Press release - Series

June 28, 2023

‘20/20’ Reports on the ‘Jekyll and Hyde’ Story of an Upper East Side Surgeon and How He Was Linked to His Wife’s Mysterious Disappearance

Two-Hour Program Features Interviews With Women Former Surgeon Robert Bierenbaum Dated After Wife’s Disappearance and Interviews With Wife’s Close Family and Friends

‘20/20’ Airs Friday, June 30 (9:01-11:00 p.m. EDT), on ABC

ABC News*

On the surface, Robert Bierenbaum seemed to have it all – he was a surgeon, a skilled skier, a gourmet chef, fluent in multiple languages, and an expert pilot. But just like “Jekyll and Hyde,” he had a much darker side lurking underneath. He was a violent and controlling abuser, and his wife, Gail Katz-Bierenbaum, confided in friends she was afraid of him. Although authorities suspected him in Katz-Bierenbaum’s 1985 disappearance from their Upper East Side apartment, insufficient physical evidence allowed him to evade charges for 14 years. He used that time to carefully craft a new life across the country until prosecutors discovered a doctored flight log from the day Katz-Bierenbaum vanished, and his lies finally caught up with him.

 

With reporting by ABC News correspondent John Quiñones, “20/20” features interviews with women romantically involved with him after he left New York City, including Stephanie Youngblood, who denied his proposal and reveals surprising new details about their relationship; and Karen Caruana, who opens up about dating Bierenbaum just weeks after his wife went missing; as well as an exclusive interview with Barb Cooper, the nanny for Bierenbaum’s child with his second wife. “20/20” also features rare home videos of Katz-Bierenbaum; never-before-seen photos of Bierenbaum; a new interview with Alayne Katz, Katz-Bierenbaum’s sister who had been on an unrelenting quest for justice since her disappearance; and Denise Kastenbaum, Katz-Bierenbaum’s closest childhood friend who discusses Bierenbaum’s suspicious behavior after Katz-Bierenbaum vanished. Other interviews include Daniel Bibb and Steve Saracco, the original prosecutors; Virgilio Dalsass, the missing persons police officer who was the first on the case; and Judge Leslie Crocker Synder, who sentenced Bierenbaum to 20 years to life in prison. “20/20” airs Friday, June 30 (9:01-11:00 p.m. EDT), on ABC. (Rebroadcast. OAD: 10/22/21)

 

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ABC News Media Relations
Sarah Jautz
sarah.jautz@abc.com 

 

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