How a Plastic Surgeon Threw His Wife's Body from a Plane and Helped Police Search for Her for 10 Years: The Story of Robert Birenbaum

This story could have been a modern-day Pygmalion and Galatea, but for Robert Birenbaum, it ended in tragedy. The cause of this bloody drama was none other than the plastic surgeon himself.

Born into a family of hereditary doctors, Robert Birenbaum knew hardship only by reputation. He fell deeply in love with Gale Katz, the daughter of a modest nurse and a small stationery store owner, who had despised studying since childhood. What could they possibly have in common? Yet, Robert was determined to reshape his chosen one according to his vision.

When his efforts failed, he hastily stuffed her lifeless body into a sports bag and threw it out of a plane into the ocean, hoping to forever erase the evidence of his crime. At that moment, Robert felt no remorse; instead, he experienced relief as he watched Gale Katz's body disappear beneath the vast waves.

Gale had been a source of constant distress for her family. Rebellious and unpredictable, she left home at 17 and, much to her parents' surprise, enrolled in university. This marked the beginning of a new chapter for the girl, whose average appearance belied a magnetic pull towards the darker vices of the world. Gale seemed to break free from all constraints, quickly earning a reputation as a rebellious girl. University became secondary because attending classes daily and pretending to be a model student felt like an insult to her personal freedom. Thus, Gale Katz plunged into a life of excess.

She indulged in illicit drugs, alcohol, and a revolving door of lovers—seemingly ready to cross dangerous boundaries and fall into an abyss. Paradoxically, despite her unremarkable looks, Gale was incredibly successful with men who fell under her spell like hypnotized victims.

This lifestyle inevitably led to trouble. Gale even attempted suicide during a deep depression and was admitted twice to psychiatric clinics for treatment. Her family anxiously watched over her, aware she was on the edge. Then, amidst her dull existence, a dream man appeared—one most girls would fantasize about.

Robert Birenbaum was wealthy, handsome, multilingual, a daring pilot, and a future doctor. At their first meeting, Gale seemed strange and unusual to Robert, unlike anyone else. They began dating. One day, Robert promised her the sky filled with diamonds, and together they took a breathtaking flight over Manhattan in a rented plane. Gale was enchanted by his charm and refined manners.

Soon they moved into a luxurious apartment on Manhattan’s Upper East Side and planned to marry by spring 1982. Sylvia, Gale’s mother, nearly fainted upon hearing the news—from sheer joy. She had long dreamed of marrying her eldest daughter to a wealthy doctor.

Surrounded by luxury and comfort, with a charming and devoted fiancé who fulfilled her every whim, Gale considered herself the happiest bride alive. But Robert soon shattered this idyll. He declared he could not tolerate cigarette smoke and demanded Gale quit smoking. Though she agreed, resentment lingered. Then he criticized her clothing choices, which she accepted with a conciliatory smile—until Robert’s bizarre jealousy toward her beloved pet cat emerged. One day, returning from a walk, Gale discovered Robert methodically drowning her cat in the toilet. Distraught, she called her younger sister Elaine, who bluntly advised, "Get rid of Bob and keep the cat!"

Despite parental pressure, the wedding went ahead. Yet their life together, though outwardly stable, became a series of scandals fueled not only by Robert’s strange behavior. Every Sunday began with a quarrel—the only day the couple spent together. Robert was a workaholic, almost living at the office, leaving Gale to her own devices. Still, he demanded she report all her activities to him.

Gale, fiercely independent, refused to abandon her old habits. Soon after marriage, she began affairs with financier Anthony Sigalas and doctor Ken Feiner, among others. She openly flaunted these affairs, mocking Robert’s role as a cuckold—perhaps as revenge for his cruelty, despotism, and constant nagging. By then, she deeply hated her husband and provoked fights, yet something dark and self-destructive marked her relationship with Robert, as if inviting disaster.

