The past five or six years have been more eventful than most, so there’s a chance that you’ve forgotten about the bizarre case of Robert Durst.
And that’s a shame, because even by the standards of the post-Trump pandemic hellscape, this man and his story are both completely effing bonkers.
Durst is a New York City real estate heir who is believed to have murdered at least three people.
We know — psychotic NYC real estate heirs are old hat nowadays, but that’s just the tip of the insanity iceberg:
Nearly two decades after he allegedly murdered his first wife in 1982, Durst learned that the investigation had been reopened.
His response to this news was to disguise himself as a woman and go into hiding in Galveston, Texas.
Shortly thereafter, Durst’s best friend, Susan Berman — an author who was also the daughter of a notorious Vegas mob boss — was found shot to death in her home.
Two years later, in 2003, Durst was arrested for the murder of his elderly friend and neighbor, Morris Black.
Despite confessing to dismembering Black and tossing the pieces into Galveston Bay, Durst was acquitted of all charges.
In 2015, however, against the wishes of his lawyers and loved ones, Durst participated in a true crime documentary entitled The Jinx, which chronicled his life and times.
In the final episode of the five-part series a miked-up Durst muttered that he “killed them all,” seemingly referring to the three people he was alleged to have murdered.
While he later claimed that he was on meth at the time of his confession, the damage had been done.
On the same day that the final episode of The Jinx aired, Durst was arrested for the murder of Susan Berman.
After years of delays — some of which were the result of Durst’s health issues — the trial finally came to an end this week, with Durst being found guilty of murdering Berman.
“When Bob Durst killed [wife Kathleen MacCormack], he killed Susan and Morris as well because once that happened, once he did that, there was no turning back,” Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney John Lewin told jurors during the first week of trial.
“Bob Durst is a person who is going to protect and take care of Bob Durst.”
Over 100 people testified during the trial, including Durst’s brother, and the filmmakers responsible for The Jinx.
The testimony created a chilling portrait of very disturbed man who would do anything to evade prosecutors.
Durst spent the past six years in prison, and while he has yet to be sentenced, the verdict means that the 78-year-old will undoubtedly spend the rest of his life behind bars.
In response to the verdict the family of Kathleen McCormack issued the following response:
“Not a single day goes by that we do not think about our beautiful, smart, and kind sister, Kathleen. Today, more than ever before, it is clear that she was murdered by Robert Durst in Westchester County, New York on January 31, 1982. The evidence is overwhelming.
“Although Durst has now been rightly convicted of killing Susan Berman, who helped him conceal the truth about Kathie’s death, the McCormack family is still waiting for justice. Kathie is still waiting for justice.
“The justice system in Los Angeles has finally served the Berman family. It is now time for Westchester to do the same for the McCormack family and charge Durst for the murder of his wife, Kathie, which occurred almost forty years ago.”
Obviously, that’s a very cold case, but if prosecutors were able to pin the Berman murder on the famously-elusive Durst, we suppose anything is possible.
Source: HollyWood Gossip
