Robert Durst, a US real estate tycoon, has been sentenced to life imprisonment without parole for killing his best friend. Durst was the subject of the HBO crime documentary series called The Jinx in which he confessed to three murders.
The millionaire was convicted in a Los Angeles court last month for shooting dead one Susan Berman aged 55. Susan was shot in the back of the head while at home in December 2000. This was to stop her from talking to the police about the disappearance of his wife.
Susan was found shot in the head at her Beverly Hills home. Prosecutors called Durst a “narcissistic psychopath”.
The trial began in March 2020 but due to Covid-19 it was adjourned for 14 months. This came after 6 years after Durst confessed to multiple killings in the HBO TV series The Jinx.
Millionaire Robert Durst was still been wearing a live microphone after his interview in the HBO TV series and was heard saying to himself in the bathroom: “What the hell did I do? … Killed them all, of course”.
John Lewin, the lead prosecutor, said that the interviews in The Jinx, had provided useful information in the case against Durst. Prosecutors also said that Ms Berman had assisted in providing a false alibi in relation to the disappearance of his wife Kathleen McCormack in 1982.
Durst, is a cancer survivor who uses a wheelchair. He spent a total of 15 days testifying during the trial. He claimed that he found his friend’s body when he paid her a visit.
Durst’s net worth is believed to be $100 million. He was tried only for killing Ms Berman. However, prosecutors believe that he killed two other people. That is, his neighbour in Texas as well as his wife.
Durst has never been charged for the disappearance of his wife Ms McCornmack who was a 29 years medical student when she disappeared. The millionaire has all this time been a suspect. In May, Westchester County District Attorney reopened the case.
In 2001, Morris Black a neighbour of Durst was murdered and dismembered. Durst was tried for the murder but later acquitted. He claimed that Morris was shot accidentally when they fought over a gun.
Durst denied ever killing his friend Susan Berman. Since there is no possibility of parole, he may most likely die in prison. The jury decided that the murder was committed while lying in wait and he murdered a witness which means that the murder was carried out under special circumstances.
Durst is the grandson of Joseph Durst the founder of Durst Organization – one of the biggest commercial property companies in Manhattan. His father Seymour took control of the company and later gave it to Douglas, a younger brother.
Douglas Durst told jurors that he has not set his eyes on Robert Durst in 20 years and they had not said a word to each other since 1999 adding that “He’d like to murder me.”
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