One November day in 1983, a violent argument nearly ended with Robert strangling Gale. Afterwards, they began joint psychiatric visits. Dr. Michael Stone privately warned Gale of the danger and advised immediate separation due to Robert’s psychopathic tendencies. Unwittingly, this advice backfired—Gale began blackmailing Robert, threatening to expose psychiatric warnings and ruin his career unless he paid half his annual income in alimony.

She gleefully recounted her numerous lovers to Robert, claiming he was no match for them. This wounded Robert’s pride deeply.

On the evening of July 6, 1985, neighbors were shaken by the couple’s loud quarrel, followed by sudden silence. The next day, Robert traveled alone to Montclair, New Jersey, for his nephew’s birthday and called Gale’s parents late at night, saying she went for a walk in the park that morning and never returned. Sylvia and Manny Katz frantically searched Manhattan’s streets, posting flyers with Gale’s photo, hoping for news. Robert appeared somber but composed.

Elaine dismissed the disappearance lightly at first, saying, "They just had another fight, and Gale ran off to some acquaintance. It’s not like she left without money—she’ll be found." Days later, Elaine reversed her stance publicly, accusing Robert of murder.

The police investigation began. Robert, feigning sorrow, mentioned Gale’s drug use and erratic behavior, leading authorities to believe she left a respectable husband. However, they overlooked crucial evidence: Gale’s purse with credit cards, cosmetics, and documents remained at the Birenbaum residence—items no self-respecting woman would abandon.

Strangely, no one in the large household noticed Gale’s departure, despite round-the-clock staff including a doorman. The Katz family pressed investigators, convinced Robert was guilty, but circumstantial evidence was insufficient for charges. Robert knew the law was powerless against him, backed by well-paid, skilled lawyers defending their wealthy client.

Tiring of the grieving husband act, Robert moved on, taking a new lover, anesthesiologist Roberta Karnowski, who moved into the apartment filled with reminders of Gale. They enjoyed carefree days on New York’s sunny beaches. When Roberta suspected Robert of murder, he remained unfazed by her accusations.

The Katz family never stopped seeking the truth and justice for Gale. In May 1989, a decapitated female body was found off Long Island. Sylvia and Manny identified it as Gale and gave her a proper burial. But in 1997, DNA testing revealed the body was not Gale’s.

Not wishing to attract attention, Robert relocated to Las Vegas, then in 1996 moved with his new wife, gynecologist Janet Cholett, to Minot, North Dakota, where he opened a plastic surgery clinic.

His reputation as a talented doctor grew daily; he provided free treatment to Mexican children and was seen as a model citizen. Robert spent time with Janet and their young daughter, endearing himself to neighbors. Life seemed successful, with no sign of his dark past. Gale’s parents passed away from grief, and Elaine and her younger brother Steven were dismissed by Robert.

However, the Katz family’s thirst for justice reignited when it became clear Gale’s remains were never found. County prosecutor Daniel Bibb took over the case.

On October 2, 2000, Robert Birenbaum was tried for his wife’s murder. The trial shocked Robert and his wife Janet, who had never doubted his innocence. Public outrage surged in North Dakota; many refused to believe that the charming doctor was a cold-blooded killer.

"We knew this would be the most challenging trial we've ever faced. There was no forensic evidence from remains, no eyewitnesses, only circumstantial proof. There was no definitive conclusion," Daniel Bibb later said.

On October 24, 2000, the jury convicted Birenbaum of second-degree murder, sentencing him to life imprisonment. He never confessed—until December 2020, during a parole hearing, when he broke down: "I just wanted her to stop yelling at me, and then I attacked her." He admitted strangling Gale, struggling to fit her body into a sports bag, secretly carrying it to a car, and rushing to the airport to load it onto a plane.

"I flew out, opened the plane door, and threw her into the ocean!" Birenbaum shouted, a gaunt and worn man, far from the prince who once promised Gale the sky full of diamonds…

Photo: Getty Images

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