In summation, counsel attacked the prosecution's use of the videotapes that showed how a body could have been loaded into an airplane and dropped into the sea, asserting that the videotapes did not supply proof of what happened to Katz. Counsel suggested in his opening statement that You will also learn that she had a drug issue and you will learn at least one of the lovers Gail Katz Bierenbaum took behind Dr. Bierenbaum's back was also someone she shared drugs with, and you will learn it from his own testimony. Trial Tr. Bierenbaum, 748 N.Y.S.2d at 583. The state court weighed the five Taranovich factors and concluded that if defense counsel had moved to dismiss the indictment, the motion would unquestionably have been denied. Dr. Sybil Baran, Katz's therapist, testified that Katz was afraid of Bierenbaum's anger. The Appellate Division found the error unpreserved, and declined to review it. Your recollection controls. As Dr. Bierenbaum's social efforts overcame the reserve of his new neighbors, his old neighbors were busy digging up his past. The trial court gave a limiting instruction to that effect after each witness's testimony and at the close of trial, and admonished the jury that they were not to take this testimony as proof that Bierenbaum had acted in accordance with the statements, or as evidence of propensity. Rather, the tape's contents clearly demonstrate the feasibility of the People's theory of this case, a theory which all of the circumstantial proof together overwhelmingly shows. Bierenbaum, 748 N.Y.S.2d at 589 (dictum). He stated that he nevertheless attempted to look for any evidence that a crime had been committed in the apartment, that he discovered no such evidence, but that he had not conducted a detailed forensic search. 9. vol. She also told DeCesare that she thought she was being followed. ''How odd is it that a murderer had dinner at my house, a Seder no less,'' said Harriet Epstein, originally from Queens, who briefly ran the only bagel store here and whose late husband, a wealthy and prominent doctor, befriended and worked with Dr. Bierenbaum. 2. Robert Hickman, MD - Primary Care | UC San Diego Health In short, Minot has always been a good place to reinvent oneself or to hide. Phone: (585) 754-7858,(585) 545-7200. The fact that this defendant allegedly committed a prior bad act is no proof whatsoever that he possessed a propensity or disposition to commit the crime charged in this indictment or any other crime. Kasenbaum saw Katz on the day before she disappeared. The location you tried did not return a result. Feb. 25, 2008). Thus, Bierenbaum's challenge to the admission of Katz's statements must be evaluated under Roberts. Gail Katz and Robert Bierenbaum were married in August 1982. Robert Bierenbaum, a former plastic surgeon who was convicted of murdering his wife in 2000, finally confessed to killing her and throwing her body out of an airplane after more than three decades of maintaining his innocence. A state court decision involves an unreasonable application of clearly established Supreme Court precedent if it correctly identifies the governing legal principle but unreasonably applies or unreasonably refuses to extend that principle to the facts of a particular case. To satisfy the first part of the test-performance-he must show[ ] that counsel made errors so serious that counsel was not functioning as the counsel guaranteed the defendant by the Sixth Amendment. Strickland, 466 U.S. at 687. ''Going to other states and acting like you're innocent? Failure to object to summation remarks. Members of the network collaborate on . We review de novo a district court's decision to deny a petition for a writ of habeas corpus. 2023 Rochester Health, Currently accepting new patients at this location. The torso was ruled out as belonging to Ms. Katz-Bierenbaum, whose remains have never been found. The jury also learned that a Cessna 172 Skyhawk, the airplane that Bierenbaum rented, is a stable, easy-to-handle four passenger aircraft. Under New York law, the prosecution must establish good cause for extended delay, but a determination made in good faith to delay prosecution for sufficient reasons will not deprive defendant of due process even though there may be some prejudice to defendant. People v. Decker, 912 N.E.2d 1041, 1042 (N.Y.2009); see N.Y. Const. 