ROBERT DURST TESTIFIES HE WOULD LIE UNDER OATH

A prosecutor attempted to ensnare Robert Durst in a web of deceit after Durst admitted at his murder trial that he had lied under oath in the past and would do it again.

The New York real estate heir said he hadn't lied during five days of testimony, but a series of inconsistencies during cross-examination in a Los Angeles court on Tuesday (17 AUG) threw his credibility into question.

Deputy District Attorney John Lewin got Durst to acknowledge that there are some acts he would never be honest about.

Lewin asked how jurors were supposed to believe Durst.

"If you've said you've taken an oath to tell the truth but you've also just told us that you would lie if you needed to," Lewin asked, "can you tell me how that would not destroy your credibility?"

"Because what I'm saying is mostly the truth," Durst said. "There are certain things I would lie about, certain very important things."

Durst said he would never admit killing Susan Berman — even if he had done so.

"'Did you kill Susan Berman?' is strictly a hypothetical," Durst said. "I did not kill Susan Berman. But if I had, I would lie about it."

Durst, 78, has pleaded not guilty to murder in the point-blank shooting of Berman, his longtime confidante, in her Los Angeles home in December 2000. Durst said he found a lifeless Berman lying on a bedroom floor when he showed up for a planned visit.

Playing clips of interviews Durst gave filmmakers, an interrogation conducted after Durst's arrest in New Orleans in 2015, and clips from his own testimony, Lewin got Durst to acknowledge several lies he told over the years.  

Prosecutors say Durst silenced Berman as she prepared to speak with New York authorities about the disappearance of his wife, Kathie, in 1982 and how she provided a false alibi for him.

Durst also acknowledged he wouldn't admit killing his wife, Kathie Durst, if he had. And he wouldn't admit murdering his neighbor Morris Black in Galveston, Texas, in 2001 if he had done so.  

He has never been charged with a crime in his wife's disappearance and has denied killing her. Her body has never been found, but she has been declared dead.  

Durst was acquitted of murder in Black's death after he testified that he fatally shot the man during a struggle for a gun. He was convicted of destroying evidence for chopping up the man's body and tossing it out to sea.

Durst admitted Monday for the first time publicly that he sent police a note directing them to Berman's "cadaver." He said he denied sending it for years because it made him look culpable.

During questions from his own lawyer, Durst testified earlier that he had not confessed to any killings when he was captured speaking to himself on a live microphone after filming a documentary about his life and the deaths of people close to him.

In the climactic scene of "The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst," he could be heard in a bathroom muttering: "What the hell did I do? Killed them all, of course."

Durst, who had just been caught in a lie about the "cadaver" note, said he either didn't say everything he was thinking or didn't speak loudly enough for the mic to catch it.

"What I did not say out loud or, perhaps I said very softly, is: 'They'll all think I killed them all, of course,'" he testified.

Many viewers have interpreted the two sentences, which were edited together by the filmmakers for a dramatic conclusion to the six-part HBO series, as an admission.

Authorities arrested Durst the night before the finale aired in March 2015 because they expected him to flee after the gotcha moment and the unexpected dialogue that followed.

Durst also testified on Tuesday that he had been planning to kill himself with a gun when FBI agents apprehended him in the lobby of a New Orleans hotel, where he was registered under an alias.

He told filmmakers that only the killer could have written the cadaver note. His comments off camera came after he was confronted during his final interview for "The Jinx" with a note he had once sent Berman with nearly identical handwriting and Beverly Hills misspelled "Beverley."

"I wrote this one, but I did not write the cadaver one," Durst insisted in the film. But moments later, he couldn't tell the two apart. After an awkward moment blinking and burping, he put his head in his hands. He denied being the killer.

When he stepped off camera — unwittingly still wired for sound — he said: "There it is. You're caught."

Durst testified that he reached out to the filmmakers to restore his reputation after becoming a pariah following the Texas case.

Despite advice from his lawyers not to give a series of interviews for the film project, Durst ignored them.

"That was very, very, very big mistake," Durst testified.

POOL

Inglewood, California, 17 August 2021

1. The judge speaks to the court briefly

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Robert Durst, defendant, and John Lewin, prosecutor:

Lewis: "Would you lie under oath to help your case?"

Durst: "Yeah."

Lewin: "OK. Have you lied thus far during your testimony at this trial?"

Durst: "No."

Lewin: "But if you had lied, given your last answer, you might not admit it, correct?"

Durst: "Correct."

3. SOUNDBITE (English) Robert Durst, defendant, and John Lewin, prosecutor:

Durst: "Because what I'm saying is mostly the truth. There are certain things that I would lie about, certain very important things."

Lewin: "So maybe another way to say it, Mr. Durst is, would you agree that the question of 'Did you kill Susan Berman' is the most important question in this trial?"

Durst: "I would agree with that."

Lewin: "And you've also just agreed that you would lie about that?

Durst: "Correct."

Lewin: "And you also just agreed that, in fact, if you had killed her, you wouldn't tell us, correct?"

Durst: "Correct."

4. SOUNDBITE (English) Robert Durst, defendant, and John Lewin, prosecutor:

Durst: "A hypothetical, 'Did you kill Susan Berman?' is strictly a hypothetical. I did not kill Susan Berman. But if I had I would lie about it."

5. SOUNDBITE (English) Robert Durst, defendant, and John Lewin, prosecutor:

Lewin: "If you had killed Kathie and I asked you, 'Mr. Durst, you're under oath right now today, did you kill Kathy?' Would you tell us?"

Durst: "No."

Lewin: "Let me ask you, Mr. Durst, if you had murdered Morris Black, would you tell us?"

Durst: "No."

6. SOUNDBITE (English) Robert Durst, defendant, and John Lewin, prosecutor:

Lewin: "The reason you've been caught in so many of your lies is that they're just not very good."

Durst: "Well, you bring up the cadaver note. I had to lie about the cadaver note because anyone who saw the cadaver note would have to believe that I was with Susan Berman when she died."

Lewin: "Well, it's worse than that. Mr. Durst, you previously said on multiple occasions that quote, 'That's a note only the killer could have written. Correct?"

Durst: "That's what Andrew asked me to say."

Lewin: "That's another thing that Mr. Jareki asked you to say. Did he ask you to say it when you were speaking to me, as well, in 2015?"

Durst: "He asked me to say it once and I repeated it."

Lewin: "So ... seriously?"

7. SOUNDBITE (English) Robert Durst, defendant, under questioning by his attorney:

"If I had been offered the right deal, I would have confessed to murdering Susan Berman, to murdering Kathie Durst, to murdering John Lennon, to murdering Jack Kennedy, to murdering Morris Black, and to murdering anybody else whose name I could think of."

8. SOUNDBITE (English) Robert Durst, defendant, under questioning by his attorney:

"So any kind of plea bargain would get me into a decent prison system. California is known for treating inmates by human beings. I figured I'd be happy to spend these last five years at the California prison system."

9. SOUNDBITE (English) Robert Durst, defendant, and, Dick DeGuerin, his attorney:

DeGuerin: "In the recording of your talking to yourself, you also said 'Kill them all, of course.'"

Durst: "Yeah."

DeGuerin: "What did you mean by that?"

Durst: "What I did not say out loud or perhaps I said very softly is, 'They'll all think I killed him, of course.'"

10. SOUNDBITE (English) Robert Durst, defendant, and, Dick DeGuerin, his attorney:

DeGuerin: "When you said, 'There it is, you're caught. What did you mean?'"

Durst: "I was talking about being caught writing the cadaver note."

