--- description: His wife disappeared in 1982 title: Robert Durst Sued by Kathleen's Family for $100 Million image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb6d73160e7bceded/69887322cd1bbae0e96fe4eb/robert-durst1.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Robert Durst Sued by First Wife's Family for $100 Million by [Sarah Begley](/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 30, 2015 10:09 PM CUT  Robert Durst is transported from Orleans Parish Criminal District Court to the Orleans Parish Prison after his arraignment in New Orleans on March 17, 2015. Robert Durst is transported from Orleans Parish Criminal District Court to the Orleans Parish Prison after his arraignment in New Orleans on March 17, 2015.Gerald Herbert—AP by [Sarah Begley](/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 30, 2015 10:09 PM CUT Family members of Kathleen McCormack Durst [filed a lawsuit](http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/01/nyregion/family-of-robert-dursts-first-wife-sues-him-for-100-million-in-her-disappearance.html?%5Fr=0 "undefined") against her then-husband Robert Durst for $100 million on Monday. Ever since Kathleen went missing in 1982, speculation has circulated that Robert, the heir to a real estate fortune, may have been involved in her disappearance. In the lawsuit, Kathleen’s mother and three sisters accuse him of murder and say he violated their right to sepulcher; that is, to bury their family member, as no body has never been recovered, the New York _Times_ reports. If successful, estimates of Durst’s wealth mean the lawsuit would effectively take him for all he’s worth. Durst has denied wrongdoing in Kathleen’s disappearance and possible death, but a popular HBO documentary series about that accusation and other crimes linked to him recently drew new attention to the cases; in the series finale of _The Jinx_, he whispered to himself while off camera but still wearing a microphone, “What the hell did I do? Killed them all, of course.” Durst is currently imprisoned in New Orleans on a gun charge and will likely be sentenced next month. He’s also been charged in California with the murder of a friend, Susan Berman, who served as a spokeswoman after Kathleen’s disappearance. \[[_NYT_](http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/01/nyregion/family-of-robert-dursts-first-wife-sues-him-for-100-million-in-her-disappearance.html?%5Fr=0 "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4129911/robert-durst-kathleen-family-lawsuit/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4129911/robert-durst-kathleen-family-lawsuit/"},"headline":"Robert Durst Sued by First Wife's Family for $100 Million","datePublished":"2015-11-30T22:09:33.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T12:58:37.599Z","description":"His wife disappeared in 1982","url":"https://time.com/4129911/robert-durst-kathleen-family-lawsuit/","keywords":["Crime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb6d73160e7bceded/69887322cd1bbae0e96fe4eb/robert-durst1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Sarah Begley","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb6d73160e7bceded/69887322cd1bbae0e96fe4eb/robert-durst1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Robert Durst","caption":"FILE - In this Tuesday, March 17, 2015, file photo, Robert Durst is transported from Orleans Parish Criminal District Court to the Orleans Parish Prison after his arraignment in New Orleans. The whispered words of Durst recorded in an unguarded moment in","creditText":"Gerald Herbert—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4129911/robert-durst-kathleen-family-lawsuit/","name":"Robert Durst Sued by First Wife's Family for $100 Million"}}]}] ```