Kriti Mehrotra
When aspiring pediatrician Kathleen “Kathie” McCormack Durst suddenly went missing without a trace left behind in 1982, it honestly left her entire community and loved ones shaken to the very core. After all, as explored in HBO’s ‘The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst’ plus ‘The Jinx: Part Two,’ there has never been any clear evidence or information that could lead to her or her remains. Though her family has almost always suspected that her husband, the titular real estate heir, was behind her disappearance owing to the troubles they’d been having for a while.
Kathie McCormack Had Quite a Big Family
It was around the early 1960s that Kathie was born into a close-knit, lower-middle-class family in the quiet of Long Island suburbs as the youngest of five, only to grow up rather independent. Her father had actually sadly passed from cancer while she was a mere teenager, resulting in her elder brother James, or Jim, admittedly becoming her surrogate father of sorts with the help of fellow siblings Carol, Virginia, and Mary. They thus doted upon each other at every step of the way while also enabling one another to be the absolute best versions of themselves, resulting in them constantly growing and being self-aware.
According to records, the family always gathered for Sunday dinners of pot roast and mashed potatoes, with the kids dividing up the responsibilities to ensure they could all have a bit of fun too. They even attended Church those mornings since their patriarch was a religious Catholic who gave as much importance to overall education as he did to God and family, which meant the kids were well-educated. Things did turn completely upside down when he passed away at the age of 56, yet his elder children and Kathie all helped out at home while their mother also landed a phone company job.
Therefore, of course, when they all lost Kathie merely seven years later, it baffled them – nevertheless, instead of wallowing in their pain, they managed to turn it into drive. Wheather it be staying in touch with the authorities on a routine basis, checking her apartment, let the authorities know of the inner details of who she was and her experiences; they did it all in the hopes something would help locate her. But alas, in July 2016, the McCormacks asked the Surrogate’s Court in Manhattan to “declare that Kathie died on January 31, 1982, when she was murdered by her husband, Robert Durst,” so that they could take legal action.
Where is Kathie McCormack’s Family Now?
With Kathie being declared dead in absentia in 2017, the McCormacks proceeded with their previous 2015 wrongful death lawsuit against the now-infamous real estate heir Robert for $100 million. In their filing, they’d cited his apparent role in her murder and his denial to admit to her family of the “right to sepulcher” so as to give them much-needed peace. They have actually always believed him to be behind her disappearance. Unfortunately, it didn’t pan out in the way they’d hoped since Robert passed away in 2022 – he’d actually been formally charged for this death on October 22, 2021, yet he sadly died of a cardiac arrest before the trial could even commence.
The McCormacks were glad when Robert was convicted of Susan Berman’s murder in 2021 prior to being charged with Kathy’s, yet the fact he soon passed, his conviction was vacation, and they themselves haven’t been able to find closure continues to hang over them like a dark cloud. Therefore, in January 2022, they again filed a wrongful death lawsuit, but this time, it was against Robert’s estate and his second wife, Debrah Charatan, whom they believe helped him get away for so long. As a result, despite her being the heir of her husband’s fortune, she is currently prohibited from touching even a penny from his $100 million until this matter is brought to a settlement or close for good.
Coming to the separate current standings of Kathie’s siblings, they all now seem to lead content lives and have happy families of their own at the moment, which they are raising with the same values they were. Moreover, and more importantly, they’re still keeping their sister’s memories alive, determined not to let anybody else tarnish her name in any way, shape, or form. On a more professional basis though, Carol, James, Virginia, and Mary all appear to prefer to keep such information on the down low for privacy reasons, which we’ll respect too.
Read More: Susie Giordano: Where is Robert Durst’s Friend Now?
