The case of Robert Durst, a real-estate heir accused of three deaths, gained notoriety after he seemingly confessed on an HBO documentary series in 2015. Durst was arrested on the eve of the documentary’s finale, put on trial, and eventually convicted for one of the deaths. A second season of the documentary called “The Jinx Part Two” premiered in April 2022, chronicling Durst’s arrest and trial for another murder. Durst died in 2022 while serving a life sentence.
Robert Durst was born into the wealthy Durst family, known for owning iconic buildings in New York City. Durst’s mother died when he was young, and he became estranged from his family after his father put his brother, Douglas, in charge of the family business. Durst sued his family and eventually received a payout. His life was marked by his first wife’s disappearance in 1982, the murder of his confidante Susan Berman in 2000, and the dismemberment of a neighbor’s body in 2001.
Durst’s first wife, Kathie, disappeared in 1982, and her body was never found. Friends and family believe Durst was responsible for her disappearance. Susan Berman, a friend of Durst’s, was found shot dead in her home in Los Angeles in 2000, shortly after it was revealed that the New York State Police were reopening an investigation into Kathie’s disappearance. Durst was suspected of killing Berman to prevent her from confessing his involvement in Kathie’s death.
After Berman’s murder, Durst moved to Texas and assumed a false identity. He was arrested in 2001 after the dismembered body parts of his neighbor, Morris Black, were found in Galveston Bay. Durst claimed self-defense in Black’s death and was acquitted in 2003. The first season of “The Jinx” shed light on the inconsistencies in Durst’s stories and culminated in his arrest in 2015, just before the finale aired.
Durst’s rambling confession on the hot microphone in the final episode of “The Jinx” led to his arrest and subsequent trial for Berman’s murder, for which he was convicted in 2021. Durst was also indicted for Kathie’s murder that same year. However, by the time of his death in 2022, Durst had already been serving a life sentence for Berman’s murder. The case of Robert Durst has prompted reflections on law enforcement practices when dealing with individuals of wealth and power.
