Will DA Rocah Get an Indictment Before He Dies in Prison from COVID?
The strange life of Robert Durst is coming to a close in many ways. Durst, 78, was convicted in a California courtroom in the 2000 murder of Susan Berman in Los Angeles. Berman had served as Durst’s spokesperson and companion regarding the death of his wife, Kathie McCormack Durst, who vanished from their Westchester home in North Salem in 1982.
Durst is believed to have killed Berman because he feared that she knew too much about his involvement in the death of his wife, and also feared that she was about to speak to law enforcement. After the guilty verdict, Durst was sentenced to life in prison on Oct. 14.
Durst tested positive for COVID and is on a ventilator, and law enforcement sources believe that he could die at any time.
As Durst was being found guilty in California, published reports claim that Westchester District Attorney Mimi Rocah has convenend a grand jury into the death of Kathie Durst, 39 years ago. The New York Times reported that Rocah’s office ” is bringing about two dozen witnesses before a grand jury with the goal of charging Mr. Durst with murder, according to three people with knowledge of the proceedings.”
As all of this was occurring, on Oct. 17, NYS Police Investigator Joseph Becerra walked into the Town of Lewisboro court clerks office and filed a Felony Complaint charging Robert Durst with the murder of his wife. The complaint, which does not hold the same power as an indictment from a DA or a U.S. Attorney, consists of a one page document which reads, “investigator Joseph Becerra, of the NYS Police, Westchester County, accuses the defendant names above (Robert Durst) of the following offense committed on or near 62 Hoyt Street, South Salem in the Town of Lewisboro, NY, on or about January 31, 1982.
“Count One: Murder in the Second Degree. The defendant, at the above time and place did, with the intent to cause the death of such other person. The defendant, Robert Durst, at the above time and place, with the intent to cause the death of Kathleen McCormack Durst, caused the death of Kathleen McCormack Durst.
“The above allegations of fact are made by the complaintant herein on direct knowledge and upon information and belief, with the sources of complaintants and the grounds for his belief being the files of this matter maintained by the office of the Westchester County District Attorney, the New York State Police, District Attorney’s office of Los Angeles, conversation with numerous witnesses and observations of defendant’s recorded interviews and court testimony in related proceedings.” end of complaint.
Becerra has declined to comment after filing the complaint. But Dan Schorr, a former Westchester prosecutor and Yonkers Inspector General said, “as a former prosecutor who worked with the state police, I don’t believe that a felony complaint would have been filed without the full support of the DA’s office.”
“The felony complaint shows that the DA believes that there is strong evidence that Durst is responsible in the murder of his wife. A Grand Jury takes time to sift through the evidence, and the next step of an indictment may come if he is still alive. So for that reason, the felony complaint formally charges him, said Schorr, who recently authored a novel, Final Table.
Other Westchester law enforcement sources we spoke to said that Becerra may have filed the complaint aginst Durst “to help the family get closure on the murder of Kathie. Joe (Becerra) is not a wallflower and doesn’t mind the publicity. But remember, he has been involved in this case for 20 years and has a personal interest in the crime.”
Becerra recently traveled to California to testify against Durst. Until the complaint was filed, Durst has never been charged in the death of Kathleen McCormack Durst, whose body was never found. For more than four decades, Robert Durst has long been suspected of having involvment in his wife’s disappearance and murder, and has made incriminating comments over the years, including an HBO Documentary “The Jink: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst,” in which he sat for 20 hours of intereviews and said a number of comments and admissions. Part of those video interviews were played in court in California.
Robert Abrams, the attorney for Kathie McCormack Durst’s family, stated, “Sometimes it takes 40 years for justice. We are grateful for the work, dedication and commitment of District Attorney Rocah and her staff. Robert Durst has now been formally charged with the murder of Kathleen McCormack Durst. We are very happy with this development. At this time, however, we will not be making any further comments until the Grand Jury process is completed,” said Robert Abrams, attorney for Kathie Durst’s family.
The only comment from Rocah’s office was, “The Westchester County District Attorney’s Office can confirm that a complaint charging Robert Durst with the murder of Kathleen Durst was filed in Lewisboro Town Court on October 19, 2021. We have no further comment at this time.”
Becca’s involvement in the Durst case came in 1999, when he got a tip about where Kathie Durst’s body may be. The tip never panned out but Becerra did get then Westchester DA Jeanine Pirro to reopen the case. A search of the Durst’s former South Salem cottage also came up with no evidence or body. Another search of Lake Truesdale near the home came up empty.
Some believe that Robert Durst buried Kathie in the Pine Barrens Forests of New Jersey.
“I don’t believe that a felony complaint would have been filed without the full support of the DA’s office,”
Former Westchester prosecutor Dan Schorr