11. SOUNDBITE (English) Robert Durst, defendant, and, Dick DeGuerin, his attorney:

DeGuerin: "Did you take a gun with you?"

Durst: "I did."

DeGuerin: "What were you going to do with the gun?"

Durst: "I was going to shoot myself."

The estranged brother of Robert Durst, the real estate heir on trial in his best friend's slaying, reluctantly testified Monday that the two never got along and he feared his oldest sibling would kill him.

“He’d like to murder me,” Douglas Durst bluntly told jurors in Los Angeles County Superior Court.

Douglas Durst, chairman of one of New York’s largest commercial real estate firms, said his brother was angry and bitter over an acrimonious inheritance settlement for tens of millions of dollars. He had not seen his brother in 20 years but is worried because he has shown up at his home several times over those years.

The chairman of the Durst Organization, which owns some of Manhattan's premier skyscrapers and 2,500 apartments, said he and his brother have fought since they were children.

“He treated me miserably,” Douglas Durst said. “He would fight with me at every chance. He would embarrass me.”

Despite the bad blood, Douglas Durst said he did not want to testify against his brother, who is on trial on charges of fatally shooting Susan Berman in 2000 at her Los Angeles home. He said he cooperated with prosecutors under threat of subpoena.

“There are other places I’d much rather be,” he said.

Prosecutors say Berman provided an alibi for Robert Durst after he killed his first wife, Kathie, in 1982 and that he silenced his friend to keep her from telling police what she knew about the disappearance. Robert Durst has pleaded not guilty.

Kathie Durst had told Douglas Durst she planned to seek a divorce from his brother, he testified.

Douglas Durst said his brother told him that she had vanished a couple of days after he put her on a train to New York City from their lakeside house in Westchester County. Robert Durst said that was the last time he saw his wife.

“His tone was very neutral,” Douglas Durst said. "There was no great anxiety in his tone. It seemed a little strange.”

Kathie Durst has never been found, but she was declared legally dead. Robert Durst has long been considered a suspect in her death but has denied any involvement and has never been charged with a crime related to her disappearance.

Douglas Durst, tan and wearing a crisp white shirt with French cuffs and a gray mask, cut a much different figure than his ailing brother.

A pale, thin Robert Durst, 78, with a shaven head that reveals a massive scar from removing fluid on his brain, was seated in a wheelchair and dressed in baggy brown jail scrubs.

Durst, who has bladder cancer and several other maladies, stood up and addressed the judge to counter a suggestion by Deputy District Attorney John Lewin that he was seeking sympathy from jurors by displaying his urine bag.

Durst said his head was shaved only because it was the only haircut he could get in jail. He said he wants a doctor to remove a catheter.

Durst said the last time he spoke with his brother was in 1999 and he had last seen him in Texas at a nephew’s wedding in 2001.

About two weeks after the wedding, Robert Durst fatally shot neighbor Morris Black in Galveston, where he had gone to hide out from New York authorities after they reopened the investigation into Kathie Durst’s disappearance.

Durst was acquitted of murder in the case after testifying he killed Black in self-defense. He served jail time for chopping up Black's body and tossing it out to sea and for jumping bail in the case.

While he was on the lam in that case, he showed up outside his brother’s Westchester home, Douglas Durst said he learned.

Durst was later recorded on a jail phone call “in essence plotting to kill his brother, Douglas,” Lewin said in arguing that jurors should hear about Durst showing up outside his brother's home.

“He has compared the way he feels about Douglas to the way he felt about Kathie,” Lewin said. “Our argument and position is that is what he did, he killed her.”

Robert Durst twice showed up outside his brother's house in 2008, including once when he was wearing a ski mask and fled after a security guard drew his weapon, Lewin said.

Douglas Durst said that even as his brother is being held without bail, he still is concerned about his safety and had flown to California with a security detail.

“I have a fear that my brother has threatened to kill me and I fear that he may have the means to do so,” he said.

POOL

Los Angeles - 28 June 2021

1. Medium view of Robert Durst seated in wheel chair, pullout to wide view of brother Douglas Durst taking the stand and being sworn in

2. Close view of judge

3. UPSOUND (English) Douglas Durst, brother of Robert Durst:

Court official: "State your name."

Durst: "Douglas Durst."

4. Medium view of Robert Durst seated during proceedings

5. SOUNDBITE (English) Douglas Durst, brother of Robert Durst:

Prosecuting attorney: "Mr. Durst how do you feel about being in court today?"

Durst: "I'm not particularly happy about it. Other places I'd much rather be."

Prosecuting attorney: "And when you say you're not particularly happy about it, can you explain what you mean by that?"

Durst: "Well, I'm here at my brother's trial and it's not a pleasant experience to be at this trial of somebody I've known for 76 years now. And it's very difficult from many points of view."

6. Wide view of court proceedings

7. Medium view of Douglas Durst, pan to view of Robert Durst  

UPSOUND: (English)

Prosecuting attorney: "Do you recognize this person here?"

Durst: "My brother Bob, yes."

8. SOUNDBITE (English) Douglas Durst, brother of Robert Durst:

Prosecuting attorney: "Growing up how did your brother treat you?"

Durst: "He treated me miserably. He would fight with me at every chance. He would embarrass me at every opportunity. And it was a very difficult relationship."

++BLACK FRAMES++

9. SOUNDBITE (English) Douglas Durst, brother of Robert Durst:

(Prosecutor asks about a phone call from Robert Durst concerning the whereabouts of wife Kathie Durst.)

Prosecuting attorney: "And do you recall when he called you, what was his demeanor?"

Durst: "It was, his tone was very neutral and there was no great anxiety."

Prosecuting attorney: "Did that seem unusual to you at the time?"

Durst: "It seemed a little strange, yes."

++BLACK FRAMES++

10. SOUNDBITE (English) Douglas Durst, brother of Robert Durst:

Prosecuting attorney: "In things you've listened to, dealings you've had, statements you've been made aware of, has your brother indicated how he feels about you to this day?"

Durst: "Yes."

Prosecuting attorney: "And what are those feelings?"

Durst: "He'd like to murder me."

Prosecuting attorney: "And are you aware of your brother, in fact, making calls from Pennsylvania discussing that very subject?"

Durst: "I am aware of that."

Prosecuting attorney: "Did you take those? And this is a yes or no question. Do you take those threats seriously?"

Durst: "Yes, I did."

++BLACK FRAMES++

11. SOUNDBITE (English) Douglas Durst, brother of Robert Durst:

Prosecuting attorney: "And even in terms of your coming to court today, did you come with security that you had hired?"

Durst: "Yes I hired security today."

Prosecuting attorney: "And why did you hire security? What was the reason for that?"

Durst: "Because I have fear, my brother has threatened to kill me, and I fear that he may have the means to do so."

Prosecuting attorney: "And in terms of the security that you've highlighted, the concerns that you have, are they do they expressly relate back to the fear of your brother?"

Durst:  "Yes."

++ENDS ON SOUNDBITE++

SHOTLIST:

RESTRICTION SUMMARY:

POOL

Inglewood, California – 9 August 2021

1. Slow zoom out of Durst and attorney

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Robert Durst, defendant:

Defense Attorney Dick DeGuerin: "Following your mother's death, did you blame your father?

Durst: Yes

DeGuerin: Did you have therapy and treatment:

Prosecutor: Objection, relevance….

Judge: Sustained, sustained

DeGuerin: Did you start running away?

Prosecutor: Same objection, your honor.

