He therefore contends it was inadmissible under Nucci v. Proper, 95 N.Y.2d 597, 721 N.Y.S.2d 593, 744 N.E.2d 128 even if it were deemed otherwise allowable. In late July or early August, defendant asked her out, and they became intimate on their first date. Dalsass and later to Det. Almost a On July 7, 1985, at 4:30 P.M., he rented a Cessna 172 plane at Caldwell Airport in Fairfield, New Jersey. By July, it was against this backdrop that a divorce was virtually inevitable-a situation exacerbated further by defendant's knowledge of his wife's adultery. Tarasoff v. Regents of Univ. Defendant also relies on the trial justice's rejection of the People's request to call defendant's three treating doctors to testify at trial. Later the same day, around 6:30 P.M., defendant arrived alone at his sister's Montclair, New Jersey, home for his nephew's birthday party. The court did, however, permit the prosecution to adduce testimony that the victim had received a letter from one of these psychiatrists warning her of the danger defendant posed to her, although the justice prohibited the People from introducing the letter itself. There was no foregone conclusion to this case, by any stretch of the imagination.. However, apparently also on July 8, defendant told the victim's therapist, Dr. Sybil Baran, that he and the victim had argued and that she'd gone off in a huff; 8. To one of his Southampton summer housemates in July 1985, with a demeanor described as lacking in emotion, he said he and his wife fought on July 7 and she had taken a towel and some suntan lotion and had gone to Central Park. If this had happened in 2021 Robert Bierenbaum would have been in handcuffs immediately, Bibb told the network. This station is part of Cox Media Group Television. On the other hand, by concomitantly excluding the letter itself, suppressing its factual content and prohibiting the proffered testimony of defendant's three treating mental health professionals whom the People had intended to call as witnesses, these rulings protected the remaining, essential aspects of defendant's statutory privilege under CPLR 4504(a). That defendant was the last person who saw her, and who was known to have been alone with her until 11:00 A.M. that day, cannot be persuasively disputed on the basis of this record. Significantly, he omitted telling his father that he had flown an airplane for nearly two hours that very afternoon. To that same end, she also planned to threaten to expose his and his father's alleged multimillion-dollar Medicare fraud. Bierenbaum, a former plastic surgeon, was convicted of killing his first wife, Gail Katz, in 1985. Moreover, he told Dr. Feis-after withholding the whole truth from others, and from her during their many earlier conversations subsequent to July 7-that his last encounter with his wife on July 7 ended in an argument more severe than he had previously let on, that it had become explosive, and that in its midst he had failed to heed his psychiatrist's advice to defuse the situation. More specifically, he also admitted to his father that they had difficulty in adjusting to each other, and in 1983 [t]hat they had an argument, had some physical contact. By way of corroboration, Dr. Leigh McCullough testified that in November 1983 she saw finger shaped bruises on the victim's neck, and the latter told her that defendant choked her when he became angry at seeing her smoking a cigarette. DNA tests showed the body was not Katz-Bierenbaum, the missing persons website reported. Defendant misstated that the doorman told him he saw the victim on the afternoon of July 7, when in fact the doorman made it clear he saw her last on July 6 and he could not remember whether he saw either the victim or defendant at all on July 7; 2. No forensics, no eyewitnesses, entirely circumstantial, Bibb told ABC News. Defendant counters this reasoning, contending that the 1983 choking incident and all the other evidence and references to threats and marital strife should have been precluded because they bespeak propensity and because the People improperly used the choking incident to suggest that defendant had a propensity for violence. Robert Bierenbaum daughter, second wife, family Watch 20/20 Season 44 Episode 3 Do No Harm Online 20/20 S44 E3 Do No Harm The first wife of a Jekyll and Hyde Manhattan plastic surgeon mysteriously disappears. The court must assess not only the nature of the startling event and the amount of time which has elapsed between the occurrence and the statement, but also the activities of the declarant in the interim (People v. Edwards, 47 N.Y.2d 493, 497, 419 N.Y.S.2d 45, 392 N.E.2d 1229). Defendant argues that on October 11, when the People turned over to the defense copies of the videotaped demonstration and indicated they intended to offer the videotape into evidence on October 16, the defense uttered the following: I suspect we'll object.. Bierenbaum, an experienced pilot who had been convicted on circumstantial evidence, was serving his 20 years-to-life prison sentence when he made the chilling confession during a December 2020 parole board hearing. Gail Katz reported the assault at a local police