20/20 on WE


Could the disappearance of one woman and the cold blooded execution of another 18 years later be connected? It’s a question that has haunted authorities, friends and families on two coasts for years. Kathie was a beautiful, bubbly middle class girl from New Jersey who had been swept off her feet by the son of a New York real estate mogul. And when she married Robert Durst, their whirlwind continued in the wild social scene of 1970s New York City. But on January 31, 1982, as she prepared to graduate from a New York medical school, Kathie Durst suddenly vanished. Her husband didn’t report her missing for five days, telling police they often spent days apart because of her studies. Her friends and family knew better. They had witnessed the verbal and physical wrath of Robert Durst against her, and knew she was starting to take steps towards divorce. Plus, Kathie had warned them to look at Robert if anything happened to her. But years went by with no trace of Kathie, and no evidence against Robert. And then, days before authorities were to interview Robert Durst’s close friend, Susan Berman, a Los Angeles writer, she was found shot in the heard in her home. Was it a senseless tragedy or something more?