Judge: Overruled

Durst: Yes, seven-year-old Bobby Durst knew that it was my father's fault. Bobby Durst did not know how or why or anything like that, but Bobby Durst knew that his father had killed his mother. I started running away every couple of weeks."

3. Durst's wedding picture displayed on courtroom monitor

4. SOUNDBITE (English) Robert Durst, defendant:

DeGuerin: Did you go to see psychiatrists?

Prosecutor: Motion to strike as irrelevant.

Judge: Sustained

Durst: Yes, I saw many psychiatrists

Judge; Okay, let's pause for a second for a couple of things. If I sustain an objection, you may not answer, Mr. Durst. In that case I did sustain the objection. That means you could not answer. The jury is to disregard the answer and disregard the question."

5. Slow zoom in on Durst    

6. SOUNDBITE (English) Robert Durst, defendant:

"One night I got back to the fraternity house around nine or ten and Stewart introduced me to the girl that he had picked up that afternoon. Her name was Susan Berman. I later found out that both her parents were dead and that her father had owned hotels in Las Vegas and had something to do with the mob."

7. Wide, courtroom

STORYLINE:

Robert Durst took the stand at his California murder trial Monday and immediately denied killing his best friend.

Durst was arrested on a warrant in Berman's killing in New Orleans in 2015 on the eve of the airing of the final episode of "The Jinx," the HBO documentary series about him in which Durst made several seemingly damning statements.  

His trial finally began in early 2020, but the coronavirus forced a pause of more than a year before it resumed in May.  

As he said he would when the trial began in Los Angeles Superior Court more than a year ago, DeGuerin went through with the risky move of calling a murder defendant to testify, just as he did with Durst at his 2003 Texas trial, when the wealthy heir was acquitted.  

After asking him bluntly whether he had killed Berman, DeGuerin backtracked to the beginning of Durst's life.  

Durst's mother died when he was 7 years old, either jumping or falling from the top of their home.  

Durst testified that his grandfather woke him in the middle of the night to look at "mommy on the roof" just before her death.  

Durst said his father, real estate magnate Seymour Durst, was determined to remain in the family home, no matter the trauma it caused him.  

While he is charged with just one killing in California, prosecutors have been allowed to present evidence from the Texas case. There, Durst testified that his Galveston neighbor Morris Black was killed in a struggle after entering his home with a gun. From the stand, Durst described chopping up and disposing of the body, but the jury found him not guilty of murder.  

Prosecutors have also been allowed to present evidence that Durst killed his wife, who disappeared in New York in 1982. Kathie Durst's body was never found, but she has been declared legally dead. Durst has never been charged in connection with her disappearance, and has denied having anything to do with it.

In the Berman killing, prosecutors allege that she was about to talk to police about Durst's involvement in his wife's disappearance. Durst's attorneys have said that he found her body, panicked, and fled to Texas, sending a letter to police that read "CADAVER" with Berman's address.

On Monday, Durst described meeting Berman, a mobster's daughter who grew up in Las Vegas, when both were in graduate school at the University of California, Los Angeles in the 1960s, and striking up a close, decadeslong friendship.

Durst, who has bladder cancer and several other ailments that he listed from the stand, wore the brown jail attire he's had on in court for the past few weeks of the trial. His attorneys said he's been unable to stand to put on a suit.  

Durst struggled to hear both the clerk when he was sworn in and DeGuerin as he asked questions, using a tablet that showed a live transcription to help him understand.  

Durst also struggled to hear the prosecution's objections and the judge's rulings on them, frequently speaking after he was told to stop.  

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A Los Angeles jury convicted Robert Durst on Friday of murdering his best friend 20 years ago, a case that took on new life after the New York real estate heir participated in a documentary that connected him to the slaying that was linked to his wife’s 1982 disappearance.

Durst, 78, was not in court for the verdict from the jury that deliberated about seven hours over three days. He was in isolation at a jail because he was exposed to someone with coronavirus.

Durst, who faces a mandatory term of life in prison without parole when sentenced Oct. 18, was convicted of the first-degree murder of Susan Berman.

She was shot at point-blank range in the back of the head in her Los Angeles home in December 2000 as she was prepared to tell police how she helped cover up his wife’s killing.

Berman, the daughter of a Las Vegas mobster, was Durst’s longtime confidante who told friends she provided a phony alibi for him after his wife vanished.

Prosecutors painted a portrait of a rich narcissist who didn’t think the laws applied to him and ruthlessly disposed of people who stood in his way.

They interlaced evidence of Berman’s killing with Kathie Durst’s suspected death and the 2001 killing of a tenant in a Texas flophouse where Robert Durst holed up while on the run from New York authorities.

Durst was arrested in 2015 while hiding out in a New Orleans hotel on the eve of the airing of the final episode of “The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst,” in which he was confronted with incriminating evidence and made what prosecutors said was a confession.

Durst could be heard muttering to himself on a live microphone in a bathroom: “There it is. You’re caught.”

Durst’s decision to testify in his own defense - hoping for a repeat of his acquittal in the Texas killing - backfired as he was forced to admit lying under oath, made damning admissions and had his credibility destroyed when questioned by the prosecutor.

The conviction marks a victory for authorities who have sought to put Durst behind bars for murder in three states.

Durst was never charged in the disappearance of his wife, who has never been found, and he was acquitted of murder in Galveston, Texas, where he admitted dismembering the victim’s body and tossing it out to sea.

POOL

Inglewood, California - 17 September 2021

1. Court clerk reads guilty verdict for Robert  Durst, UPSOUND (English):

"Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles, the people of the state of California versus Robert Durst. We the jury in the above entitled action find the defendant Robert Durst guilty of the crimes of first degree murder of Susan Berman and by application of Penal Code section 187 subsection A, a felony as charged in count one of the information. We further find the allegation that in the commission of the above offense that Susan Berman was a witness to a crime and was intentionally killed because of a fact within the meaning of Penal Code section 190.2 subsection 8, subsection 10 to be true. We further find the allegation that within the commission of the above offense that the defendant Robert Durst intentionally killed Susan Berman by means of lying in wait within the meaning of Penal Code section 190.2 subsection 8, subsection 15 to be true. We further find that the allegation that the defendant Robert Durst personally and intentionally used a firearm to wit, a handgun, within the meaning of Penal Code section 12022.53 subsection B to be true. We further find the allegation that the defendant Robert Durst personally and intentionally discharged a firearm, to wit a handgun, within the meaning of Penal Code section 12022.53 subsection C to be true. We further find the allegation that the defendant Robert Durst personally and intentionally a firearm, to wit a handgun, which caused great bodily injury and death to Susan Berman within the meaning of Penal Code section 12022.53 subsection B to be true, this 17th day of September, 2021, Juror number 12."

New York real estate heir Robert Durst was sentenced Thursday to life in prison without chance of parole for the murder of his best friend more that two decades ago.

Durst, 78, was convicted in Los Angeles Superior Court last month of first-degree murder for shooting Susan Berman point-blank in the back of the head at her home in December 2000.

Durst silenced Berman to prevent her from incriminating him in the reopened investigation of his wife’s 1982 disappearance in New York, prosecutors said.

Berman provided a phony alibi for Durst when Kathie Durst vanished, prosecutors said.

Durst testified that he didn’t kill either woman, but said on cross-examination that he would lie if he had.

Prosecutors also presented evidence that he intentionally killed a neighbor in Galveston, Texas, in 2001, though he had been acquitted of murder in that case after testifying that he shot the man in self-defense.