precinct, but nothing came of the report. An accomplished pilot, he took her body onto a four-passenger Cessna 172 Nighthawk and, as the plane flew over the Atlantic, tossed it out the aircraft door. That is not to say that some of the many items of incriminating evidence, when each is evaluated in isolation, are not susceptible to arguable inferences which at first blush seem consistent with defendant's claim of innocence. Robert Bierenbaum was sentenced to 20 years to life and is currently incarcerated at New Yorks Attica Correctional Facility. It is beyond cavil that this information was relevant and that it was exactly the type they implored him to convey. Moreover, the testimony of the only defense witness, Joel Davis, suggesting that he saw the deceased on the afternoon of July 7, was extremely weak. Ex-surgeon confesses he took wife's 'body out of the airplane over We reject the notion that in a case where an alleged homicide is the second alleged violent act against a spouse-instead of, for example, the third, fourth or ninth-the case may not be treated as a domestic violence homicide for purposes of evidentiary rulings. ABC News and the Times reported that investigators learned that Bierenbaum had gone to the Essex County Airport in Caldwell, New Jersey, on July 7, 1985, and taken out a small plane for about two hours. Something that might be very innocent might develop into a lead where she might be. Furthermore, there is virtually no conflicting testimony within the People's case to compare against the weight of the People's credible proof, proof which so firmly supports this conviction. He said he then disposed of her body, the Daily News reported. At a parole hearing in December 2020, he confessed to killing his wife and dumping her body from a The jury saw this altered document. I wanted her to stop yelling at me and I attacked her, he said, according to the article. The detective specifically made it clear to defendant the importance of omitting nothing in describing and detailing for him the last three days his wife and he spent together: I opened up with anything that might be instrumental in locating Gail. The proof is most telling that on the very day the victim disappeared, she intended to confront defendant with her decision to leave him. 576 ratings36 reviews. Applying these principles to the evidence in this purely circumstantial murder case, our review convinces us that, notwithstanding the facial attractiveness of some of the factual arguments defendant's appellate counsel presents, this guilty verdict, based on the proof this jury heard and saw, is the only fair and reasonable outcome (see People v. Sanchez, 61 N.Y.2d 1022, 1024, 475 N.Y.S.2d 376, 463 N.E.2d 1228). However, the evidence also conclusively establishes that he rented and flew a Cessna 172 airplane beginning at 4:30 P.M. that day from Caldwell Airport in Fairfield, New Jersey and returned two hours later at 6:30 P.M. We disagree with defendant and find them fair and legally satisfactory. Those opinions, contrary to defendant's argument, did not endanger the jury's objectivity, as the record in no way suggests that they were delivered in anything other than a dispassionate and brief manner. Bierenbaum was on the staff of Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn. Robert Bierenbaum Today: Where Is the Surgeon Now in 2021. More than 30 years later, Robert Bierenbaum confesses to her murder. Furthermore, defense counsel's earlier language on October 11, 2000 purporting to object was premature and, in any event, legally inadequate to constitute an objection (id.). Bierenbaum had been out on $500,000 bail. (Lorenzo Ciniglio/Sygma via Getty Images), We knew it was going to be the toughest trial that wed ever had. He also said that he hated the victim so much, and that she would get him so upset, that he wanted to kill her. Once over the ocean, Rowley slowed the plane, took both hands off the controls, opened the passenger door and easily shoved the duffel bag out, the article said. Instead, he falsely told both detectives, on a total of at least three occasions, that he stayed in his Manhattan apartment all day until 5:30 P.M., emphasizing to Dalsass that he was positive that he left [his apartment] at 5:30 [P.M.]. He also changed his claim that on July 7 he had spoken to the doorman who, he had originally maintained, said he saw the victim leave the building Sunday shortly after 11:00 A.M. In December 1999, prosecutors charged Bierenbaum based on the circumstantial evidence. He thus argues that her ruling necessarily extends to preclude the People from also proving the existence and nature of the Tarasoff letter. denied 77 N.Y.2d 879, 568 N.Y.S.2d 922, 571 N.E.2d 92; see also People v. Laverpool, 267 A.D.2d 93, 700 N.Y.S.2d 139, lv. Within days, investigators were also skeptical of Bierenbaums story, according to the Times. People v. Balls, 69 N.Y.2d 641, 642, 511 N.Y.S.2d 586, 503 N.E.2d 1017). After killing Katz, he got rid of her body where no one would find it. The email address cannot be subscribed. denied 94 N.Y.2d 904, 707 N.Y.S.2d 389, 728 N.E.2d 988; People v. Bonilla, 251 A.D.2d 82, 674 