Glamorous & deadly?
The case a loaded GUN…
Claudine Longet had a glamorous lifestyle.
Born in Paris, she moved to Las Vegas as a teenager to pursue a career as a showgirl.
Aged just 18, Claudine met famous singer Andy Williams when he stopped to help her with a flat tyre.
Blown away by Claudine’s petite frame and large, doe eyes, the pair married a year later, in 1961.
Soon after, Claudine’s career took off and she starred in a string of successful TV shows.
She was admired for her innocent, girl-next-door looks and soft-auburn hair.
In 1967, Claudine released her debut album as a singer, and sold over 500,000 copies.
Her dreams of stardom were coming true.
Meanwhile, Andy and Claudine became Hollywood royalty, rubbing shoulders with the biggest names in showbiz. They were close friends with the Kennedys, and socialised regularly with senator Bobby and wife Ethel at their places in Hickory Hill and New York.
When Bobby Kennedy was assassinated in June 1968, Claudine and Andy were devastated, and Andy sang at the senator’s funeral.
On the surface, the couple seemed a celebrity match made in heaven.
Claudine regularly appeared on Andy’s televised variety show, which showcased acts such as The Osmond Brothers and Dick Van Dyke.
The couple had three children together. But, in 1970, after nine years of marriage, they separated amid various rumours of infidelity. Claudine reportedly boasted, ‘What more could a woman want? I have my husband, my children and my lover.’ The lover in question was the handsome pro skiing champion Vladimir Sabich, who went by the name of ‘Spider’. Spider had competed in the Winter Olympics and World Cup. Ruggedly attractive, as soon as the pair met, there was an immediate attraction. Following the break-up of her marriage, Claudine started splitting her time between her home in Malibu and Spider’s chalet in Aspen, Colorado. Eventually, Spider asked
A single shot rang out. Spider was hit…
Claudine and her children to move in. But a happy ending wasn’t on the cards… Spider was known for his bachelor lifestyle, so settled family life came as a shock. He told friends he felt confined by the constant presence of Claudine and the kids, and their relationship eventually became strained. On 21 March 1976, Spider left the house and headed to the slopes. Claudine went shopping, stopping at a bar for a glass of wine before heading home to greet the children as they came back from school. Spider got home at 4pm and stripped as far as his thermal underwear as he prepared to have a shower. Moments later, a single shot rang out, and Spider was hit in the abdomen. The children ran into the bathroom to see the star skier bleeding in their mother’s arms. Claudine called for help, and sent the children outside to wait for the ambulance. Tragically, Spider lost a fatal amount of blood and died on the way to the hospital. Claudine immediately told detectives Spider’s death was an accident. She explained Spider, then 31, had been showing her how to use the .22-calibre pistol when it had accidentally gone off. Weeks later, at Spider’s funeral, Claudine dabbed at her eyes and sobbed as she said her final goodbyes. She looked every bit the grieving lover. But, as police investigated the case, they started to think Claudine’s story didn’t quite add up. She was arrested and charged with the fatal shooting. Andy Williams immediately rushed to support his ex-wife, even escorting her to and from the courthouse. Claudine pleaded not guilty to felony manslaughter, and a trial was set for January 1977. In court, Claudine testified that she and Spider loved each other very much. But Spider’s friends told a different story.
They claimed Spider had told them he and Claudine were heading for a split.
Claudine was described as jealous and demanding. One friend revealed how she once hurled a glass at Spider in a nightclub because he wasn’t giving her enough attention.
The couple’s four-year relationship was described as turbulent, and it was said they often had violent fights in public.
Others suggested Spider had recently asked Claudine to move out because of her increasingly difficult behaviour.
The evidence was stacked against Claudine. But there was a spanner in the works for the prosecution as Claudine’s lawyers revealed how police took a blood sample from her without a judicial order. They then confiscated her diary without a warrant.
According to prosecutors, Claudine’s blood showed traces of cocaine, and her diary contradicted her claim that her relationship with Spider was stable.
But Colorado Supreme Court ruled Claudine’s rights were violated by the unlawful blood test and diary seizure. The evidence was disallowed.
In addition, the gun was mishandled by non-weapons experts, and the prosecution’s case started to unravel.
Prosecutors used the autopsy report to suggest that Spider was bent over when he was shot. They claimed he was at least 6ft away from Claudine when she fired the gun.
In other words, the autopsy report was inconsistent with that of someone demonstrating how to use a firearm. The trial lasted four days. Claudine’s defence team insisted she and Spider were deeply, blissfully in love.
They said Spider’s death had been a tragic accident.
But was it enough to convince the jurors?