Robert Durst's Widow Sued by Family of His First Wife

Kathie McCormack Durst's family says second wife helped him evade justice
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 2, 2022 2:15 AM CST
Another Legal Twist in Robert Durst Case
This Thursday, Jan. 14, 2022, photo released by Jim McCormack shows a vintage reward poster for Kathleen "McCormack" Durst, missing since February 1, 1982.   (Jim McCormack via AP)

Robert Durst was married to second wife Debrah Lee Charatan at the time of his death, and now the family of his still-missing and presumed dead first wife, Kathie McCormack Durst, is suing Charatan. Durst left his fortune to his widow and named her executor of his estate; McCormack's family alleges that Durst promised Charatan she would be rewarded financially "in exchange for helping Robert Durst evade justice in connection with the murders of Kathie, Susan Berman, and Morris Black," McCormack's family says in a statement cited by News 12. Durst was convicted of Berman's murder before he died, but had been acquitted in the killing of his neighbor, Black, in which he claimed self-defense. He had just been indicted in McCormack's murder when he died.

The trust for which Charatan is believed to be sole beneficiary is worth tens of millions, the Guardian reports. The McCormack family's wrongful death lawsuit is seeking damages in excess of $75,000. McCormack disappeared in 1982, and her body was never found. Durst married Charatan in 2000, after the investigation into his first wife's disappearance was reopened. Her attorney says any allegations against her are unfounded. "The plaintiffs’ claims are at best an example of the most extreme form of speculation and at worst nothing more than a thinly veiled attempt to publicly embarrass and extort money from Ms. Charatan, an innocent party, who is perceived by the plaintiffs as a deep pocket." (More Robert Durst stories.)

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