Did Former DA Pirro Drop the Ball, and Then Take Credit in Her Book for Robert Durst Arrest?
“This isn’t a case where we can say minute-by-minute what happened, but we can say with confidence that he killed her in Westchester.“
Westchester District Attorney Mimi Rocah
By Dan Murphy
On Jan. 19, nine days after the death of Robert Durst, Westchester County District Attorney Miriam E. Rocah released an Investigative Report detailing certain facts gathered during the investigation into the murder of Robert Durst’s first wife, Kathleen McCormack Durst, in South Salem, New York, on January 31, 1982.
Robert Durst died at the age of 78 in a California prison after being convicted of killing his second wife, Susan Berman. Durst was long suspected of killing his first wife Kathie Durst in their South Salem cottage but evaded conviction on her death.
Shortly after taking office in January 2021, DA Rocah’s newly formed Cold Case Bureau and the New York State Police resumed the investigation into the disappearance of 29-year-old Kathleen Durst. As a result of the extensive and thorough investigation, Robert Durst was charged by a Westchester County Grand Jury in an indictment on November 1, 2021, with Murder in the Second Degree.
“While nothing can provide the transparency of a public trial, that option is unavailable given Robert Durst’s recent death. In an effort to provide as much transparency as possible, my Office is issuing an Investigative Report that summarizes facts, not subject to grand jury secrecy, that were gathered during the investigation into the disappearance of Kathleen Durst and sheds some light on why it took nearly 40 years to charge Robert Durst with her murder,” DA Rocah said. “These are all things about which there has been much speculation over the years and I believe that sharing facts with the public, where possible, is the best way to enhance public trust in our criminal justice system.”
The report provides details about the investigation into Kathleen Durst’s disappearance conducted in 1982, and how statements made by Robert Durst soon after Kathleen’s disappearance led police to initially believe that she was last seen in Manhattan. Those statements were discredited through the statements of other witnesses, and later by Robert Durst himself, while additional witness interviews revealed information about multiple alleged incidents of domestic violence by Robert Durst against Kathleen Durst. In addition to information learned from witness interviews, the report also details some of the physical evidence recovered during the investigation, including a handwritten note that was found in the South Salem home shared by the couple. Despite this evidence, the case went cold.
As discussed in the report, New York State Police Investigator Joseph Becerra and the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office resumed the investigation into Kathleen Durst’s disappearance in 1999. During this time, Inv. Becerra debunked the belief that Kathleen Durst was seen in Manhattan on the night she disappeared, which shifted the focus of the investigation away from the narrative suggested by Robert Durst in the period after Kathleen disappeared. Investigators conducted numerous interviews during this period, but were unable to interview Susan Berman, Durst’s friend, before she was murdered in December of 2000.
The report also discusses crucial facts and evidence that were revealed during the production of the HBO documentary “The Jinx” and Robert Durst’s prosecution for the murder of Susan Berman in Los Angeles, which resulted in his conviction on September 17, 2021. Shortly thereafter, Durst was indicted for the murder of Kathleen Durst, nearly 40 years after her death.
“Those of us in law enforcement, who are always seeking to better serve victims, can and should look at how this case was handled and what, if anything, we can learn about the crucial early stages of criminal investigations when individuals with status, wealth and power are implicated,” DA Rocah said. “By learning from past investigations, we can better assure the public that no one is above close scrutiny of law enforcement and that domestic violence victims, like Kathleen Durst, can be saved before their abuse ends in death. In the end, I hope that the charges that were filed in this case send a powerful message that no one is above the law and no victim’s case should be forgotten.”
Cold Case Bureau Chief Laura Murphy, Chief Investigator Daniel McKenna, and Bureau Chiefs Nadine Nagler and Maria Wager handled the investigation. They worked collaboratively with New York State Police, and now former Investigator Joseph Becerra, who spent 22 years investigating Kathleen Durst’s disappearance, other Criminal Investigators in the District Attorney’s Office, the FBI, the Westchester County Department of Public Safety, Westchester County Department of Laboratories and Research, and law enforcement agencies from across the country. The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office also assisted in the investigation.
New York State Police Investigator Joseph Becerra said his biggest regret in this case “is not knowing where kathy is just so we can give her family final closure.”
Other questions from the media included the role that former District Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s office played in Robert Durst not being charged with his wife’s murder until 2021. DA Rocah said that her office wasn’t “putting blame on anyone,” but said that “tunnel vision” from some in law enforcement –and was hoping that in Kathie’s memory—we have no evidence to conduct any type of investigation and i’m focused on what my team did once we got here –its really important in kathleens honor to focus on domestic violence victims everywhere and to try and better serve them.
Carl Vergari was DA when Kathie Durst was murdered in 1982, and Pirro was DA in 1999 when Becarra began to uncover additional evidence and leads in the case.
The family of Kathie Durst was not satisifed with the report issued by DA Rocah, but it appears that there anger at Robert Durst not being charged with Kathie’s death years ago is focused on others than the current Westchester DA. The statement from the The McCormack family and their attorneys reads:
We “were not invited to DA Rocah’s press conference. No one from the Westchester District Attorney’s Office even informed the McCormack family that DA Rocah was having a press conference today. There is absolutely no doubt that Robert Durst murdered Kathie in South Salem, New York on January 31, 1982. The evidence to prove this beyond a reasonable doubt has been available for almost forty (40) years.
There have been numerous individuals, including members of the Durst family, that have knowingly and intentionally participated in a criminal conspiracy to help Robert Durst avoid prosecution. Today, the Westchester County District Attorney has sanctioned those illegal acts and attempted to explain away how money, power, and influence allowed a killer to escape justice. Through her misrepresentations and omissions, DA Rocah must now be considered part of the cover-up. She should resign immediately.
Had the McCormack family been invited to today’s press conference, they would have explained not only the impact that Kathie’s murder has had on their lives, but also the damage that has resulted from law enforcement’s failure to treat the victims of this crime as equal before the law.
The McCormack family will further address this and other issues on January 31, 2022, the 40th anniversary of Kathie’s murder. In the interim, we ask the public to consider why the current Westchester DA and her predecessors remain unwilling to tell the truth about why it took nearly forty years for Robert Durst to be charged.” end of statment.
A story from The Guardian claims that Kathie’s family wanted then DA Pirro to go to California and interview Susan Berman before her death, but that Pirro refused. Other published reports question what if anything Pirro did which led to the conviction of Robert Durst for other crimes, even though she wrote a book taking credit for his arrest.
Other strange questions and connections about the case include Bill Stevenson and his ex-wife Jill Biden, now First Lady Jill Biden, spent a weekend with Robert and Kathie Durst and Stevenson claims they witnessed abuse from Robert upon Kathie.
District Attorney Rocah did everything in her power, in our view, to put the case of Kathie Durst to an end. She released a 12-page report on the investigation into the disappearance of Kathie Durst, linked here.
But it’s a case that won’t go away, even after the death of Robert Durst.
