A Tragic Countdown Through the Life of America’s Poor Little Rich Girl, Barbara Hutton

A Tragic Countdown Through the Life of America’s Poor Little Rich Girl, Barbara Hutton

Trista - December 4, 2018

A Tragic Countdown Through the Life of America’s Poor Little Rich Girl, Barbara Hutton
Edna Woolworth Hutton. Davis E. McCollum/findagrave.

6. Barbara Hutton Found Her Dead Mother’s Body When She Was A Young Child

Whenever people would ask Hutton about her mother, she would barely respond. In fact, all Hutton would typically say was her mother passed away when she was a young girl. Whether people knew the full story of her mother’s passing during Hutton’s lifetime remains to be unknown. However, today, we know the death of Barbara Hutton’s mother, Edna Woolworth Hutton, was very tragic; especially for young Hutton. Edna, who was married to Hutton’s father, Franklin Laws Hutton, suddenly passed away when Hutton was only four years old.

The tragedy occurred on May 2, 1917. Edna Hutton, who was 33 years old, was found dead by her four-year-old daughter. The reports said she died from mastoiditis, which is an infection that goes into the air cells of the skull behind the ear. Basically, everyone believed she died from suffocating. Therefore, the coroner decided against doing an autopsy. However, today, it is thought that Edna killed herself. The belief is she found out her husband was unfaithful, so she decided to poison herself, leaving her daughter to discover her body in the Plaza Hotel suite.

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