Kathleen McCormack Durst, a 29-year-old medical student on the cusp of graduation, vanished on January 31, 1982, from South Salem, New York. In the final years leading up to her disappearance, friends and family say Kathleen expressed fears about her husband, wealthy real estate heir Robert Durst, telling some, 'If anything happens to me, don't let Bobby get away with it.' The evening she was last seen by friends, Kathleen, who was visibly upset, had attended a dinner party in
Connecticut. She reportedly left after receiving a call from her husband. Robert Durst's account of that night was that he had dropped her off at a train station to travel to their Manhattan apartment for her classes the following day. However, no one could corroborate his claim of seeing her at the station, and his story would change over time.
Five days after she was last seen, Robert Durst reported his wife missing. This was only after he received a call from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, where Kathleen was a student, informing him that she had been absent from class all week. A woman claiming to be Kathleen had called the school the day after her disappearance, stating she was ill. In the initial stages of the investigation, police were met with inconsistencies in Robert Durst's statements. It was also discovered that he had begun to dispose of his wife's belongings, an action that seemed unusual for someone expecting their spouse to return. Despite the family's suspicions and a history of domestic violence allegations against Robert Durst, the case eventually went cold.
For years, the disappearance of Kathleen Durst remained a haunting mystery. It wasn't until 1999 that New York investigators reopened the case, which shifted the focus back onto Robert Durst. This renewed scrutiny came before the 2000 murder of his close friend, Susan Berman, who was believed to have information about Kathleen's disappearance. In 2001, another person connected to Durst, his neighbor Morris Black, was killed and dismembered, though Durst was acquitted of his murder on grounds of self-defense. Over the decades, the case garnered significant media attention, including an HBO documentary series, 'The Jinx,' which uncovered new evidence and concluded with Durst seemingly confessing to multiple killings. In 2017, Kathleen Durst was declared legally dead. Finally, in 2021, nearly 40 years after she vanished, Robert Durst was indicted for the second-degree murder of his wife. Before he could be tried for Kathleen's murder, however, Robert Durst died in custody in January 2022. Kathleen's body has never been found.Last Seen: Jan 31, 1982
