’20/20′ Airs Why Robert Bierenbaum Strangled & Threw Wife Out A Plane

BySamantha
Robert Birenbaum

Tonight (Oct. 22) on ABC’s 20/20, the show takes a look at Robert Bierenbaum. The surgeon is known for allegedly murdering his wife. Keep reading to find out more about this case.

Why Robert Bierenbaum Strangled & Threw Wife Out A Plane

Robert Bierenbaum first made headlines for the murder of his wife Gail Katz. At the time, the plastic surgeon claimed innocence, but that has all changed. Almost a year ago, Bierenbaum confessed to killing his wife at a parole hearing. “I wanted her to stop yelling at me and I attacked her,” says Bierenbaum in the parole transcript,

He goes on to describe himself as “immature,” according to ABC reports. Furthermore, the former surgeon explains that he “didn’t understand how to deal with his anger.

Shockingly, what Robert Bierenbaum describes as happening isn’t too far off from what prosecutors at the time (1999) thought happened. According to The New York Times, authorities thought that Bierenbaum “spent hours dismembering Katz’s body before taking flight and dumping it into the water somewhere between Montauk Point, New York, and Cape May, New Jersey.”

Daniel Bibb, the former prosecutor on the case, couldn’t believe it when he found out that Bierenbaum confessed. He shares the following with ABC News.

I was like, ‘Holy (expletive), are you kidding me?’ I was stunned because I always thought that the day would never come, that he would own up, take responsibility for having killed his wife.”

In the hearing, Robert Bierenbaum gives more details. He explains that he took Gail Katz’s body into a four-passenger Cessna 172 Nighthawk. Then, as the plane wen over the Atlantic ocean, he discarded her body out of the aircraft. Consequently, Gail’s body has never been found.

What was his relationship like before?

So how did a presumably once happy marriage end up in a brutal marriage?  An interview with Gail’s sister, Alayne Katz may give some insight. Alayne describes her sister’s relationship with Bierenbaum as initially seeming like a “magical” romance.

However, from the sounds of it, that doesn’t last long. Alayne Katz describes several instances of alleged violence at the hands of Berenbaum. One time, Alayne describes that Gail called her crying because “her husband tried drowning her cat in a toilet at their Upper East Side apartment.”

In another instance, Alayne alleges that her former brother-in-law choked her sister unconscious for smoking on their balcony. According to Bierenbaum, cigarettes weren’t allowed in their home.

Heartbreakingly, KIRO7, a Cox Communication affiliate channel, reports that Gail Katz “reported the assault at a local police precinct.” Sadly, nothing happened.

Bibb shares his thoughts on this.

If this had happened in 2021… Robert Bierenbaum would have been in handcuffs immediately. The fact that this was.(1983)… nothing was done about it.”

While police at the time may not have done anything about it, three doctors tried to prevent this tragic ending for Gail Katz. According to The Times, Gail wanted to divorce Robert. Alternatively, she was able to get him psychiatric help “for his violent streak.” According to reports, he saw three different doctors. And, all three of them did the same thing. They called Gail and “warned her that her life could be in danger.”

Have you heard of Robert Bierenbaum’s case? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below. Make sure to tune into TV Shows Ace for more television news.

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