4. Matthew Rowley hoisted the bag into the front passenger seat of the plane, a four-seat Cessna 172, similar to the plane investigators said Bierenbaum rented. He didnt understand how to deal with his anger, Bierenbaum said, according to the transcript. The proof is most telling that on the very day the victim disappeared, she intended to confront defendant with her decision to leave him. That was not always the case. We hold otherwise. Although defendant would not allow any police officers to view or inspect his apartment until September 30, 1985-and then only with severe restrictions-he, long before that day, falsely stated to others that the police had searched his home and car and found him to be clean; and. Furthermore, the trial justice gave the People even less leeway than Farrow permits after a waiver, by ruling that only the existence and nature of the letter-not its factual content nor the physicians' testimony-were admissible. The magic didnt last long. Doheny v. Lacy, 168 N.Y. 213, 223-224, 61 N.E. The victim, whom Wiese occasionally saw at family gatherings, telephoned him at his office one afternoon in the fall of 1983. While defendant understandably argues that this ruling prejudiced him at trial, we hold that under these circumstances it did not unduly do so. Ive waited a very,very long time for this day. Shes not with me, and shes not with my parents, and at that moment I know that my sisters dead, Katz said. Tarasoff v. Regents of Univ. To the contrary, it was her professional opinion, based on three years of treating the deceased once or twice weekly, that she was not suicidal. 79 N.Y.2d 673, 584 N.Y.S.2d 770, 595 N.E.2d 845 [uncharged evidence of prior assaultive acts may be admissible as background to support testimony that otherwise might be unbelievable or suspect]). Sentenced to 20 years to life after his October 2000 conviction, Bierenbaum became eligible for parole in 2020. O'Malley that they argued on July 6 and continued on the morning of July 7. Furthermore, the statements were made mostly to those close to her, in contexts completely devoid of coercion, not in response to anyone's questioning, nor under circumstances at all suggestive of any attempt to curry anyone's favor. In addition, he had, the day before (7/13), told Det. He told her friend, Dr. Feis, that they had a severe argument the day of her disappearance, more severe than he had originally described to her and to various other people. Exposing these transgressions, if it did not disgrace him, would most certainly compromise his professional standing, damage his personal reputation, and injure his short- and long-term career plans and income potential. The Washington State Department of Corrections manages all state-operated adult prisons and supervises adult incarcerated individuals who live in the community. 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.. Finally, the court's cautionary instructions to the jury were more than adequate to assure a relevant and fair consideration of this evidence and avoid prejudicial impact. We disagree with defendant and find them fair and legally satisfactory. That anything said, however insignificant it could possibly be used to find her and locate her , I told the defendant that he should give me a narration of the time he spent over the last weekend. He is incapable of a shred of remorse.. In part, he frames his argument by citing reported domestic violence cases wherein the jury was allowed to learn that the victimized spouses endured more than one attack by the accused pre-dating the violent act charged in the indictment. One of the prosecution's key assertions was that defendant was motivated to kill his wife because she threatened to destroy him by exposing the letter's contents should he fail to meet her divorce demands. He said the day ended with a Saturday evening, candlelight dinner in their apartment, but he again declined to discuss whether this interlude, described by him as romantic, helped resolve the argument. 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. TermsPrivacyDisclaimerCookiesDo Not Sell My Information, Begin typing to search, use arrow keys to navigate, use enter to select, Stay up-to-date with FindLaw's newsletter for legal professionals. Authorities could not use the actual plane they say Bierenbaum flew because another pilot later crashed the plane, the article said. Finally, this evidence shows that this defendant was motivated and had an intent to harm this victim. 