Barbara Daly Baekeland: Maternal Incest & Murder | #455
6/18/20261 hr 21 min
They say money can’t buy happiness…
And that certainly proved true in 1972, when Tony Baekeland – heir to the Bakelite plastic dynasty – plunged a knife into his mother Barbara’s heart in their London penthouse.
But behind the lurid headlines lay a trail of dysfunctional family secrets, taboo mother-son incest and twisted DIY conversion therapy: all washed down by a toxic cocktail of wealth and excess.
And after being released from Broadmoor Hospital, Tony would strike again...
Was this poor little rich boy mad, bad, or a victim of something much darker?
Inspiring the 2008 film Savage Grace starring Julianne Moore and Eddie Redmayne, this is the most shocking true story you’ve probably never heard of.
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First 90 secondsSuruthi Bala· Host0:00
[mysterious music] In 1972, glamorous American socialite Barbara Daly Bakeland was stabbed to death in her chic London penthouse. The culprit? He was her very own son, Tony, wayward heir to the Bakelite plastic dynasty. He was locked up in Broadmoor Hospital for almost a decade until a posse of devoted friends with connections in high places campaigned to get him out, only for him to then attack his elderly grandmother with a knife just six days after touching down in New York City. The crimes were a shocking glimpse into a filthy rich family hiding toxic secrets beneath its dazzling veneer. So how did a clan that had made its fortune in plastic from a Belgian scientist with a simple American dream turn into a twisted nightmare? Featuring madness, obsession, and mother-son incest. Be warned. I'm Sruti.
Hannah Maguire· Host1:07
I'm Hannah.
Suruthi Bala· Host1:08
And this is a case that makes Mommy Dearest sound like a bedtime story.
Hannah Maguire· Host1:13
I think this is another one that we tried to pitch to documentary makers- Uh-huh ... because they would always be American, and they'd be like, "Go and find some British stories," and it would be this one, Gail. This is one of the,