Robert Durst accused of murdering his ex-wife who disappeared in 1982

US real estate heir Robert Durst was charged with the disappearance of his ex-wife in 1982, authorities said.

Kathie McCormack Durst’s body was never found and she was legally pronounced dead in 2017.

A new criminal complaint accuses Durst of second degree murder in connection with the case.

Last week Durst, 78, was sentenced to life in prison for the 2000 murder of her best friend to prevent her from talking about his wife’s disappearance.

The new criminal complaint against Durst – the subject of HBO’s crime documentary series The Jinx – was filed by a state police investigator in Lewisboro, New York.

Citing sources familiar with the matter, the Associated Press reported that a grand jury has begun listening to witness testimony.

In a statement sent to the BBC, the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office confirmed that a complaint had been filed but did not provide further comment.

Kathie McCormack Durst was 29 when she disappeared in January 1982 following an argument with Durst, who has long claimed that she was taken to a train station so she could return to their Manhattan apartment.

While he initially claimed he spoke to her once she returned, he later admitted it was a lie. Durst divorced McCormack in 1990, citing abandonment.

The new complaint is based on “conversations with numerous witnesses and observations from defendants, taped interviews and observations of Durst’s taped interviews and court testimony in related proceedings.”

The BBC has reached out to lawyers representing Durst for comment.

Robert Abrams, a spokesman for Kathie McCormack Durst’s family, was quoted by the New York Times as saying they were “aware” of the latest criminal complaint, but grateful for the work of the district attorney’s office, and told the BBC. that “I am very happy with this development”.

On October 14, Durst was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Susan Berman, found shot in the head at her Beverly Hills home. Authorities believe she was killed to prevent her from speaking to police about the McCormack case. Durst denied killing his friend and his lawyers said he intends to appeal.

Prosecutors believe Durst killed three people: Berman, McCormack and Morris Black, an elderly neighbor who discovered Durst’s identity in 2001 while hiding in Texas. Durst was later acquitted in the Black case.

A few days after his conviction in the Berman case, Durst was hospitalized with Covid-19.