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 denied 80 N.Y.2d 905, 588 N.Y.S.2d 831, 602 N.E.2d 239; People v. Shorey, 172 A.D.2d 634, 568 N.Y.S.2d 436, lv. In one instance he falsely claimed that a private detective, whom he also claimed he hired to find her, learned she was living in California with financial support from her family. Days turned to months, and months to years with no sign of Katz. Whether earlier acts of alleged violence or threats are admissible depends on the circumstances surrounding both the past and the currently charged aggressive acts or threats. The former plastic surgeon, who is in prison for the killing, admitted to the parole board in December 2020 that he strangled Katz, 29, before loading her body onto a Cessna 172 and tossing it into the Atlantic Ocean. At the time the deceased disappeared, defendant was a surgical resident at Maimonides Hospital and a licensed pilot. The PEOPLE of the State of New York, Respondent, v. Robert BIERENBAUM, Defendant-Appellant. Often, evidence of prior assaults and threats manifests general aggressiveness, i.e., a general propensity to act aggressively against other people. The network is featuring the case Friday night on 20/20.. Furthermore, when they are read together with the court's cautionary charges wherein the trial justice repeated and emphasized the limited value of this and other related evidence, we firmly believe the record belies his contention that he was denied a fair trial. Robert Bierenbaum, a former plastic surgeon, confessed to the 1985 killing of his wife, Gail Katz, during a parole hearing in December 2020 He said he strangled her to 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. However, in a strange turn of events, Robert decided to confess during a 2020 parole hearing and claimed that he had strangled Gail to death before flying out with her body and dumping it into the Atlantic Ocean. Dr. Robert Bierenbaum and his then-wife, Dr. Janet Cholett, leave court together in October 2000 in New York. I was stunned because I always thought that that day would never come, that he would own up, take responsibility for having killed his wife.. 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. 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. From there, he telephoned his apartment more than once. Katz, 29, of New York, was murdered in July 1985 by her husband, Dr. Robert Bierenbaum. 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. Confidential information privileged. At FindLaw.com, we pride ourselves on being the number one source of free legal information and resources on the web. As defendant now also argues that the verdict is against the weight of the evidence, this Court, in its unique factual reviewing role, must also determine whether, based on all the credible evidence, a different finding would not have been unreasonable (People v. Bleakley, 69 N.Y.2d 490, 495, 515 N.Y.S.2d 761, 508 N.E.2d 672). 286 and its progeny. Forever in our hearts.. | The full 20/20 premieres TONIGHT at 9/8c on @ABC. 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. The court said (at 603, 721 N.Y.S.2d 593, 744 N.E.2d 128): Reliability is the sum of the circumstances surrounding the making of the statement that render the declarant worthy of belief. Fourth, he urges that the court incorrectly allowed the People to introduce opinion testimony by a medical examiner, and demonstrative and opinion evidence by a police pilot and two other experts, that it is possible for a surgeon/pilot, alone, to dismember a 110-pound body in 10 minutes, load a 36-inch long package containing the body's disarticulated remains onto a small airplane, and, also while alone in the air, throw it into the ocean. Robert Bierenbaum admitted he threw his wifes body out of an airplane and into the ocean nearly three decades ago during a parole hearing in December 2020. 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 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. Defendant also suggested to others that his wife was depressed and thus may have killed herself, disclosing also that she had tried to commit suicide years earlier. Before ending that July 8 interview, Det. As a cameraman in a helicopter filmed the recreation, a New York City police officer shoved a duffel bag filled with 110 pounds of rice and sand from a Cessna 172 three times, unassisted, the newspaper said. https://t.co/RWuaARMIay pic.twitter.com/6FoU3ze3wU, Uncovered (@uncovered) December 16, 2020. denied 93 N.Y.2d 879, 689 N.Y.S.2d 441, 711 N.E.2d 655), and its denial of the motion was a discretionary decision we perceive no reason to disturb. The defense argues that these rulings were improper because: 1) there was no evidentiary foundation to justify the opinion evidence and the scenario depicted in the video demonstration, i.e., that they were purportedly based on speculation; and because 2) these forms of evidence are extremely potent, inflammatory, and therefore they unduly prejudiced defendant in a case like this where, according to him, there is no proof to support the opinions or the scenario shown on tape. And if shes not alive, theres only one person who is a likely suspect to murder her, and its Bob. Defendant's so called objection contains none of these ingredients. A seemingly distraught defendant also told Baranoff about the argument, adding that his wife had not yet returned after having left their apartment wearing shorts, a halter top and sandals. 93 N.Y.2d 946, 694 N.Y.S.2d 337, 716 N.E.2d 172 [prior assault admissible]; People v. Jones, 289 A.D.2d 1010, 735 N.Y.S.2d 276, lv. Corrections is thankful to the Tribes for caring for these lands since time immemorial and honors its ongoing connection to these communities past, present and future. The proof more than adequately supports the jury's determinations. DNA tests showed the body was not Katz-Bierenbaum, the missing persons website reported. 