06 Civ. Medical School / Professional School: Dr. Robert Bierenbaum is a trained pilot serving 20 years to life in prison for the 1985 murder of his wife, Gail Katz. About three weeks after Katz disappeared, Bierenbaum began an affair with Karen Caruana, a nurse educator at Maimonides Medical Center where Bierenbaum was a surgical resident. Late in 1984 or early 1985 Katz told her that she had received a letter from Bierenbaum's psychiatrist warning her that Bierenbaum posed a danger to her, and suggesting that Katz separate from him. Failure to request charge on territorial jurisdiction. For this strategy, the defense had no particular need to elicit evidence that Katz was a regular as opposed to occasional user. participates with the Rochester RHIO. Defense counsel could reasonably have concluded that it made no sense to request a territorial jurisdiction instruction-unsupported by any evidence-that contradicted the defense's theory of the case, that Katz left the apartment alive and was alive that afternoon on the streets of Manhattan. Davis had been in a bagel shop in Manhattan on Second Avenue in the 80's on the afternoon of July 7, 1985, and he noticed an attractive woman wearing a distinctive t-shirt with a non-English word on it. We disagree. He was convicted in October 2000 of having murdered his estranged wife, Gail Katz-Bierenbaum 15 years earlier in their Manhattan apartment on July 7, 1985. Prior to trial Bierenbaum's attorney moved to dismiss the indictment, contending that the evidence presented to the grand jury failed to prove that New York had jurisdiction to prosecute him for the murder, because assuming that Katz was dead, there was no evidence that her death occurred in New York. Bibb said Bierenbaum put his wifes corpse in a large duffelbag, drove it to a New Jersey airport, took the body up in a Cessna172 and dropped it into the ocean somewhere between Montauk, onLong Island, and Cape May, N.J. 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. He contends that the videotapes lacked any foundation in the evidence and were based on speculation. Rochester RHIO makes your information available wherever you Katz was a graduate student pursuing a Ph.D. degree in clinical psychology at Long Island University. He did not see her return. Katz told her that she was looking for an apartment and that she was going to tell her husband that weekend that she was leaving. Local doctors here studied the demographics, and did not think a plastic surgeon would arrive until at least 2005. Who would come willingly to a place where many professionals -- particularly doctors who draw patients from the surrounding 100,000 square miles -- must fly single-engine planes to work? Given that the testimony was independently admissible, and the trial court gave a curative instruction in connection with the improper closing argument, defense counsel's mistaken reference to a forensic search did not open the door to prejudicial comments. Detective Virgilio Dalsass from the 19th precinct, where Bierenbaum and Katz resided, and Detective Thomas O'Malley from the Missing Persons Bureau were assigned to investigate the case. Katz told her that the night before she took her Graduate Record Exam, Bierenbaum choked her to unconsciousness because she smoked a cigarette. Dr. Bierenbaum told locals that he loved his new town for being free of traffic and crime. How close up you are with a person that you are choking Strangulation is up close and personal. Katz confided in McCullough that she was having difficulty in her marriage, and that she and Bierenbaum fought a lot. Again, we disagree. Doctoral Student: Professors are approachable and dedicated, as well as being experts in their respective fields. Detective O'Malley testified that Bierenbaum told him he'd made a mistake, and that Rivera wasn't sure when he'd seen Katz. Although the delay was substantial, Bierenbaum suffered no prejudice, and he was not incarcerated prior to trial. Her body was never found. dr robert bierenbaum medical schoolaiken county sc register of deeds dr robert bierenbaum medical school Defense counsel made no contemporaneous objection, but after the summation and before the jury charge he moved for a mistrial on that and other grounds. N E W  Y O R K, Oct. 24, 2000 -- Dr. Robert Bierenbaum, a plastic surgeon who wascharged with killing his wife 15 years ago and dropping her bodyinto the ocean from an airplane, was convicted today ofsecond-degree murder. The Disappearance of Gail Katz Bierenbaum. Instead the People were allowed to offer such evidence or introduce such evidence solely as probative of or relevant to or to demonstrate defendant[']s intent[-]as they claim[-]to murder Gail Katz Bierenbaum as probative of his identity as the person they claim committed the murder and when they summed up to you and made their arguments, I allowed those arguments on those points. The motion was denied on September 6, 2005, and leave to appeal was denied on January 12, 2006. In discussing the evidence he also stated. He said that he had called Katz's mother and two of her friends to see if she was there. When a state court has adjudicated the merits of a petitioner's claim, a federal court may grant an application for a writ of habeas corpus only if the adjudication of the claim-(1) resulted in a decision that was contrary to, or involved an unreasonable application of, clearly established Federal law, as determined by the Supreme Court of the United States; or (2) resulted in a decision that was based on an unreasonable determination of the facts in light of the evidence presented in the State court proceeding. 