Durst is the grandson of Joseph Durst, who founded the Durst Organization, one of Manhattan’s largest commercial real estate firms. His father, Seymour, took the reins of the company and later handed control of it to a younger brother, Douglas.

Robert Durst settled his share of the family fortune and was estimated by prosecutors to have $100 million.

Durst's lawyer said they plan to appeal.

POOL

Inglewood, California - 14 October 2021

1. Wide view of Robert Durst and attorneys seated in court, push in to close view of Durst

2. Close view of Judge and pan over to Robert Durst

UPSOUND (English) Judge Mark Windham, Los Angeles Superior Court:

"As to count one, the first degree murder of Susan Berman, with a special circumstance of intentional killing of a witness pursuant to 190.2a10 of penal code, it's the judgment and sentence of this court, Mr. Durst, that you'll be in prison in the state prison for the term prescribed by a law that is life in prison without the possibility of parole. As to the special allegation that the defendant intentionally killed Susan Berman by means of lying in wait, that's described in 190.2a15 of the penal code, the same sentence is imposed and stayed pursuant to section 654 of the penal code. As to the allegation that the defendant personally and intentionally used a firearm in the commission of this offense, causing great bodily injury and death pursuant to 12022.53d of the California Penal Code, the court imposes a term of 25 years to life in prison."

DURST TESTIFIES IN FOURTH DAY IN HIS MURDER TRIAL

New York real estate heir Robert Durst testified Monday that he lied for decades about sending police a note directing them to the dead body of his best friend because he feared it implicated him in the killing.

Durst, 78, has denied killing Berman during four days of testimony at his murder trial.

Durst, the eccentric estranged heir to a commercial real estate fortune in New York, is only charged with Berman's December 2000 killing but prosecutors have introduced evidence linking him with two other deaths.

Los Angeles prosecutors say Durst killed Berman to silence her before she could tell New York investigators how she provided an alibi for him when his first wife vanished in 1982. They say he also murdered a Galveston, Texas, neighbor in 2001 when the man discovered his identity while he was in hiding after New York police reopened the investigation into his wife's disappearance in 2000.

He was acquitted of murder in the killing of Morris Black in 2001 after testifying he shot the man in self-defense during a struggle for a gun.

Durst, who is frail and suffering from a series of health problems, spoke in a soft, raspy voice as he described dismembering Black's body so he "could carry the body out of his apartment."

Durst denied killing Berman and said he had no motive to kill her. He denied that Berman, who was in financial trouble and had been supported by him over the years, had been blackmailing him.

POOL

Inglewood, California - 16 August 2021

1. Robert Durst lawyers reenact Morris Black shooting on courtroom floor

2. Robert Durst talks about his thoughts when he realized Morris Black was dead

3. Animated scene attempts to show Robert Durst and Morris Black's battle over the gun

4. Robert Durst talks about dismembering Morris Black's body

5. Robert Durst lawyers reenact Morris Black shooting on courtroom floor

6. Robert Durst describes dismembering Morris Black's body, throwing the body parts in trash bags and into his car

7. Wide of animated screen, pan down to Robert Durst

ROBERT DURST: PARTICIPATING IN DOCUMENTARY 'THE JINX' WAS 'STUPID,' PUT HIM IN JAIL

A close friend of Robert Durst told prosecutors for months that the real estate heir did not confess any killing to him.

Lawyers for Durst presented transcripts in a Los Angeles courtroom on Friday (17 FEB.) that showed Nathan Chavin denying that Durst indicated he killed their mutual friend Susan Berman.

Chavin says he waffled for months because of a struggle between loyalties to Durst and Berman.

It took seven months before he told prosecutors Durst told him: "It was her or me. I had no choice."

Defense lawyers suggested Chavin made up the story to curry favor with Durst's brother.

Chavin did business with the New York real estate development empire headed by Douglas Durst.

Chavin says the brothers hate each other and Douglas Durst feared his older brother and wanted him locked up.

Robert Durst told Chavin he was stupid to participate in the documentary about his life "The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst."

Durst told Chavin in a recorded jail phone call played Friday in a Los Angeles courtroom that the filmmaker had put him behind bars.

Chavin reminded Durst on the call that he counseled him not to participate in "The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst." The film unearthed new evidence implicating Durst in three killings.

Durst has pleaded not guilty to murder in the 2000 killing of death of Susan Berman in Los Angeles.

Chavin is testifying in a hearing to record testimony from witnesses who are old or fear for their safety in case they're not able to testify at a trial in the Berman case.

POOL

FILE: Los Angeles, 7 Nov. 2016

1. Robert Durst enters courtroom in a wheel chair and is seated next to his lawyers

++Off Camera++

2. UPSOUND "We enter a plea of not guilty."

Judge: "Not guilty plea will be entered."

3. Various of judge

4. Tight of Los Angeles County prosecutor

5. Various Durst with attorney Dick De Guerin

6. Wide of judge

7. Tight De Guerin

8. SOUNDBITE Robert Durst, suspect:

"Your honor, I'm willing to waive my rights. I do want to say here and now though, I am not guilty. I did not kill Susan Berman."

Judge: "Thank you. And do you in fact waive those rights at this time?"

Durst: "Yes."

9. Various Durst

ROBERT DURST PLEADS NOT GUILTY TO MURDER IN LA COURT

Real estate heir Robert Durst pleaded not guilty to murder Monday (7 NOV. 2016) in the death of a friend who authorities said Durst wanted to keep from talking to investigators looking into the disappearance of his first wife.

The 73-year-old Durst, wearing a neck brace and seated in a wheelchair, entered the plea during a long-awaited appearance in a Los Angeles courtroom in the death of Susan Berman 16 years ago.

"I do want to say here and now though I am not guilty," a pale and frail-looking Durst said in court. "I did not kill Susan Berman."

Durst's statement came after his attorney unsuccessfully argued to ban news media cameras from the courtroom.

Prosecutors said they would not be seeking the death penalty against Durst.

Durst was already a well-known figure in his native New York. But he became a national name when HBO aired the documentary "The Jinx" that followed his life and cast suspicion on him involving several crimes.

Los Angeles County prosecutors have been seeking to bring Durst to California since shortly after his arrest in March 2015.

POOL

Los Angeles, 7 Nov. 2016

1. Robert Durst enters courtroom in a wheel chair and is seated next to his lawyers

++Off Camera++

2. UPSOUND "We enter a plea of not guilty."

Judge: "Not guilty plea will be entered."

3. Various of judge

4. Tight of Los Angeles County prosecutor

5. Various Durst with attorney Dick De Guerin

6. Wide of judge

7. Tight De Guerin

8. SOUNDBITE Robert Durst, suspect:

"Your honor, I'm willing to waive my rights. I do want to say here and now though, I am not guilty. I did not kill Susan Berman."

Judge: "Thank you. And do you in fact waive those rights at this time?"

Durst: "Yes."

9. Various Durst

Real estate heir Robert Durst pleaded not guilty to murder Monday in the death of a friend who authorities said Durst wanted to keep from talking to investigators looking into the disappearance of his first wife.

The 73-year-old Durst, wearing a neck brace and seated in a wheelchair, entered the plea during a long-awaited appearance in a Los Angeles courtroom in the death of Susan Berman 16 years ago.

"I do want to say here and now though I am not guilty," a pale and frail-looking Durst said in court. "I did not kill Susan Berman."

Durst's statement came after his attorney unsuccessfully argued to ban news media cameras from the courtroom.

Prosecutors said they would not be seeking the death penalty against Durst.

