The Office of Westchester County District Attorney Miriam E. Rocah issued a statement on Monday, Jan. 10, following news that Robert Durst, who on Nov. 1, 2021, had been indicted for the 1982 murder of his first wife, Kathleen Durst, in South Salem, Westchester County, had died.

 

“Today, the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office was notified by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) that Robert Durst died,” the statement read. “Shortly after she took office, as part of the newly formed Cold Case Bureau, District Attorney Miriam E. Rocah and the New York State Police reopened the investigation into the death of Robert Durst’s wife, Kathleen Durst. As a result, Robert Durst was charged for the 1982 murder of Kathleen Durst by indictment on November 1, 2021.”

 

The statement continued, “Our Office was working with the CDCR to transfer Mr. Durst to New York to appear on the indictment. We have reached out to the victim’s family to inform them of the news of Mr. Durst’s death.”

 

Rocah, herself, said that after 40 years spent seeking justice for her death, she knew how upsetting the news must be for Kathleen Durst’s family. “We had hoped to allow them the opportunity to see Mr. Durst finally face charges for Kathleen’s murder because we know that all families never stop wanting closure, justice and accountability,” she said.

 

“In light of Mr. Durst’s death, we plan to make further information surrounding this case available to the public, to the extent allowed by law, at a press conference in the coming days.” 

 

As previously reported, Kathleen Durst died on or about Jan. 31, 1982. Robert Durst, 78, was charged by a Westchester County Grand Jury in an indictment on Nov. 1, with murder in the second degree, having previously been charged in a complaint filed on Oct. 19, 2021, with murder in the second degree.

 

In the context of the indictment announcement, Rocah said at the time, “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 the last 39 years.”

 

She added, “The District Attorney’s Office reinvigorated its investigation into Robert Durst just 10 months ago when I took office, launched the cold case bureau, and dedicated the resources and skill that I thought this case deserved. Thanks to the incredible hard work of our assistant district attorneys, the District Attorney’s criminal investigators and the New York State Police, we have taken a huge step forward in the pursuit of justice for Kathie Durst, her family and victims of domestic violence everywhere.”

 

October marked Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

 

According to Rocah’s office, the investigation was handled by the cold case bureau, which was established in January 2021 to help work towards solving cases, and giving closure to families of homicide victims. Cold case bureau chief, Laura Murphy, who is assisted by chief investigator, Daniel McKenna, leads the bureau. They work collaboratively with other criminal investigators in the district attorney’s office, the FBI, the Westchester County Department of Public Safety, and law enforcement agencies from across the country.

 

Office officials said the investigation into the disappearance and alleged murder of 29-year-old Kathleen Durst was a collaborative effort by the cold case bureau, the district attorney’s criminal investigators, bureau chiefs, Nadine Nagler and Maria Wager, New York State police investigator, Joseph Becerra, and other members of the New York State Police and the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office. The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office also assisted in the investigation.

 

Rocah said for nearly four decades, there had been a great deal of speculation about this case, much of it fueled by Durst’s own highly publicized statements. “An indictment is a crucial step in the process of holding wrongdoers accountable for their actions,” she had said previously. 

 

#RobertyDurst – Just received Durst's new mugshot after he was transferred to prison. He's in a special medical ward that takes care of seroiusly ill inmates. @LawCrimeNetwork pic.twitter.com/hr9x3XZbm9

— Cathy Russon (@cathyrusson) November 1, 2021

A warrant has been issued for Robert Durst’s arrest for the murder of Kathleen Durst.

 

The charges against the defendant were an accusation, and he was presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

 

Durst is the subject of the HBO documentary, “The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst,” which first aired in 2015 and can be watched on Netflix. According to the summary, Oscar nominees, Andrew Jarecki and Marc Smerling are behind “the six-part examination of the reclusive millionaire at the heart of three killings spanning four decades.”

 

The summary continues, “Robert Durst, the scion of a New York real estate empire, has long been a suspect in the notorious 1982 disappearance of his wife, Kathie. Further suspicion was raised with the unsolved killing of his confidante, Susan Berman, thought to be a key witness in the investigation into Kathie’s disappearance in 2000, as well as the subsequent killing and dismemberment of a neighbor in Galveston, Texas. Durst consistently maintained his innocence.”