28 U.S.C. Relief and SorrowWhen the verdict was read, the victims sister, Alayne Katz ofIrvington, N.Y., burst into tears and slumped over the leg of herbrother, Steven, shaking and sobbing. None of the alleged errors, individually or collectively, amount to constitutionally deficient representation. Stay up-to-date with how the law affects your life. Katz told her about an incident, precipitated by smoking, when Bierenbaum became enraged and attempted to strangle her. But Dr. Bierenbaum had a strong record, excellent training and appeared to have an unblemished past, Mr. Schwann recalled, until New York City investigators, accompanied by Mr. Maixner, arrived in November 1998 to look into some issues. [Bierenbaum] tells Karen Caruana, You know the cops searched my apartment. He received his. But his life in Minot was already fraying. But last week, a Manhattan jury found Dr. Bierenbaum guilty of killing his first wife and dumping her body from an airplane. Had the defense gotten Segalas to admit that he and Katz used cocaine on several occasions, the defense suggestion that she may have been killed by drug dealers would still have been plagued by lack of evidence, as the state court noted. He'd done it in the past. In September Dalsass finally secured permission to search Bierenbaum's apartment. Dr. Jason Bierenbaum is an oncologist in McKeesport, Pennsylvania and is affiliated with multiple hospitals in the area, including UPMC Presbyterian Shadyside and UPMC East. Did Dr. Robert Bierenbaum Kill His Wife Gail Katz? '', See the article in its original context from. Ive waited a very,very long time for this day. When the trial court's attention was drawn to this error, it refused to order a mistrial, but offered an instruction, admonishing the jury that it could draw no negative inference from an individual's acting on advice of counsel. ''I feel grief, like someone has died,'' he said. We affirm. Directly following this argument he alluded to the films Panic in Needle Park, and Looking for Mr. Goodbar, and suggested, in a similar vein, that these movies did not prove that Katz's drug use and risky behavior were connected to her death. The Appellate Division held that Bierenbaum had not effectively protested the admission of the videotapes under New York's preservation rule, which require[s], at the very least, that any matter which a party wishes the appellate court to decide have been brought to the attention of the trial court at a time and in a way that gave the latter the opportunity to remedy the problem and thereby avert reversible error. Richardson v. Greene, 497 F .3d 212, 218 (2d Cir.2007) (quoting Garcia v. Lewis, 188 F.3d 71, 78 (2d Cir.1999)); see N.Y.Crim. Respondents assert in the alternative, and the district court agreed, that with one exception the statements were not admitted for their truth. The prosecution successfully argued that counsel had opened the door to allow testimony from Detective Dalsass that Bierenbaum's attorney had prevented the police from conducting a warrantless forensic search of the apartment. He described going to work Saturday morning, leaving the hospital and visiting his father, returning home around noon to go out to eat and do some shopping with his wife, including buying bras at a lingerie store and cat food at a pet supply store. He didn't stop when he knew she was unconscious. People here were on their guard at first because he dressed differently, had longer hair and a ''weird intensity'' about him. Bierenbaum does not dispute that Alvarez told the authorities in July 1985 that he did not recall seeing Katz on July 7, and that he did not remember how she was dressed the last time he did see her. NEW YORK Dr. Robert Bierenbaum maintained his innocence in 2000 as he was tried and convicted of killing his first wife 15 years before. A New Life Re-examined; After Murder Verdict, Town Questions Doctor Though Katz's body has never been found, Bierenbaum was found guilty of . Assistant District Attorney Daniel Bibb said in his summationthat Bierenbaum told proactive and reactive lies, dependingon whether he was speaking before or after someone asked aboutKatz-Bierenbaum. asked Stephanie, a bookkeeper in town who was treated by Dr. Bob and who asked that her last name not be used. Bierenbaum told O'Malley that the marriage was in bad shape and that both of them were in therapy to attempt to improve their relationship. He completed his Residency in Emergency Medicine from