Durst was already a well-known figure in his native New York. But he became a national name when HBO aired the documentary "The Jinx" that followed his life and cast suspicion on him involving several crimes.

Los Angeles County prosecutors have been seeking to bring Durst to California since shortly after his arrest in March 2015.

POOL

Los Angeles - 7 November 2016

1. Robert Durst enters courtroom in a wheel chair and is seated next to his lawyers

++Off Camera++

2. UPSOUND "We enter a plea of not guilty."

Judge: "Not guilty plea will be entered."

3. Various of judge

4. Tight of Los Angeles County prosecutor

5. Various Durst with attorney Dick De Guerin

6. Wide of judge

7. Tight De Guerin

8. SOUNDBITE Robert Durst, suspect:

"Your honor, I'm willing to waive my rights. I do want to say here and now though, I am not guilty. I did not kill Susan Berman."

Judge: "Thank you. And do you in fact waive those rights at this time?"

Durst: "Yes."

9. Various Durst

Now that eccentric real estate heir Robert Durst has been indicted for murder in the death of his first wife, who vanished nearly four decades ago, her family has some questions. Namely, what took so long?

Kathie Durst's brother, James McCormack, and a lawyer for her family held a press conference Tuesday to urge the suburban New York prosecutor who secured Durst's indictment to also investigate why he wasn't charged sooner.

In their first public comments since Durst's Nov. 1 indictment, McCormack and lawyer Robert Abrams outlined their concerns with the drawn-out criminal probe, including whether evidence was ignored and whether Durst's family wealth was an influence.

"Why did a series of district attorneys in Manhattan and Westchester County appear to decide to protect Robert Durst all of these years?" McCormack said. Why did former DA Jeanine Pirro commence an investigation only to abandon it at the last minute?"

In a letter Monday, Abrams requested that Westchester County District Attorney Mimi Rocah to "acknowledge and correct the mistakes made by your predecessors" and asked her to launch an investigation into what he said was an effort by Robert Durst's family and allies to hide Kathie Durst's killing.

Durst was indicted for Kathie Durst's death just weeks after he was sentenced in California to life in prison for killing a confidante who helped him cover up the slaying. Durst was hospitalized on a ventilator with COVID-19 after the Oct. 14 sentencing and has since been transferred to a state prison hospital.

Abrams said he would start releasing information next month that he said would expose people involved in the coverup. He accused former Westchester County District Attorney Jeanine Pirro, of punting the investigation after a private meeting with Robert Durst's brother, Douglas, in 2003.

Rocah's spokesperson declined comment.

A message for Pirro seeking comment was left with Fox News, where she hosts a weekly program, "Justice with Judge Jeanine."

++SOUNDBITES SEPARATED BY BLACK FRAMES ++

ASSOCIATED PRESS

White Plains, New York - 9 November 2021

1. SOUNDBITE (English) James McCormack, Kathie Durst's Brother:

"Why did a series of district attorneys in Manhattan and Westchester County appear to decide to protect Robert Durst all these years? Two. Why did the NYPD fail to conduct a competent and thorough investigation into Kathie's disappearance, telling me, quote, we dropped the ball, unquote, just doesn't cut it. Three. Although we appreciate the actions now being taken by DA Rocha, why did prior leaders of the Westchester District Attorney's Office agree to stand down so that judge could be prosecuted in California for killing someone who helped him cover up Kathi's murder? Four. Why did former DA, Jeanine Pirro commence an investigation, only to abandon it at the last minute?"

++BLACK FRAMES ++

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Robert Abrams, attorney for McCormack family

"As much as we appreciate what District Attorney Rocha has done by indicting Robert Durst for Kathie's murder, and we do appreciate it, but I want to be really clear what she did is what her job requires her to do. She indicted a murderer for killing somebody. Kudos to her because that was not done for the past 40 years and she did. She didn't do us any favors by doing what she's supposed to do."

POOL

Archive: Inglewood, California - 14 October 2021

3. Various of Robert Durst in court

FOR CLEAN VERSION SEE STORY NUMBER: 4348627

New York real estate heir Robert Durst was sentenced Thursday to life in prison without chance of parole for the murder of his best friend more that two decades ago.

Durst, 78, was convicted in Los Angeles Superior Court last month of first-degree murder for shooting Susan Berman point-blank in the back of the head at her home in December 2000.

Durst silenced Berman to prevent her from incriminating him in the reopened investigation of his wife’s 1982 disappearance in New York, prosecutors said.

Berman provided a phony alibi for Durst when Kathie Durst vanished, prosecutors said.

Durst testified that he didn’t kill either woman, but said on cross-examination that he would lie if he had.

Prosecutors also presented evidence that he intentionally killed a neighbor in Galveston, Texas, in 2001, though he had been acquitted of murder in that case after testifying that he shot the man in self-defense.

Durst is the grandson of Joseph Durst, who founded the Durst Organization, one of Manhattan’s largest commercial real estate firms. His father, Seymour, took the reins of the company and later handed control of it to a younger brother, Douglas.

Robert Durst settled his share of the family fortune and was estimated by prosecutors to have $100 million.

Durst's lawyer said they plan to appeal.

POOL

Inglewood, California - 14 October 2021

1. Close view of Robert Durst in court

2. Close view of Judge and pan over to Robert Durst

UPSOUND (English) Judge Mark Windham, Los Angeles County Superior Court:

"As to count one, the first degree murder of Susan Berman, with a special circumstance of intentional killing of a witness pursuant to 190.2a10 of the penal code, it's the judgment and sentence of this court, Mr. Durst, that you'll be imprisoned in the state prison for the term prescribed by a law that is life in prison without the possibility of parole."

3. SOUNDBITE (English) Grace Berman, relative of Susan Berman:

++PARTIALLY COVERED++

"I would like Bobby to live many, many years, to be on record for the longest living predator ever. And with each breath between, from right now on, when you breathe in, you will hear Susan, when you exhale you will hear Berman."

4. Medium view of Durst and attorney

5. SOUNDBITE (English) Davy Berman, relative of Susan Berman:

"This morning, I went, excuse me, I visited her and told her she could rest easy. That justice has been done."

6. Close view of Durst

FOR CLEAN VERSION SEE STORY NUMBER: 4344582

A Los Angeles jury convicted Robert Durst on Friday of murdering his best friend 20 years ago, a case that took on new life after the New York real estate heir participated in a documentary that connected him to the slaying that was linked to his wife’s 1982 disappearance.

Durst, 78, was not in court for the verdict from the jury that deliberated about seven hours over three days. He was in isolation at a jail because he was exposed to someone with coronavirus.

Durst, who faces a mandatory term of life in prison without parole when sentenced Oct. 18, was convicted of the first-degree murder of Susan Berman. She was shot at point-blank range in the back of the head in her Los Angeles home in December 2000 as she was prepared to tell police how she helped cover up his wife’s killing.

Berman, the daughter of a Las Vegas mobster, was Durst’s longtime confidante who told friends she provided a phony alibi for him after his wife vanished.

Prosecutors painted a portrait of a rich narcissist who didn’t think the laws applied to him and ruthlessly disposed of people who stood in his way. They interlaced evidence of Berman’s killing with Kathie Durst’s suspected death and the 2001 killing of a tenant in a Texas flophouse where Robert Durst holed up while on the run from New York authorities.

Durst was arrested in 2015 while hiding out in a New Orleans hotel on the eve of the airing of the final episode of “The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst,” in which he was confronted with incriminating evidence and made what prosecutors said was a confession.

