If you’ve seen the documentary Crazy Love or spent any time doom-scrolling through the annals of New York City’s most twisted true crime stories, you know the name Burt Pugach. You know about the lye. You know about the 14 years in prison. And you certainly know about the bizarre, almost inexplicable moment Linda Riss—the woman he blinded and disfigured—actually married him.
But there’s a ghost in this story. A person who was used as a catalyst for the initial tragedy but then vanished from the tabloid headlines.
I’m talking about Burt Pugach’s daughter.
While Burt and Linda were busy becoming the face of toxic devotion in the 50s, 70s, and beyond, there was a child caught in the crossfire of Burt’s first, failing marriage. People always ask: what happened to her? Did she ever reconcile with the man who became a national symbol of obsession? Honestly, the answer is a mix of tragic medical reality and a very intentional choice to stay in the shadows.
The Secret Marriage that Sparked a Crime
To understand what happened to the daughter, you have to look at why she was a "secret" in the first place. When Burt Pugach met Linda Riss in 1957, he wasn't just some eligible bachelor lawyer. He was a married man.
He was married to a woman named Francine, and they had a young daughter together. For over a year, Burt lived a double life. He told Linda he was single; he told Francine he was working late.
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When Linda finally discovered the truth—that Burt had a wife and a child—she did what any sane person would do. She dumped him. She broke it off and eventually got engaged to a man named Larry Schwartz. That rejection is what pushed Burt over the edge. He famously told her, "If I can't have you, no one else will."
We know the rest. He hired thugs. They threw lye in her face. He went to Attica. But while Burt was serving time, his first family was left to deal with the fallout of being tied to a monster.
Who Was the Daughter?
Her name was Caryn Pugach.
Unlike the media circus that followed Burt and Linda for five decades, Caryn’s life was defined by two things: a severe disability and a total lack of public presence.
Multiple reports, including deep dives from The Guardian and the New York Times, confirm that Burt’s daughter was born with significant developmental disabilities. Some sources describe her as being "handicapped" or having "brain damage" from birth. In the late 1950s and 60s, the resources for families with disabled children were thin, and the social stigma was heavy.
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While Burt was obsessively writing love letters to Linda from his prison cell, his daughter was growing up in a world where her father was a headline-grabbing criminal.
The Disappearance from the Narrative
You won’t find Caryn Pugach in the "Where Are They Now" segments. There’s a reason for that.
After Burt was released from prison in 1974 and remarkably married Linda, he basically wiped his old life clean. He divorced Francine. He moved into a home with the woman he had blinded.
Essentially, Caryn was institutionalized or lived in assisted care for the majority of her adult life. Burt didn't talk about her much. In the few instances he did, he focused on the financial burden or the "stress" it put on his first marriage—typical Burt, making it about himself.
Linda Riss, for her part, never had children with Burt. Some say it was because of her health issues stemming from the attack and subsequent surgeries; others suggest she simply didn't want to bring a child into that chaotic, trauma-bonded environment.
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Where is she now?
Tracking down the current status of Caryn Pugach is difficult because she never sought the limelight. Most records indicate she lived a quiet, private life in specialized care facilities in the New York area.
When Burt Pugach died in 2021 at the age of 93, his estate became a mess of legal battles. But the battles weren't over his daughter. They were over a younger woman named Sheila Frawley, whom Burt had befriended in his final years.
There were allegations of elder abuse and "undue influence" regarding Burt’s will. Interestingly, Burt’s final estate plans didn't focus on his biological daughter. Instead, he had earmarked the bulk of his assets for the Burton and Linda Pugach Charitable Foundation, which was intended to help the visually impaired.
It’s a bit of a slap in the face to his own flesh and blood, but it fits the pattern. Burt’s entire existence was a performance of "repentance" and obsession toward Linda. His first family, including Caryn, were just footnotes he discarded to make room for his "Crazy Love" narrative.
The Actionable Truth: Lessons from the Pugach Saga
If you’re researching the Pugach family because you’re fascinated by the psychology of it all, there are a few things to keep in mind regarding how these "forgotten" victims fare:
- Look past the leads: In true crime, the "villain" and the "victim" get the mic. The children of these individuals often suffer in a unique kind of silence.
- Privacy is a choice: Many people wonder if Caryn is still alive. While there are no public death notices, if she is, she is an elderly woman living privately. Respecting that privacy is part of acknowledging her as an individual, not just a plot point in Burt's life.
- Estate Awareness: The Pugach case is a prime example of why clear estate planning is vital, especially when there are estranged children or complex family histories. Burt's assets ended up in a legal tug-of-war that likely could have been avoided.
The story of Burt Pugach’s daughter isn't a "happy ending" or a "hidden secret." It’s just the quiet, sad reality of a life lived in the shadow of a man who was too obsessed with his own reflection in a blinded woman's eyes to see the child he left behind.
If you are interested in the legal outcomes of this case, you should look into the 2021 New York probate filings for Burton Pugach. These documents detail the final distribution of his assets and confirm that his primary focus remained on his foundation rather than his surviving biological relatives.