Genesys Regional Medical Center. Bierenbaum gave detailed statements of his activities to both investigating officers in the days following Katz's disappearance. He also argued, among other issues, that the trial court erroneously 1) allowed the jury to learn of the existence and nature of the letter written to Katz by Bierenbaum's psychiatrist warning her of the danger Bierenbaum posed to her; (2) allowed various people to testify about Katz's verbal statements to them describing Bierenbaum's threatening remarks and behavior; and (3) permitted the jury to watch the videotaped demonstration showing how a pilot flying solo may load a duffel bag containing a 110-pound body into a Cessna 172 airplane, fly over the ocean and eject the bag. Bierenbaum does not suggest that counsel should not have stressed the lack of evidence, or should not have mentioned that searches of the apartment, cars and airplane turned up nothing. Although defense counsel mistakenly referred to the search of Bierenbaum's apartment as a forensic search, omitting the term forensic from counsel's opening statement would not have prevented the prosecution from eliciting Dalsass's testimony that a limited search of the apartment was conducted several weeks after Katz disappeared. He didn't stop when he knew he was hurting her. The prosecution argued:What does he do? The Appellate Division did not explicitly address Bierenbaum's confrontation clause claim,1 and the Court of Appeals denied leave to appeal without explanation. Penal Law 125.25[1], and sentenced to a term of imprisonment of twenty years to life. (quoting Williams v. Taylor, 529 U.S. 362, 413 (2000)). Relevant factors include spontaneity, repetition, the mental state of the declarant, absence of motive to fabricate, unlikelihood of faulty recollection and the degree to which the statement was against the declarant's interest. On that point we agree with the Appellate Division, the post-judgment motion court and the district court that the contents of the videotape[s] depict a scenario that was anything but speculation. Dr. Ellen Schwartz, a close friend from graduate school, testified that Katz told her she was afraid of her husband, and that she was planning to leave him soon. During the trial defense counsel unsuccessfully attempted to serve Sherman, who had moved to Arizona. 8. Two or three months later Bierenbaum told another of Katz's friends, Maryann DeCesare, that he thought she was waitressing by a seaside community. Now we will tell you that the evidence will also show that she is dead. The Confrontation Clause of the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution states: in all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to be confronted with the witnesses against him. U.S. Const. The strategy was a reasonable one, given that the trial court would have provided a limiting instruction along the lines of the one given in the charge. She also testified that they had many times discussed Katz separating from her husband. Bierenbaum then filed a petition for writ of error coram nobis in the Appellate Division contending that appellate counsel had provided ineffective assistance. He works in Rochester, NY and 8 other locations and specializes in Emergency Medicine and Family Medicine. The district court's denial of petitioner's application for a writ of habeas corpus is affirmed. The educational structure is rigorous, but the real draw of this school is the open and accepting atmosphere. ''The guy was super nice,'' said Jason Naylor, a fellow pilot. On direct appeal, Bierenbaum contended that the trial court erroneously admitted videotapes, demonstrating how a pilot can, without assistance, place a flight bag loaded with one hundred ten pounds of weight into a Cessna 172, fly the plane over the ocean and push it out. Never, Bibb told the jurors shortly before they begandeliberations, did Bierenbaum, who has a pilots license, evermention that he had spent nearly two hours flying an airplane theafternoon after his wife was last seen. Over defense objection eleven witnesses-friends, relatives, colleagues and Katz's therapist-were permitted to testify about conversations they had with Katz between 1983 and 1985 in which she talked about the state of her marriage, her fear of Bierenbaum's temper, his controlling behavior, his threats, and an argument in 1983 during which he choked her to the point of unconsciousness. holds a Master's degree in Epidemiology from the State University of New York at Buffalo and a Doctorate of Osteopathy from the University of New England. The rule applies with equal force whether the state-law ground is substantive or procedural. Lee v. Kemna, 534 U.S. 362, 375 (2002). Of course, there is another explanation for what drew Dr. Bierenbaum here: the changes in medicine that have