Durst could be heard muttering to himself on a live microphone in a bathroom: “There it is. You’re caught.”

Durst’s decision to testify in his own defense - hoping for a repeat of his acquittal in the Texas killing - backfired as he was forced to admit lying under oath, made damning admissions and had his credibility destroyed when questioned by the prosecutor.

Defense lawyer David Chesnoff said Friday they believed there was “substantial reasonable doubt” and were disappointed in the verdict. He said Durst would pursue all avenues of appeal.

The conviction marks a victory for authorities who have sought to put Durst behind bars for murder in three states. Durst was never charged in the disappearance of his wife, who has never been found, and he was acquitted of murder in Galveston, Texas, where he admitted dismembering the victim’s body and tossing it out to sea.

The story of Durst, the estranged scion of a New York real estate developer, has been fodder for New York tabloids since his wife vanished. He provided plot twists so numerous that Hollywood couldn’t resist making a feature film about his life that eventually led to the documentary and discovery of new evidence in Berman’s slaying.

POOL

Inglewood, California – 17 September 2021

1. Court clerk reads guilty verdict for Robert Durst, UPSOUND (English):

"Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles, the people of the state of California versus Robert Durst. We the jury in the above entitled action find the defendant Robert Durst guilty of the crimes of first degree murder of Susan Berman and by application of Penal Code section 187 subsection."  

HEADLINE: Millionaire Robert Durst found guilty of murder

ANNOTATION: A Los Angeles jury has convicted Robert Durst, 78, of murdering his best friend, Susan Berman, 20 years ago.

ANNOTATION: Berman was shot at point-blank range in her Los Angeles home as she was prepared to tell police how she helped cover up his wife's killing.

POOL

Inglewood, California – 1 September 2021

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Robert Durst, defendant, and John Lewin, prosecutor:

Lewin: "Mr. Durst, the last area that Mr. DeGuerin (defense attorney DeGuerin) covered with you, is he asked you did you love Kathy and then he asked you would you kill Kathy and you responded no, correct?"

Durst: "I responded that I loved Kathy and then I responded, I did not kill Kathy."

Lewin: "And then he asked you if you loved Susan and you said yes, you loved Susan and he asked you if you would kill Susan and you said no, correct?"

Durst: "Correct."

Lewin: "Mr. Durst, you have repeatedly admitted that if you had killed either Kathy or Susan or both of them, you would never tell us, correct?"

Durst: "Correct."

Lewin: "Nothing further."

ANNOTATION: Durst was not in court for the verdict, but in isolation at a jail because he was exposed to someone with coronavirus.

The murder trial of multimillionaire Robert Durst resumed Monday after a 14-month recess without the defendant present and with arguments about whether the case should continue at all.

Judge Mark Windham said that Durst had refused to leave his Los Angeles County jail cell, though his lawyer disputed that account.

Windham denied a defense request to suspend the case further because Durst has bladder cancer and a myriad of other health problems that require hospitalization.

Durst, 78, an heir to a New York commercial real estate empire, has pleaded not guilty in the killing of his best friend in 2000.

The judge planned to spend the first day on trial since March 2020 questioning jurors to make sure they can still serve on the case expected to take four to five more months. The panel had 12 jurors and 10 alternates, one fewer than when the case was recessed.

Attorney Dick DeGuerin said measures taken to prevent the spread of the coronavirus would harm Durst's defense by keeping his lawyers scattered throughout the courtroom and unable to confer. Windham said the measures were required to keep everyone safe, though he and all the lawyers have been vaccinated.

The lead lawyers were seated alone in the front of the courtroom and their co-counsel were spread throughout jury boxes on both sides of the courtroom. Plexiglas panels were placed between the lawyers and a court stenographer.

Jurors were seated in the gallery. They were handed zip-lock bags with note pads, a mask and tissues as they entered the courtroom.

Windham moved the case to a larger courtroom in Inglewood to accommodate the distancing needed to resume.

++AUDIO AS INCOMING++

POOL

Los Angeles – 17 May 2021

1. SOUNDBITE (English) Dick DeGuerin, defense attorney:

"Doctors say that he needs urgent hospitalization, urgent hospitalization. This is not something that's (inaudible) you know from observations that when we were in trial, when we were in hearings, Mr. Durst frequently had difficulty. We, in fact, obtained an order from you about two years ago for him to be examined because of things that happened in the courtroom because of his health. They've gotten much worse in the last year, much worse."

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Los Angeles – 10 March 2020

2. STILL of Robert Durst during a court appearance in March 2020

POOL

Los Angeles – 17 May 2021

3. SOUNDBITE (English) Judge Mark Windham, Los Angeles County:

"I'm interested. I care about Mr. Durst's health. I want to hear about it, but there also must be notice so that the other side can respond."

++BLACK FRAMES++

4. SOUNDBITE (English) John Lewin, Deputy District Attorney, Los Angeles County:

"The absolute burden that will be placed upon the people, the court, etc., for a request which in the end is simply a get out of jail free card because we would never be able to try the man. There's not two systems of justice in this county, one for rich people and one for everybody else. Mr. Durst is in custody and getting the best treatment possible that they offer at Family USC."

++BLACK FRAMES++

5. SOUNDBITE (English) Judge Mark Windham, Los Angeles County:

"There's a description of difficulty in working with Mr. Durst and preparing him. The defense has had at least five years to prepare for every contingency in this case. Second of all, there's no evidence that Mr. Durst is mentally incompetent. Indeed, his letter to this court clearly demonstrates his cogent thought. Third, a physical disorder does not necessarily resort in mental incompetence or mean that the defendant is not present."

++BLACK FRAMES++

6. SOUNDBITE (English) Judge Mark Windham, Los Angeles County:

"Even if it turns out the sheriff's are wrong and he really did want to come today then still, it's not I don't think it's prejudicial to him. We're gonna take a recess and let's get our jurors in here."

++ENDS ON SOUNDBITE++

FOR CLEAN VERSION SEE STORY NUMBER: apus066456

Real estate heir Robert Durst pleaded not guilty to murder Monday in the death of a friend who authorities said Durst wanted to keep from talking to investigators looking into the disappearance of his first wife.

The 73-year-old Durst, wearing a neck brace and seated in a wheelchair, entered the plea during a long-awaited appearance in a Los Angeles courtroom in the death of Susan Berman 16 years ago.

"I do want to say here and now though I am not guilty," a pale and frail-looking Durst said in court. "I did not kill Susan Berman."

Durst's statement came after his attorney unsuccessfully argued to ban news media cameras from the courtroom.

Prosecutors said they would not be seeking the death penalty against Durst.

Durst was already a well-known figure in his native New York. But he became a national name when HBO aired the documentary "The Jinx" that followed his life and cast suspicion on him involving several crimes.

Los Angeles County prosecutors have been seeking to bring Durst to California since shortly after his arrest in March 2015.

POOL

Los Angeles - 7 November 2016

1. Robert Durst enters courtroom in a wheel chair and is seated next to his lawyers

++Off Camera++

2. UPSOUND "We enter a plea of not guilty."

Judge: "Not guilty plea will be entered."

3. SOUNDBITE Robert Durst, defendant:

"Your honor, I'm willing to waive my rights. I do want to say here and now though, I am not guilty. I did not kill Susan Berman."

Judge: "Thank you. And do you in fact waive those rights at this time?"

Durst: "Yes."

FOR CLEAN VERSION SEE STORY NUMBER: 4352365

Now that eccentric real estate heir Robert Durst has been indicted for murder in the death of his first wife, who vanished nearly four decades ago, her family has some questions. Namely, what took so long?

