New York real estate scion Robert Durst, 78, sits in the courtroom as he is sentenced to life in prison without chance of parole, Thursday, Oct. 14, 2021 at the Airport Courthouse in Los Angeles. New York real estate heir Robert Durst was sentenced Thursday to life in prison without chance of parole for the murder of his best friend more that two decades ago. (Myung J. Chung/Los Angeles Times via AP, Pool)

Robert Durst charged with 1982 murder of wife Kathie Durst

· The Columbian

NEW YORK — Millionaire real estate scion Robert Durst, who was sentenced last week in California to life in prison for killing a confidante, has been charged in suburban New York City with the death of his wife, Kathie Durst, who vanished in 1982, authorities confirmed Friday.

A state police investigator filed a criminal complaint Tuesday in a town court in Lewisboro, New York, accusing Durst of second-degree murder.

The action wasn’t announced at the time by any law enforcement officials or Westchester District Attorney Mimi Rocah, who recently convened a grand jury to also consider charges.

“The Westchester County District Attorney’s Office can confirm that a complaint charging Robert Durst with the murder of Kathleen Durst was filed in Lewisboro Town Court on October 19, 2021. We have no further comment at this time,” her office said in a statement Friday.

The one-page felony complaint filed in Lewisboro cites evidence in the files of the Westchester district attorney, the New York State Police and the Los Angeles district attorney, as well as “conversations with numerous witnesses and observations of defendants, recorded interviews and observations of Mr. Durst’s recorded interviews and court testimony in related proceedings.”

The grand jury was empaneled last week and has started hearing witness testimony, a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press this week. The person was not authorized to speak publicly about the matter and did so on condition of anonymity. The grand jury process is expected to take several weeks and could also produce an indictment on top of the town charge.

A message seeking comment was left with for Durst’s lawyer and Kathie Durst’s family.

Robert Durst, 78, was sentenced last week to life in prison without parole for murdering a confidante who prosecutors say helped him cover up Kathie Durst’s killing. Los Angeles prosecutors say Durst shot Susan Berman in 2000 as she was preparing to confess her role to police.

After Berman’s death, Durst went into hiding, disguising himself as a mute woman living in a cheap apartment in Galveston, Texas. There, he killed a neighbor and chopped up his body, but was later acquitted after telling the jury he did it in self-defense.

Durst, who has numerous medical issues, sat in a wheelchair during much of the sentencing hearing and in the days since has been hospitalized on a ventilator after testing positive for COVID-19, one of his lawyers said.