New York City real estate heir Robert Durst, who was the subject of a six-part HBO documentary focusing on accusations that he killed at least three people over a 20-year span, was charged Monday with capital murder for the 2000 shooting death of his former confidant in her Benedict Canyon home.
Durst, 71, was arrested by FBI agents Saturday in New Orleans and is being held without bail. At a brief court hearing in New Orleans earlier today, Durst waived his right to an extradition hearing, but it was unclear when he will be returned to Los Angeles.
Durst was charged with one count of first-degree murder, along with special circumstance allegations of murder of a witness and lying in wait, making him eligible for the death penalty. Prosecutors will decide later whether to seek the death penalty, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
FBI agents armed with a Los Angeles warrant arrested Durst at the JW Marriott hotel in New Orleans’ French Quarter. He was staying at the hotel under the alias “Everett Ward,” according to media reports out of Louisiana.
Durst is accused in the Dec. 23, 2000, execution-style shooting death of his close friend, Susan Berman, 55, whose body was found on Christmas Eve in her Benedict Canyon home.
Authorities suspect Durst killed Berman because prosecutors in New York’s Westchester County were about to interview her about the 1982 disappearance of Durst’s first wife, Kathleen “Kathie” McCormack Durst, who was in the process of divorcing him.
Although Durst waived extradition, it was unclear when he would be returned to Los Angeles. His attorney, Dick DeGuerin, said after the court hearing in New Orleans that there could be a delay.
“We’re frustrated because the local authorities are considering filing charges on him here, and holding him here,” DeGuerin said. “We’re ready to go to California and have a trial.”
It was unclear what charges the local authorities might be considering. Court papers in New Orleans indicated that Durst had a .38-caliber revolver when he was arrested, according to the New York Post.
DeGuerin flatly denied that Durst killed Berman.
“He’s ready to end all the rumor and speculation and have a trial,” the attorney said.
Durst’s arrest came several hours before Sunday night’s airing of the last installment of the six-part HBO documentary, “The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst.” During its filming, Durst gave virtually unfettered access to producers Andrew Jarecki and Marc Smerling, including hours of taped interviews.
The series followed Jarecki as he cultivates a bond with the reclusive Durst and tries to get to the bottom of the rumors about his allegedly violent criminal past. In Sunday’s series-concluding broadcast, Durst was caught on microphone saying to himself, “Killed them all, of course.”
He also was caught saying, “There it is, you’re caught,” and “What a disaster.”
In addition to being a suspect in Kathie McCormack’s disappearance and the death of Berman, Durst also admitted to killing and dismembering Morris Black, a man who lived across from him in Galveston, Texas, where Durst fled while authorities were trying to make a case against him in both cases.
Durst went on trial in Black’s death — after a nationwide manhunt located him in Pennsylvania — but he was acquitted by a jury that deemed Black’s killing was an act of self-defense.
Sunday’s episode of “The Jinx” featured Durst being confronted with handwriting similarities between the envelope of a letter he sent to Berman in 1999 and an anonymous note sent to Beverly Hills police in December 2000 notifying them that they would find a dead body in Berman’s home. Notably, both envelopes included a misspelling of the word “Beverly” as “Beverley.”
In the show, Durst admitted he wrote on the envelope, but denied sending the note to police.
Investigators, in cooperation with the Major Crimes Section of the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, secured a warrant for Durst’s arrest, police said. Some of the investigators have spent close to 15 years on the Berman case, authorities said.
Authorities have not specified exactly what evidence led them to finally seek a warrant, or whether the HBO documentary was a key part of the decision. According to the District Attorney’s Office, prosecutors have been working closely with the LAPD for the past two years on the cold case murder.
“As a result of investigative leads and additional evidence that has come to light in the past year, investigators have identified Robert Durst as the person responsible for Ms. Berman’s death,” according to the LAPD.
HBO issued a statement lauding the documentary’s producers.
“We simply cannot say enough about the brilliant job that Andrew Jarecki and Marc Smerling did in producing ‘The Jinx.’ Years in the making, their thorough research and dogged reporting re-ignited interest in Robert Durst’s story with the public and law enforcement,” according to the network.
Durst’s brother, Douglas, issued a statement expressing his family’s relief and gratitude over the arrest.
“We are relieved and also grateful to everyone who assisted in the arrest of Robert Durst,” Douglas Durst said. “We hope he will finally be held accountable for all he has done.”
Robert Durst has been long estranged from his real-estate-rich family, which is best known for a series of New York City skyscrapers — including an investment in the World Trade Center. Durst split with the family when his younger brother was placed in charge of the family business, leading to a drawn- out legal battle.
According to various media reports, Robert Durst ultimately reached a settlement under which the family paid him $60 million to $65 millions.
—City News Service