Robert Durst

Robert Alan Durst was born on April 12, 1943, in New York City, the eldest son of real estate magnate Seymour Durst, whose family operated one of the city's most prominent development companies ^[1]. His childhood was marked by trauma: at age seven, he witnessed -- or was told he witnessed -- his mother's death by suicide, an event that would later be cited as formative in psychological assessments ^[2]. He attended Lehigh University, earning a bachelor's degree in economics in 1965, and later enrolled at UCLA's graduate school before returning to New York to join the family business ^[1].

On April 12, 1973, Durst married Kathleen McCormack, a dental hygienist who later enrolled at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine ^[1]. The marriage deteriorated, and friends later described Durst as controlling and volatile. On January 31, 1982, Kathie Durst vanished after reportedly leaving a dinner party in South Salem, Connecticut. Durst told police he had put her on a commuter train to Manhattan that evening, but his account shifted over the years ^[1][2]. The case went cold. No body was ever recovered, and Kathie was not declared legally dead until 2017 ^[1]. In October 2021, after his conviction for Berman's murder, Durst was formally charged with Kathie's murder by the Westchester County District Attorney's Office, but he died before the case could proceed to trial ^[5].

Susan Berman, the daughter of Las Vegas mobster Davie Berman, had been one of Durst's closest friends since their days at UCLA ^[1]. She had told acquaintances that she helped provide Durst with a false alibi after Kathie's disappearance ^[4]. In late 2000, as investigators from the Westchester County DA's office prepared to reopen the Kathie Durst case and interview Berman, she was found dead in her Benedict Canyon home in Los Angeles on December 24, 2000, shot execution-style in the back of the head ^[4][6]. An anonymous note had been sent to the Beverly Hills Police Department with Berman's address and the single word "cadaver," with the misspelling "Beverley" -- a detail that would prove crucial years later ^[1][6].

In 2001, Durst fled New York and rented a cheap apartment in Galveston, Texas, disguising himself as a mute woman named Dorothy Ciner ^[1][3]. His neighbor, 71-year-old Morris Black, was killed, and in September and October 2001, Black's dismembered remains -- minus the head -- were found floating in Galveston Bay ^[3]. Durst was arrested and charged with murder. At trial in 2003, he admitted to killing Black and dismembering his body using a paring knife, two saws, and an axe, but claimed the shooting was in self-defense during a struggle over a gun ^[3][7]. Because Black's head was never recovered, prosecutors lacked forensic evidence to disprove Durst's account of the shooting. On November 11, 2003, the jury acquitted him of murder ^[3][7]. On December 21, 2004, Durst pleaded guilty to two counts of bail jumping and one count of evidence tampering for the dismemberment, receiving a five-year sentence with credit for time served ^[3].

The case resurfaced dramatically in 2015 with the premiere of The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst, a six-part HBO documentary directed by Andrew Jarecki ^[8]. During filming, Jarecki's team discovered a letter Durst had written to Berman in 1999 that bore the same distinctive misspelling of "Beverley" as the anonymous cadaver note sent to police after her murder ^[1][8]. In the documentary's final episode, Durst was captured on a hot microphone in a bathroom, apparently unaware he was being recorded, muttering: "What the hell did I do? Killed them all, of course" ^[8]. Though the editing of this sequence was later contested -- the phrases may have been reordered for dramatic effect -- the statement became one of the most infamous moments in true-crime television ^[8].

Durst was arrested on March 14, 2015, at a Marriott hotel in New Orleans, the day before The Jinx finale aired ^[5]. He was found in possession of a fake identification card, a .38-caliber revolver, marijuana, and over $42,000 in cash; an additional $117,000 was later seized from a UPS package he had mailed to himself ^[1]. He was indicted for the first-degree murder of Susan Berman.

The trial, delayed repeatedly by legal maneuvering and the COVID-19 pandemic, began on May 17, 2021, in Los Angeles County Superior Court ^[4][6]. Over four months, the jury heard from more than 70 witnesses. Prosecutors argued that Durst killed Berman to silence her before she could reveal what she knew about Kathie's disappearance ^[4][6]. On September 17, 2021, the jury convicted Durst of first-degree murder, finding the special circumstances that he was lying in wait and that he killed Berman to prevent her testimony as a witness ^[4][6]. On October 14, 2021, he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole ^[5][6].