N.Y.S.2d 23, lv. The Washington State Department of Corrections manages all state-operated adult prisons and supervises adult incarcerated individuals who live in the community. And if shes not alive, theres only one person who is a likely suspect to murder her, and its Bob. In other words, they may be admitted only if the acts help establish some element of the crime under consideration (People v. Lewis, 69 N.Y.2d 321, 325, 514 N.Y.S.2d 205, 506 N.E.2d 915). Because of client confidentiality, the doctors could not testify in court. In addition to the foregoing powerful circumstantial evidence, the People contend that the interplay between certain items of evidence also supports the verdict. This conclusion is effortlessly drawn not nearly so much because he began dating so soon, but much more because of his obvious and expressed confidence his wife would never return. Bierenbaum, now 66, convicted of the murder in 2000 under circumstantial evidence, had continually denied any involvement in her death, told a parole hearing in O'Malley that the building doorman said he last saw her leave the building shortly after 11 o'clock on July 7. at 44, 608 N.Y.S.2d 1; cf. Defendant responded to none of them. In addition, he had, the day before (7/13), told Det. He urges now-as he did at trial-that the court could have served the People's purpose adequately by only allowing the People to use the letter to inform the jury that the letter existed, and stipulating that its unspecified contents would embarrass defendant. However, he again omitted to mention that he had rented and flown an airplane for almost two hours that same afternoon, a consistent omission whenever he told others about the events of July 7. Ive waited a very,very long time for this day. Former New York surgeon admits killing wife, throwing body from After reviewing the court's rulings and reasons in this regard, the other evidence, and the court's cautionary instructions to the jury during and at the trial's conclusion, we hold that none of these rulings compromised defendant's right to a fair trial. ABC News reports that Robert Bierenbaum, who is serving 20 years-to-life in prison for murdering his wife Gail Katz, confessed to the crime during a Dec. 2020 parole Plastic Surgeon Robert Bierenbaum Finally Confesses to Tossing at 293, 61 N.E. Ex-surgeon confesses to killing wife, throwing her body out of They further established that it was possible for defendant, also alone, to pilot the Cessna 172 over the Atlantic Ocean as much as 85 miles east of the shoreline, maintain sufficient control of this relatively easy-to-operate plane so as to singlehandedly throw these human remains from the air into the ocean, and then land back at the same airport, all in less than two hours of flight time. Defendant later retracted that claim. Rather, the evidence is credible and we hold that the resulting inference is strong. Sentenced to 20 years to life after his October 2000 conviction, Bierenbaum became eligible for parole in 2020. When a few months later he received an early morning telephone call from the police indicating they may have had his lost wife at the precinct, he was less than anxious to accede to their request that he immediately leave his bed to possibly identify his inexplicably missing wife. 20 [2]). (Id.). Getting ready to learn! Indeed, defendant himself told his father in 1983 that their strife had reached the point of some physical contact, and there is credible testimony that in 1985 defendant was so filled with hostility that he was tempted toward violence against his wife. One of the biggest challenges, the former prosecutor said, was to convince a jury that Bierenbaum could fly a plane and push Katzs body from the aircraft at the same time. Not excluding anything from the time he last saw, going back as much as he can . This Court has reviewed these various instructions given during trial and at its end. They also manifest his motives to abuse and control her, to quickly end a miserable marriage, and ultimately to keep her from using the Tarasoff letter in a divorce proceeding to humiliate him, damage his reputation, imperil his career and jeopardize his financial future. Bierenbaum has been eligible for parole since October 2020. Judgment, Supreme Court, New York County (Leslie Crocker Snyder, J.) The PEOPLE of the State of New York, Respondent, v. Robert BIERENBAUM, Defendant-Appellant. WebDr Robert Bierenbaum is sentenced in New York City to twenty years to life in prison for murdering his wife, Gail Katz-Bierenbaum, who disappeared 15 years ago; Judge Leslie In our sufficiency review, we have determined that a valid line of reasoning and permissible inferences could lead a rational person to the conclusion reached by [this jury] on the basis of the evidence at trial, viewed in the light most favorable to the People (People v. Williams, 84 N.Y.2d 925, 926, 620 N.Y.S.2d 811, 644 N.E.2d 1367). Therefore, he argues such evidence unduly prejudiced him, outweighing any of its probative value. To them he insisted that he had remained in the apartment until 5:30 P.M. without leaving at all. When defendant returned to their