case was immortalized in a movie. Alexandra found love once more and branched out from acting.

Alexandra married Alfred Jaretzki some time after ending things with Claus. Alfred served as a Professor Emeritus of Clinical Surgery throughout his life and also mentored young aspiring surgeons. With various accolades and groundbreaking work in various medical fields, his death on May 29, 2014, came as a tragedy to many.

Now, at 77, it seems Alexandra has remained unmarried, preferring to focus on her work. After making a name for herself as an actress, Alexandra turned to making documentaries, winning much praise for her ability to honor historical accuracy and preserve the voices of those she interviewed.

The actress last appeared in a project with the rest of her "Dark Shadows" co-stars in a 2021 performance of "A Christmas Carol." Unlike many Hollywood scandals, such as Kevin Costner's divorce, Alexandra got back on her feet. Her only biological son, Adam Isles, is a skilled legal adviser and currently works as a Principal at the Chertoff Group. The actress is a grandmother to two little ones.

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