The glittering life of American heiress and former model Barbara Daly Baekeland ended in brutal violence on 17 November 1972, when she was stabbed to death in her luxurious London apartment. The perpetrator was her own 25-year-old son, Antony 'Tony' Baekeland.
A Privileged Life Descends Into Darkness
Barbara, then 52, was a well-known socialite who had married into the immense Bakelite plastic fortune. Her husband, Brooks Baekeland, was the grandson of Leo Baekeland, the inventor of the world's first fully synthetic plastic. Their only child, Antony, was born in 1946. After the marriage collapsed, Barbara and Tony lived a life of opulence, but their relationship was reportedly deeply troubled and psychologically complex.
Tony was diagnosed with schizophrenia, and their dynamic spiralled into alleged abuse. Reports, including those cited by Crime and Investigation, suggest Barbara attempted to 'cure' her son's homosexuality by forcing him to sleep with prostitutes. When that failed, it was alleged she began sexually abusing him herself. The relationship was rumoured to be incestuous, a claim Barbara herself reportedly confessed to friends.
The Night of the Murder and a Twisted Aftermath
The fatal attack occurred after a row about a visitor Tony had invited to their home at 45 Lower Belgrave Street. During the violent altercation, Tony struck his mother before stabbing her with a knife. When police arrived, they found him ordering a takeaway meal, looming over her blood-soaked body.
He later told officers, "My mind was slightly wacky and I was very much under my mother's influence. I felt she was controlling my mind." He was so detached from reality that he later asked police if his mother was still alive. In 1973, Tony was found guilty of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility and sent to Broadmoor high-security hospital.
A Second Attack and a Mysterious Death
In 1980, after a campaign led by his grandmother Nini Daly, Tony was released into her care in New York. His discharge was later called a "mistake" by his Broadmoor specialist. Just six days after his release, Tony stabbed his 87-year-old grandmother eight times during an argument over a phone call. Miraculously, she survived.
Tony was sentenced to life at Rikers Island prison. There, his family wealth bought him bodyguards and privileges. His life ended on 20 March 1981, when he was found dead with a plastic bag secured around his head. Authorities never determined if it was suicide or murder.
The tragic saga of the Baekelands remains a chilling case study of how immense wealth and privilege could not shield a family from mental illness, alleged abuse, and ultimate destruction.