Manhattan apartment, he telephoned his wife's friend and former psychology teacher, Dr. Yvette Feis. They were both 29 at the time of her killing, and he told the parole board he was immature and did not know how to contain his anger, the Daily News reported. Robert Bierenbaum - The New York Times Through the testimony of several witnesses, including four expert witnesses-New York City's Chief Medical Examiner, an experienced New York City Police Pilot, an aviation safety inspector, and an airline transport pilot/flight instructor/FAA flight test examiner-the People established that it was physically possible for defendant, a surgical resident and pilot, unassisted, to disarticulate a recently expired body of the victim's size (5ft. This entire case leaves no doubt whatever that the contents of the videotape depict a scenario that was anything but speculation. Later on July 14, at a meeting at Det. ABC's '20/20' to explore case of ex-Grand Forks surgeon who People v. Leyra, 1 N.Y.2d 199, 151 N.Y.S.2d 658, 134 N.E.2d 475.) In a December parole hearing, however, The victim's contested statements meet virtually all these enumerated criteria. Man Guilty Of Killing 2 Women In Shoreline - The Seattle Times Therefore, even though the victim's phone conversation with Wiese was erroneously admitted as excited utterances, its core content was nonetheless relevant, admissible, and the jury properly heard about it from other witnesses. O'Malley in the interim, Det. He also once choked Gail into unconsciousness after finding her smoking on their balcony. The justice allowed the jury to learn only of its existence and nature, but not of its specific contents beyond its warning to the victim that defendant posed a threat to her. Doctor Convicted in 1985 Missing Body denied 93 N.Y.2d 1025, 697 N.Y.S.2d 584, 719 N.E.2d 945 [prior assault admissible]; People v. Steinberg, 170 A.D.2d 50, 573 N.Y.S.2d 965, affd. No other inference finds any support in this record, and none could survive an impartial and objective assessment of the proof, particularly in light of defendant's admission that their argument was severe and had become explosive.. As for the opinion testimony, the court exercised its discretion properly by admitting the medical examiner's expert testimony. Thereafter, commencing in September 1985 and continuing for a period just under one year, defendant invited a medical student, Dr. Roberta Karnofsky, who worked under his direct supervision at Coney Island Hospital, to live with him in the marital apartment. Defendant was pretty surprised and stunned and asked her what she knew. Based on what he said at trial, the interval could have been as long as twenty-four hours, hardly a typical time span to qualify as an excited utterance. Second, the record is totally devoid of evidence about what transpired during these many intervening hours to enable the trier of fact to determine, based on the activities of the declarant in the interim, whether the declarant had the opportunity to reflect (id.). Because defendant did not have a list with him, Dalsass said he would call defendant's home for it that evening. Notwithstanding defendant's argument, this limitation was, under these circumstances, an exercise of discretion which was fair to both sides for the following important reason. In 2000, former plastic surgeon Robert Bierenbaum was convicted of the 1985 murder of his wife Gail Katz. Defendant also argues that although this contested hearsay information, emanating from the victim, was admitted purportedly as legitimate background evidence, there is no background exception to the hearsay rule, and, beyond that, this background information was highly prejudicial, and, therefore, the trial justice should have precluded it. In fact, the doorman did not speak to defendant July 7 and could not recall seeing either defendant or the deceased that day. All three subsequently contacted Katz and warned her that her life could be in danger, the newspaper reported. Robert Bierenbaum We agree with only one claim of error. In MacDonald v. Clinger, 84 A.D.2d 482, 487, 446 N.Y.S.2d 801, the court said: where a patient may be a danger to himself or others (see e.g. He stated he had remained behind in their apartment until 5:30 P.M. before leaving for his sister's New Jersey home. He also gave inconsistent statements about his wifes disappearance to various women he dated after Katz vanished. To yet another, he described his missing wife as a tramp, off living with someone else. He also failed to mention to both Det. Dalsass' office arranged by the deceased's sister Alayne Katz, and with her parents and defendant's father also present, Dalsass interviewed defendant again face-to-face. NEW YORK Dr. Robert Bierenbaum maintained his innocence in 2000 as he was tried and convicted of killing his first wife 15 years before. Man Admits to Murdering His Wife More Than Neither her body nor her remains has ever been found. Convicted Man Confesses to Murdering Wife in 1985 Bierenbaum, a former plastic surgeon, was convicted of killing his first wife, Gail Katz, in 1985. When one applies the appropriate legal principles, these conclusions