Read Online 'Till Death Do Us Part: Love, Marriage, and the Mind of the Killer Spouse by Robi Ludwig, Matt Birkbeck - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Robi Ludwig, Matt Birkbeck
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appearances, theirs was a marriage deeply fractured and marked by infidelity and abuse.
When they met in 1979, Gail was a college dropout who suffered from depression, liked to drink, and was dependent on drugs, particularly Quaaludes. She was one of three children who grew up in a pretty typical middle-class Long Island Jewish family. Although bright, she had little interest in school. Unlike her sister, Alyane, who was studious, reserved, and studying to be a lawyer, Gail was drifting through life without any clear goals or direction. She liked late-night parties, the wild-musician-type bad boys, and the drinking and drugging that often goes with the partying lifestyle. Gail was beautiful, sexy, and gregarious, but her outward beauty could not mask her depression and drug dependency.
She was living in an apartment with a male friend when she met Robert Bierenbaum. He was a budding doctor who piloted small planes in his spare time, spoke five languages, was a gourmet chef, and came from a well-to-do family from New Jersey. Robert was also a perfectionist, a young man who insisted on doing things his way.
Being that Gail was a twenty-three-year-old with low self-esteem, suicidal tendencies, and no direction in life, Robert seemed a perfect catch. Gail’s family eagerly approved, hoping the union would set her on a straight and narrow path to success and happiness. Gail initially claimed she was smitten with Robert, who romanced her with night flights over the Manhattan skyline. But in reality the marriage didn’t make much sense for Gail. She wasn’t in love with Robert and worse, she didn’t even find him attractive. Still, despite her reservations he was, after all, a doctor.
So they became a couple. At Robert’s insistence Gail quit her job and moved into his apartment. But it wasn’t long after they began cohabiting that troubling signs surfaced. Gail told her friends and family that Robert needed to be in control of every aspect of her life, from her weight to her hair. He also had a vicious temper and was irrational at times, leading to loud arguments, often over nothing of great consequence.
On one occasion, Gail claimed Robert attacked her after he unexpectedly returned home and caught her smoking a cigarette in their apartment. On another occasion Gail claimed he tried to drown her cat in the bathtub in a fit of jealousy. Both incidents were reported to police.
Dependent on her husband, Gail finished college, earning her B.A. and deciding to study for a Ph.D. in clinical psychology. Her graduation coincided with yet another violent turn of events as the couple drifted even further apart, with Gail seeking out and participating in numerous extramarital affairs. In 1983, just two years into their marriage, the physical abuse and constant verbal threats of violence escalated to the point where Robert sought psychiatric help, hoping to erase, or at least come to grips with, his demons. During his sessions, which would later be revealed, Robert admitted to having violent thoughts and tendencies toward his wife.
Concerned that the threats were serious, one of the doctors (with Robert’s permission) exercised his Tarasoff duty, meaning that he warned Gail that she could be in serious danger. In his letter, the psychiatrist cited Robert’s “characterological abnormalities.” For her part, Gail briefly moved out of their apartment, but refused to sign the letter. Instead she returned to Robert and remained in the marriage as her husband was on his way to becoming a top-flight Manhattan surgeon.
But as soon as she returned the domestic violence resumed, and Gail’s family pleaded with her to leave Robert. A month before she disappeared, Gail confronted her husband, demanding a divorce and threatening as leverage to publicize the letter from the psychiatrist warning that she was in danger. The letter, she said, would expose him as being psychotic, which would ruin his career.
The day she disappeared,
When they met in 1979, Gail was a college dropout who suffered from depression, liked to drink, and was dependent on drugs, particularly Quaaludes. She was one of three children who grew up in a pretty typical middle-class Long Island Jewish family. Although bright, she had little interest in school. Unlike her sister, Alyane, who was studious, reserved, and studying to be a lawyer, Gail was drifting through life without any clear goals or direction. She liked late-night parties, the wild-musician-type bad boys, and the drinking and drugging that often goes with the partying lifestyle. Gail was beautiful, sexy, and gregarious, but her outward beauty could not mask her depression and drug dependency.
She was living in an apartment with a male friend when she met Robert Bierenbaum. He was a budding doctor who piloted small planes in his spare time, spoke five languages, was a gourmet chef, and came from a well-to-do family from New Jersey. Robert was also a perfectionist, a young man who insisted on doing things his way.
Being that Gail was a twenty-three-year-old with low self-esteem, suicidal tendencies, and no direction in life, Robert seemed a perfect catch. Gail’s family eagerly approved, hoping the union would set her on a straight and narrow path to success and happiness. Gail initially claimed she was smitten with Robert, who romanced her with night flights over the Manhattan skyline. But in reality the marriage didn’t make much sense for Gail. She wasn’t in love with Robert and worse, she didn’t even find him attractive. Still, despite her reservations he was, after all, a doctor.
So they became a couple. At Robert’s insistence Gail quit her job and moved into his apartment. But it wasn’t long after they began cohabiting that troubling signs surfaced. Gail told her friends and family that Robert needed to be in control of every aspect of her life, from her weight to her hair. He also had a vicious temper and was irrational at times, leading to loud arguments, often over nothing of great consequence.
On one occasion, Gail claimed Robert attacked her after he unexpectedly returned home and caught her smoking a cigarette in their apartment. On another occasion Gail claimed he tried to drown her cat in the bathtub in a fit of jealousy. Both incidents were reported to police.
Dependent on her husband, Gail finished college, earning her B.A. and deciding to study for a Ph.D. in clinical psychology. Her graduation coincided with yet another violent turn of events as the couple drifted even further apart, with Gail seeking out and participating in numerous extramarital affairs. In 1983, just two years into their marriage, the physical abuse and constant verbal threats of violence escalated to the point where Robert sought psychiatric help, hoping to erase, or at least come to grips with, his demons. During his sessions, which would later be revealed, Robert admitted to having violent thoughts and tendencies toward his wife.
Concerned that the threats were serious, one of the doctors (with Robert’s permission) exercised his Tarasoff duty, meaning that he warned Gail that she could be in serious danger. In his letter, the psychiatrist cited Robert’s “characterological abnormalities.” For her part, Gail briefly moved out of their apartment, but refused to sign the letter. Instead she returned to Robert and remained in the marriage as her husband was on his way to becoming a top-flight Manhattan surgeon.
But as soon as she returned the domestic violence resumed, and Gail’s family pleaded with her to leave Robert. A month before she disappeared, Gail confronted her husband, demanding a divorce and threatening as leverage to publicize the letter from the psychiatrist warning that she was in danger. The letter, she said, would expose him as being psychotic, which would ruin his career.
The day she disappeared,
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