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.). (Lorenzo Ciniglio/Sygma via Getty Images), We knew it was going to be the toughest trial that wed ever had. During the trial, the jury saw a video of an NYPD pilot loading two 50-pound bags of sand and a 10-pound bag of rice into a black duffel bag, meant to serve as a simulation for the 110-body of Katz Bierenbaum. Dalsass and later to Det. Therefore, he argues such evidence unduly prejudiced him, outweighing any of its probative value. Since there may be reasons other than guilt of the crime charged which would prompt a person to give a false statement, the probative weight of such statements depends upon the facts of the particular case. At a parole hearing in December 2020, he confessed to killing his wife and dumping her body from a plane, according to the New York Daily News. Further, he told Dalsass, in some detail, that on Saturday afternoon, July 6, while he and Gail shopped at various local stores, they argued about finances and other matters which he refused to disclose. Unless the patient waives the privilege, a person authorized to practice medicine shall not be allowed to disclose any information which he acquired in attending a patient in a professional capacity, and which was necessary to enable him to act in that capacity [emphasis added]. When she came to, he begged her forgiveness and promised it would never happen again. He returned it after one hour and fifty-six minutes, giving him time enough to fly round trip approximately 165 miles over a part of the Atlantic Ocean. They began dating a month before she moved in. The trial record also makes it clear-notwithstanding the victim occasionally vacillated about terminating her marriage-this couple was on the verge of divorce in July 1985. No witness disputed that their discord and fighting reached a level characterized by threats against the victim and at least one previous violent act by defendant against her. In our role of reviewing the sufficiency of trial evidence as an appellate court in a purely circumstantial evidence case, we must decide whether a guilty verdict is based on legally sufficient evidence by determin [ing] whether any valid line of reasoning and permissible inferences could lead a rational person to the conclusion reached by the fact finder on the basis of the evidence at trial, viewed in the light most favorable to the People [citations omitted] (People v. Williams, 84 N.Y.2d 925, 926, 620 N.Y.S.2d 811, 644 N.E.2d 1367). 286). 9. Gail Katz Bierenbaum Murder: Her Cause of Death, Copyright 2023 Heavy, Inc. All rights reserved. I told him that any information is useful. We have examined defendant's remaining contentions and find them unavailing. 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. The Washington State Department of Corrections acknowledges that its facilities, offices and operations are on the ancestral lands and customary territories of Indigenous Peoples, Tribes and Nations. denied 78 N.Y.2d 974, 574 N.Y.S.2d 954, 580 N.E.2d 426). Bierenbaum, a former plastic surgeon, was convicted of killing his first wife, Gail Katz, in 1985. Bierenbaum confessed to killing his wife during a parole hearing in December 2020, saying they were fighting and he wanted her to stop yelling, according to the New He also disclosed to his date that in the past he had a bad temper, but that it had gotten much better. However, in the July 8 interview, he had specifically denied that the reason she left the apartment at 11:00 A.M. to sunbathe in Central Park was related to an argument that morning. In addition to the foregoing powerful circumstantial evidence, the People contend that the interplay between certain items of evidence also supports the verdict. Beyond that, the proof also clearly shows how he went about it, that she did not kill herself, nor that any boyfriend or drug dealer killed her. Together, the two women looked for and found defendant's flight log. Dr. Robert Bierenbaum, a trained pilot serving 20 years to life in prison, admitted to the crime at a parole hearing for the first time since his wife, Gail Katz, 29, SEATTLE - Robert Parker, spared the death penalty last week, was sentenced today to life in prison without the possibility of parole. FindLaw.com Free, trusted legal information for consumers and legal professionals, SuperLawyers.com Directory of U.S. attorneys with the exclusive Super Lawyers rating, Abogado.com The #1 Spanish-language legal website for consumers, LawInfo.com Nationwide attorney directory and legal consumer resources. Molineux authorizes a trial justice to consider allowing a jury to hear about a defendant's prior bad acts-be they violent or otherwise-if they shed light on the issues of intent, identity, motive, absence of accident or mistake, or common plan and scheme (id. Furthermore, although defendant told friends he searched for the deceased in Central Park on July 7 between 11:00 A.M. and 5:30 P.M. and found her towel and suntan oil in the park, he never shared that highly significant detail with O'Malley or Dalsass on the two interviews each had held with him during the seven days following July 7. Arcturus: New COVID-19 variant spreading in the U.S with new symptom, Accused Florida serial killer accepts plea deal, will serve 4 consecutive life terms, Gov. ABC 20/20 is revealing new details in the case in its episode tonight.
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