Kathie Durst's brother, James McCormack, and a lawyer for her family held a press conference Tuesday to urge the suburban New York prosecutor who secured Durst's indictment to also investigate why he wasn't charged sooner.

In their first public comments since Durst's Nov. 1 indictment, McCormack and lawyer Robert Abrams outlined their concerns with the drawn-out criminal probe, including whether evidence was ignored and whether Durst's family wealth was an influence.

"Why did a series of district attorneys in Manhattan and Westchester County appear to decide to protect Robert Durst all of these years?," McCormack said. Why did former DA Jeanine Pirro commence an investigation only to abandon it at the last minute?"

In a letter Monday, Abrams requested that Westchester County District Attorney Mimi Rocah to "acknowledge and correct the mistakes made by your predecessors" and asked her to launch an investigation into what he said was an effort by Robert Durst's family and allies to hide Kathie Durst's killing.

Durst was indicted for Kathie Durst's death just weeks after he was sentenced in California to life in prison for killing a confidante who helped him cover up the slaying. Durst was hospitalized on a ventilator with COVID-19 after the Oct. 14 sentencing and has since been transferred to a state prison hospital.

Abrams said he would start releasing information next month that he said would expose people involved in the coverup. He accused former Westchester County District Attorney Jeanine Pirro, of punting the investigation after a private meeting with Robert Durst's brother, Douglas, in 2003.

Rocah's spokesperson declined comment.

A message for Pirro seeking comment was left with Fox News, where she hosts a weekly program, "Justice with Judge Jeanine."

ASSOCIATED PRESS

White Plains, New York - 9 November 2021

1. James McCormack approaces podium

HEADLINE: Kathie Durst's brother seeks answers on probe

2. SOUNDBITE (English) James McCormack, Kathie Durst's Brother:

"Why did a series of district attorneys in Manhattan and Westchester County appear to decide to protect Robert Durst all these years? Two. Why did the NYPD fail to conduct a competent and thorough investigation into Kathie's disappearance, telling me, quote, 'we dropped the ball.' unquote, just doesn't cut it. Three. Although we appreciate the actions now being taken by DA Rocha, why did prior leaders of the Westchester District Attorney's Office agree to stand down so that judge could be prosecuted in California for killing someone who helped him cover up Kathie's murder? Four. Why did former DA, Jeanine Pirro commence an investigation, only to abandon it at the last minute?"

SHOTLIST:

RESTRICTION SUMMARY:

CLIENTS NOTE: PRELIMINARY SCRIPT; TRANSCRIPT TO FOLLOW AS SOON AS POSSIBLE

POOL

Inglewood, California - 9 August 2021

1. Slow zoom in on Robert Durst waiting to testify

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Robert Durst: (questioned by defense attorney)

Attorney: Did you kill Susan Berman?

Durst: No

Attorney: Do you know who did?

Durst: No, I do not.

Attorney: Do you realize you have an absolute right not to testify?

Durst: I am aware of that.

Attorney: Do you want to testify in your own behalf?

Durst: Yes

Attorney: I want to first ask you about some of your health problems. Are you hard of hearing?

Durst: I am hard of hearing.

Attorney: You have hearing aids, do they help?

Durst: I have hearing aids

Attorney: Do they help?

Durst: Yes

Attorney: Are you able to hear me without using that screen in front of you?

Durst: No

Attorney: I want to ask you about your health problems first.

Durst: I've got lots of them

Attorney: We've got all day.

Durst: Well, the problems that affect me everyday all the time are hydrocephalus, which means my balance is no good. I was operated on and given a shunt which you can see in my hairline. The shunt is supposed to relieve pressure on my brain."

++ENDS ON SOUNDBITE++

STORYLINE:

New York real estate heir Robert Durst took the stand at his Los Angeles County murder trial on Thursday.

Questioned by his attorney, the 78-year-old denied killing his friend Susan Berman in 2000.

Durst took the stand in his 2003 Texas murder trial, and was acquitted.

He has pleaded not guilty.  

===========================================================

Clients are reminded:

(i) to check the terms of their licence agreements for use of content outside news programming and that further advice and assistance can be obtained from the AP Archive on: Tel +44 (0) 20 7482 7482 Email: info@aparchive.com

(ii) they should check with the applicable collecting society in their Territory regarding the clearance of any sound recording or performance included within the AP Television News service

(iii) they have editorial responsibility for the use of all and any content included within the AP Television News service and for libel, privacy, compliance and third party rights applicable to their Territory.

SHOTLIST:

RESTRICTION SUMMARY:

CLIENTS NOTE: PRELIMINARY SCRIPT; TRANSCRIPT TO FOLLOW AS SOON AS POSSIBLE

POOL

Inglewood, California - 9 August 2021

1. Slow zoom in on Robert Durst waiting to testify

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Robert Durst: (questioned by defense attorney)

Attorney: Did you kill Susan Berman?

Durst: No

Attorney: Do you know who did?

Durst: No, I do not.

Attorney: Do you realize you have an absolute right not to testify?

Durst: I am aware of that.

Attorney: Do you want to testify in your own behalf?

Durst: Yes

Attorney: I want to first ask you about some of your health problems. Are you hard of hearing?

Durst: I am hard of hearing.

Attorney: You have hearing aids, do they help?

Durst: I have hearing aids

Attorney: Do they help?

Durst: Yes

Attorney: Are you able to hear me without using that screen in front of you?

Durst: No

Attorney: I want to ask you about your health problems first.

Durst: I've got lots of them

Attorney: We've got all day.

Durst: Well, the problems that affect me everyday all the time are hydrocephalus, which means my balance is no good. I was operated on and given a shunt which you can see in my hairline. The shunt is supposed to relieve pressure on my brain."

++ENDS ON SOUNDBITE++

STORYLINE:

New York real estate heir Robert Durst took the stand at his Los Angeles County murder trial on Thursday.

Questioned by his attorney, the 78-year-old denied killing his friend Susan Berman in 2000.

Durst took the stand in his 2003 Texas murder trial, and was acquitted.

He has pleaded not guilty.  

===========================================================

Clients are reminded:

(i) to check the terms of their licence agreements for use of content outside news programming and that further advice and assistance can be obtained from the AP Archive on: Tel +44 (0) 20 7482 7482 Email: info@aparchive.com

(ii) they should check with the applicable collecting society in their Territory regarding the clearance of any sound recording or performance included within the AP Television News service

(iii) they have editorial responsibility for the use of all and any content included within the AP Television News service and for libel, privacy, compliance and third party rights applicable to their Territory.

A defense lawyer said multimillionaire Robert Durst had no motive to murder his close friend Susan Berman and had nothing to do with her death.

Attorney Dick DeGuerin told jurors Wednesday in Los Angeles County Superior Court there was no evidence tying Durst to the killing in 2000 or to the disappearance of his wife in New York in 1982.

Prosecutors say Durst silenced Berman before she could tell police that she provided an alibi in the suspected killing of Kathie Durst.

The attorneys presented an abbreviated opening statement following a 14-month recess because of the pandemic.

POOL

Inglewood, California - 19 May 2021

++EDIT STARTS ON SOUNDBITE++

1. SOUNDBITE (English) Dick DeGuerin, Defense Attorney for Robert Durst:

"Bob Durst did not kill Susan Berman and he doesn't know who did. The evidence, the lack of evidence is what we will be talking about, both the evidence and the lack of evidence. Another thing I want to say and repeat, and this goes to the evidence, Bob Durst had no motive and nothing to gain by the death of Susan Berman."