become most compelling for a rational, dispassionate and attentive fact finder. Encouraging that type of qualitative analysis is the common theme of this State's settled law on this subject (see People v. Pena, 251 A.D.2d 66, 673 N.Y.S.2d 688, affd. O'Malley that they argued on July 6 and continued on the morning of July 7. I opened the door and then took her body out of the airplane over the ocean, he said, according to the Daily News. He said Katz had stormed out of their apartment following an argument the morning before and not returned. Parker Sentenced To Life In Prison | The Seattle Times In the days, weeks, months and years following his wife's disappearance, defendant made several inconsistent, unfounded or otherwise suspect and incriminating statements. Accordingly, there can be no holding that this verdict is against the weight of the evidence. The trial justice's carefully balanced decisions allowed the People to show only the existence and the general nature of the letter in order legitimately to probe defendant's motive. 14, 551 P.2d 334). WebNEW YORK Dr. Robert Bierenbaum maintained his innocence in 2000 as he was tried and convicted of killing his first wife 15 years before. He told several people that, just before his wife left the apartment for the last time, they argued. Confession: Dr. Robert Bierenbaum and his then-wife, Dr. Janet Cholett, leave court together in October 2000 in New York. Verbal strife plagued it, express and implied threats uttered by defendant aggravated it, and defendant's admitted violence against his victim during at least one episode surely worsened it. Robert Bierenbaum, an experienced pilot, was serving his 20 years-to-life prison sentence when he made the chilling confession during a December 2020 parole board hearing. In fact, several witnesses, including Dr. Baran, described victim's state of mind during the period before July 7 as being happy, jovial and the like. He never told investigators about the flight. We recognize that the law most often views consciousness of guilt evidence as weak-but not always. She told Wiese she was speaking quickly and softly because she was expecting defendant. PEOPLE v. BIERENBAUM (2002) | FindLaw At the time, the plastic surgeon claimed innocence, but that has all changed. 210, 27 L.Ed.2d 213]). She was also determined to make it clear to defendant that she would use a letter, written to her by his psychiatrist warning her of the danger he posed to her, in order to humiliate him with his professional peers should he refuse to meet her divorce settlement demands. The episode premieres Friday, October 22, 2021, at 9 p.m. Eastern time. Learn more about FindLaws newsletters, including our terms of use and privacy policy. At his sentencing, Alayne Katz told the court Bierenbaum killed her sister to prevent her from exposing him as a violent and twisted man, according to the Times. Days turned to months, and months to years with no sign of Katz. Dalsass asked defendant for a list of the names and phone numbers of the victim's friends, relatives and others to facilitate the search efforts. I heard the cuffs close round hishands. WebThe written ruling by a three-judge panel of the 2nd U.S. Court of Appeals in Manhattan was consistent with previous rulings by judges who have reviewed the conviction of Dr. Robert Bierenbaum. Defendant described differently to different people the items the victim took and the clothes she wore when she purportedly left to sunbathe in Central Park, and whether she was then wearing shoes and her engagement ring; 3. Armed with circled apartment rental ads the day before she disappeared, the victim declared to her close friend, Denise Kasenbaum, that she was leaving defendant that weekend. Jake Massey. This complaint-apart from ignoring or underestimating the appropriate, limiting language the court carefully chose to caution and instruct the jury-misconstrues the rationale underlying People v. Molineux, 168 N.Y. 264, 61 N.E. We welcome the opportunity to collaborate with the Indigenous populations and communities, and strive to work with our Tribal partners to improve the lives of Indigenous People and non-Indigenous neighbors throughout the state. People v. Benzinger, 36 N.Y.2d 29, 33-34, 364 N.Y.S.2d 855, 324 N.E.2d 334. That logic, which correctly served to preclude the doctors from testifying to the information they conveyed to and received from the family, does not apply to the existence and nature of the psychiatrist's letter whose separate purpose was only to warn a third party, this victim. Former NY surgeon admits killing wife, throwing body from airplane in 1985 (NCD). ABC 20/20 is revealing new details in the case in its episode tonight. GRAND FORKS -- The story of Dr. Robert Bierenbaum, a plastic surgeon who practiced in Grand Forks and Minot and later was convicted for the murder of his wife in their Manhattan apartment, will air in a two-hour, special 20/20 program beginning at 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 22, on ABC. When he later returned, he tersely remarked to his roommate that it was not his wife.
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