Nov. 2 (UPI) — Convicted murder and real estate heir Robert Durst was indicted by a grand jury on Monday with an additional charge of second-degree murder in connection with the disappearance of his first wife nearly four decades ago.
Durst — who was sentenced in California on Oct. 14 to life imprisonment for the 2000 murder of his best friend, Susan Berman — was charged days later in New York’s Westchester County with second-degree murder for the death of his first wife, Kathleen Durst, who disappeared on Jan. 31, 1982, at the age of 29.
The Westchester County Grand Jury added the additional second-degree murder charge on Monday, Westchester County District Attorney Miriam Roach announced in a statement.
“For nearly four decades there has been a great deal of speculation about this case, much of it fueled by Robert Durst’s own highly publicized statements,” Roach said. “An indictment is a crucial step in the process of holding wrongdoers accountable for their actions.”
Roach said the investigation into the disappearance of Kathleen Durst was “reinvigorated” when she took office in January and launched the Cold Case Bureau to help resolve such outstanding crimes.
“When Kathleen Durst disappeared on Jan. 31, 1982, her family and friends were left with pain, anguish and questions that have contributed to their unfaltering pursuit of Justice for that last 39 years,” she said.
Durst, 78, who was put on a ventilator last month after contracting COVID-19, was found guilty of first-degree murder for the death of Berman mid-September and sentenced to life without parole a month later.
Prosecutors accused Durst of killing Berman to stop her from talking about aiding him in the death of his first wife, whose body has never been found.
A warrant has been issued for his arrest.