++BLACK FRAMES++

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Dick DeGuerin, Defense Attorney for Robert Durst:

"We readily and freely admit that the evidence will show that Morris Black died in a struggle with Bob Durst. The judge will instruct you on how to consider this evidence, understanding, of course, that the jury found Bob Durst not guilty of murder."

++BLACK FRAMES++

3. SOUNDBITE (English) Dick DeGuerin, Defense Attorney for Robert Durst:

"And that would have been the end of the story, but Bob wanted his story out, he wanted to explain himself because everywhere he went, he got stares and people would look out of the corner of his their eyes on him. And he wanted the people, the public to know that he wasn't the Bob Durst everybody thought he was, that he's had a rough life, that he'd had, been hounded all his life. The problem is that he chose the wrong people to tell that story. Andrew Jarecki and his crew had made a movie called 'All Good Things.'"

++BLACK FRAMES++

4. SOUNDBITE (English) Dick DeGuerin, Defense Attorney for Robert Durst:

"And he thought that he would get an honest depiction of his story. And so Andrew Jarecki and his crew started interviewing Bob. Bob cooperated with them completely. And the result was the series 'The Jinx.' Now some people call it a documentary, it's not a documentary, doesn't pretend to be a documentary, but it's called one. It was a series of programs that ran in early 2015. By the time of the fifth segment, there were six segments. By the time of the fifth segment, it became obvious to Bob that this was a hatchet job, that it wasn't his story as he wanted it told. It was a heavily edited story to make good entertainment and in fact, it won an Emmy."

++BLACK FRAMES++

5. SOUNDBITE (English) Dick DeGuerin, Defense Attorney for Robert Durst:

"Where Bob said, 'Kill them all of course,' what the evidence will show is that Bob finally realized what Jarecki and his crew were trying to show, that he killed them all."

++ENDS ON SOUNDBITE++

ROBERT DURST MURDER TRIAL MAY NOT RESUME UNTIL APRIL

The murder trial of New York real estate heir Robert Durst will not resume in late July as planned, and may stay on hold until April.

At a hearing Friday (17 JULY 2020) on the resumption of the case, which was put on pause four months ago because of the coronavirus pandemic, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mark Windham said he would tell jurors they would not need to return until April 12, but is considering the possibility of a bench trial in which he and not a jury would decide Durst's guilt.

Such a trial, which Durst would have to consent to by waiving his right to a jury trial, would resume much sooner, with the crowd concerns brought on by jurors allayed.

Another hearing is scheduled for July 31, giving time for defense attorneys to confer with the 77-year-old Durst, who was did not take part in Friday's hearing.

Durst is on trial for the 2000 shooting death of his best friend Susan Berman.

Prosecutors allege Durst killed Berman because he feared she was going to tell New York police that she knew he killed his wife in 1982 and she helped him cover up the crime, prosecutors said.

Kathleen Durst has never been found, though she has been legally declared dead. Durst has never been charged with any crime related to her disappearance and has denied any role in her death.

The murder trial had been expected to take five months, but was delayed in mid-March after opening statements and just two days of testimony.

Durst's attorneys, who appeared Friday by phone, and Deputy District Attorney John Lewin, who was in the courtroom, agreed that a jury trial should not be resumed for several months.

“We cannot have a trial at this time with this jury,” Durst attorney David Chesnoff said in the hearing by phone from Las Vegas.

Durst's lawyers renewed their call for a mistrial, which Windham declined to grant.

Lewin said the trial could be successfully resumed after a long delay, and that the jury might be re-shown opening statements on video, and have witness testimony read back to them.

If the April resumption date holds it will mean a pause in the trial of over a year.

POOL

Los Angeles, 7 November 2016

1. Various shots Robert Durst enters courtroom in a wheel chair and is seated next to his lawyers

ASSOCIATED PRESS

New Orleans, Louisiana, 17 March 2015

2. STILL IMAGE: Robert Durst on back seat of police car

3. STILL IMAGE: Close-up of above

WITNESS: ROBERT DURST VICTIM SAID HE MIGHT KILL HER YEARS EARLIER

A friend of Susan Berman testified that Berman tapped New York real estate heir Robert Durst as her potential killer years before she was executed in her home.

Miriam Barnes' testified Tuesday that Berman once told her, "If anything ever happens to me, Bobby did it."

A nervous Berman had summoned Barnes to her New York apartment around the time Durst's wife vanished to say she had done something that day for Durst, but she wouldn't elaborate. The gravity of what she said next wouldn't sink in until Barnes was at Berman's funeral nearly two decades later.

Barnes, who is expected to face cross-examination Wednesday, was the second witness at the unusual hearing to record testimony in Los Angeles Superior Court from witnesses who are old, ill or fear for their safety and may not be available at Durst's eventual trial.

Durst, 74, has pleaded not guilty to murder in the fatal shooting of Berman in Los Angeles in 2000. Prosecutors allege Durst killed Berman to prevent her from telling police what she knew about Kathleen Durst's mysterious 1982 disappearance.

Barnes, 66, a former film executive now working as a psychiatric social worker, never went to police because she feared Durst could harm her.

"I knew he was a very wealthy man and he could do whatever he wanted to somebody," said Barnes, who nervously looked over at the diminutive and frail Durst. "I started thinking about his wife and Susan, I started thinking, oh my God, I don't want anything to do with this. I was petrified. I still am."

Barnes eventually told the account to The New York Times because she didn't think Durst would live to see his day in court. She said she regretted that decision and wished she didn't have to testify.

A retired New York detective testified that a few months before Kathleen Durst disappeared, she had frantically banged on a neighbor's balcony window in her pajamas for help and said Robert Durst had beaten her and she feared he would kill her.

James Varian, 77, had interviewed neighbors of the Dursts after the disappearance and retired from the force later that year.

He said he did not recall much of what was written in the reports until he reviewed them, but he remembered the account of Anne Doyle, who lived in the 16th-floor penthouse next to the Dursts.

Doyle said a frightened Kathleen Durst once appeared at her bedroom window and said her husband had a gun and she feared he would kill her, Varian testified.

"Bob had beat her and wants to kill her," Varian said. "That's what Mrs. Doyle told me."

Kathleen Durst said she was afraid to be near any window and hid in the Doyle bathroom for two hours. Eventually, Kevin Doyle calmed her down and spoke with Robert Durst.

Robert Durst did not admit beating his wife, but he told Kevin Doyle he was not mad and that she should come home, Varian said.

Kathleen Durst has never been found. A New York judge last month declared her dead.

A judge hearing the case hasn't yet determined if Durst will stand trial or if the recorded testimony would be admissible at a trial. The defense has objected to the use of hearsay statements.

The video recorded testimony of Barnes and Varian will only be used if they're not available at a future trial.

POOL

FILE: Los Angeles, 7 November 2016

1. Robert Durst enters courtroom in a wheel chair and is seated next to his lawyers

++Off Camera++

2. UPSOUND "We enter a plea of not guilty."

Judge: "Not guilty plea will be entered."

3. Various of judge

4. Tight of Los Angeles County prosecutor

5. Various Durst with attorney Dick De Guerin

6. Wide of judge

7. Tight De Guerin

8. SOUNDBITE Robert Durst, suspect:

"Your honor, I'm willing to waive my rights. I do want to say here and now though, I am not guilty. I did not kill Susan Berman."

Judge: "Thank you. And do you in fact waive those rights at this time?"

Durst: "Yes."

9. Various Durst