allowed the Trinity Health Center, where he worked, to become a regional hub. Rochester, NY - Trillium Health, a community health center with an emphasis on affordable health care and located in downtown Rochester, announced the appointment of Robert "Rob" Biernbaum, D.O. 06 Civ. With your consent, your healthcare at 583. The videotapes were subsequently offered into evidence without objection. holds a Master's degree in Epidemiology from the State University of New York at Buffalo and a Doctorate of Osteopathy from the University of New England. He told the detective assigned to investigate the case that he had last seen his wife on July 7 at approximately 11 a.m., and that she had left the apartment to get some sun in Central Park. While they have . It is not offered for such a purpose and it must not be considered by you for such a purpose. Before leaving town, Dr. Bierenbaum stopped in at Pietsch's to pay a bill. Had the defense called Alvarez, and had he testified in accordance with his affidavit, the jury would have been presented with the testimony of the relief doorman, who remembered not only the departure of a particular tenant, but what she was wearing on an unremarkable Sunday fifteen years before the trial. vol. CALABRESI, Circuit Judge, filed a concurring opinion. All rights reserved. The motion was denied. IV, 3194, 3227-28. When You Have No Body: Corpus Delicti and the Bierenbaum Case A former plastic surgeon confessed to killing his wife and - Yahoo! ''It's the loss of his life and the good he does to help other people. On March 17, 2006, Bierenbaum filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. '' But when they learned he was a plastic surgeon and was checking for cancer, they softened. Medical Schools in Los Angeles: Stats, Rankings + Tuition He advised O'Malley that their building doorman, Edgar, had seen Katz leave at about 11 a.m. on July 7. O'Malley met with Bierenbaum on the 13th and requested details of the previous weekend. Katz had an affair with Anthony Segalas, an investment banker, during the summer of 1984 and the spring of 1985. Leave to appeal to the New York Court of Appeals was denied on March 10, 2003. Failure to properly object to the admission of the videotaped demonstration. United States v. Langella, 776 F.2d 1078, 1083 (2d Cir.1985) (citing Lovasco, 431 U.S. at 790); accord United States v. Cornielle, 171 F.3d 748 (2d Cir.1999). 2254 in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. Given the seriousness of the charge, the circumstantial nature of the evidence, and no evidence of any improper motive on the part of the prosecution, the motion had no chance of success. Bierenbaum argues that even if it were within the range of reasonable strategic choices to concede that Katz was dead, it was not reasonable to concede that she died on the Sunday she disappeared. Moreover, a federal court must apply the clearly established Supreme Court jurisprudence as of either the date of the pertinent state court adjudicat[ion] on the merits, or the date when the state court conviction became final. Mungo v. Duncan, 393 F.3d 327, 333-34 (2d Cir.2004). Defense counsel decided not to call Alvarez. Bierenbaum said that she had gone out earlier in the day and had not returned to their apartment. We addressed this point in connection with counsel's mistake in referring to a forensic examination in his opening statement, and found no prejudice. WebMD does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. At the close of its opinion, the Appellate Division disposed of the arguments it did not address as follows: We have examined defendant's remaining contentions and find them unavailing. Bierenbaum, 748 N.Y.S.2d at 589. He did not focus on Bierenbaum's having prevented a forensic search. Katz also told Kasenbaum that she had gotten a letter from Bierenbaum's psychiatrist. Ex-surgeon confesses throwing wife's body from airplane in 1985 Think about him standing over Gail Katz as she feels and he watches the life ebbing from her body. Bierenbaum told O'Malley that he and Katz had a mild argument Friday night which continued on Saturday, whereupon Katz told him that she was going to Central Park to cool off at about 11 a.m. Bierenbaum said that he had spent some time at the apartment waiting for Katz to return, but then left at some point to visit his family in New Jersey. ''We're from North Dakota and we trust people,'' said Mike Berg, a retired pharmacist and former head of the Rotary Club, who flew to Mexico with Dr. Bob. He chokes her to death. He knew in July of 1985, what it would take to render her unconscious. After Bierenbaum's direct appeal was concluded, he filed a motion with the trial court to set aside the judgment on the grounds that trial and appellate counsel had rendered ineffective assistance of counsel.