Durst's health had been declining for years. He suffered from bladder cancer, esophageal cancer, chronic kidney disease, and COPD ^[5]. In October 2021, shortly after sentencing, he contracted COVID-19 and was placed on a ventilator ^[5]. On January 10, 2022, Robert Durst died of natural causes at 6:44 a.m. at an outside hospital while in the custody of the California Health Care Facility in Stockton, California ^[9]. He was 78 years old. Because his appeal of the Berman conviction was still pending at the time of his death, the conviction was automatically vacated under California law ^[1][5].

Disappearance of Kathleen McCormack Durst (1982)

Kathleen McCormack Durst disappeared on January 31, 1982, from the couple's home in South Salem, New York ^[1]. The case was initially handled as a missing persons investigation by New York State Police. Despite periodic reinvestigations, no charges were filed for decades. Kathie was declared legally dead in 2017 ^[1]. On October 22, 2021, the Westchester County District Attorney's Office indicted Robert Durst for her murder, but he died on January 10, 2022, before arraignment ^[5][6]. The indictment was subsequently dismissed.

Murder of Susan Berman (2000)

Susan Berman was found shot to death execution-style in her Benedict Canyon home in Los Angeles on December 24, 2000 ^[4]. The case remained unsolved for nearly fifteen years. In March 2015, Durst was arrested in New Orleans and charged with first-degree murder with special circumstances in connection with Berman's death ^[1][5].

The trial commenced on May 17, 2021, in Los Angeles County Superior Court after years of pretrial delays and a fourteen-month COVID-19 pandemic continuance ^[4][6]. The prosecution, led by Deputy District Attorney John Lewin, presented evidence that Durst killed Berman to prevent her from cooperating with investigators who were reopening the Kathie Durst disappearance ^[4][6]. Key evidence included the anonymous "cadaver" note sent to police bearing handwriting and the distinctive misspelling "Beverley" that matched a letter Durst had written to Berman in 1999, discovered by the filmmakers of The Jinx ^[8]. The jury also heard the hot-microphone recording in which Durst appeared to say "Killed them all, of course" ^[8].

On September 17, 2021, the jury returned a guilty verdict on the charge of first-degree murder ^[4][6]. The jury also found true the special-circumstance allegations that Durst had lain in wait and that the murder was committed to prevent witness testimony ^[6]. On October 14, 2021, Judge Mark E. Windham sentenced Durst to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole ^[5][6].

Because Durst's appeal was pending at the time of his death on January 10, 2022, his conviction was automatically vacated under California's abatement ab initio doctrine, which treats the case as though it was never adjudicated when a defendant dies before exhausting appellate rights ^[1].

Killing of Morris Black (2001)

In September and October 2001, the dismembered remains of 71-year-old Morris Black were recovered from Galveston Bay in Galveston, Texas ^[3]. Black's head was never found. Durst was charged with murder after evidence linked him to the crime, including blood evidence in both apartments and a .22-caliber pistol ^[3][7].

At trial, which began in September 2003 in Galveston County, Durst took the stand and admitted to killing Black and dismembering his body but claimed self-defense, testifying that Black had seized his gun and that it discharged during a struggle ^[3][7]. Defense attorneys Dick DeGuerin and Chip Lewis argued the shooting was accidental, reframing the case around the dismemberment rather than the killing itself ^[7]. Because Black's head -- which might have shown the trajectory and distance of the fatal shot -- was never recovered, prosecutors could not forensically disprove Durst's self-defense claim ^[3].

On November 11, 2003, the jury acquitted Durst of murder after deliberating over parts of five days ^[3][7]. On December 21, 2004, Durst pleaded guilty to two counts of bail jumping and one count of evidence tampering for the dismemberment of Black's body. He was sentenced to five years in prison with credit for time served, requiring approximately three additional years of imprisonment ^[3].

Arrest and Charges in New Orleans (2015)

Durst was arrested on March 14, 2015, at the Canal Street Marriott in New Orleans on the Los Angeles murder warrant ^[1][5]. At the time of arrest, authorities recovered a fake Texas identification card, a .38-caliber Smith & Wesson revolver, a latex mask, marijuana, and $42,631 in cash ^[1]. He faced additional Louisiana state charges for illegal weapons and drug possession but these were ultimately resolved as part of his extradition to California ^[1].