Accused of the murder of his wife and a friend, which took place in 1982 and 2000, already acquitted in a third case in which he was justified with self-defense, he has always denied
NEW YORK — Alla fine, 40 years after the death of his first wife, probably killed by him, 20 after the death of Susan Berman, his friend and perhaps an accomplice in the first crime, and the killing (admitted but justified with self-defense) of a tramp, Morris Black, who had become his friend, billionaire Robert Durst was found guilty of first degree murder of Berman from a Los Angeles courthouse. A daring trial concluded by the defender’s desperate appeal to the jury: Durst hateful and liar, but not a murderer. End of a case that seems to come from the pen of a noir novelist, so compelling to push the net HBO to produce a documentary, The Jinx, the life and deaths of Robert Durst, broadcast around the world six years ago.
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Kathie McKormack, Durst’s handsome young wife, it disappears on January 31, 1982 and will never be found again (declared dead only in 2017). From the beginning her family accuses Durst: they were married in 1973, but the marriage had been in crisis for some time. For there is no evidence. Durst entrusts Susan Berman, a journalist who is the daughter of a Las Vegas Mafia boss, its relations with the press. Over time, she becomes the billionaire’s friend and confidant. For a few years he goes to live in New York, then returns to Los Angeles, but the relationship continues. Until on Christmas Eve 2000 when Susan is found dead in a pool of blood at his Beverly Hills mansion. The police arrive alerted by a note in which an anonymous hand had written Berman’s address and one word: corpse. Suspected of having eliminated her because he knew the truth about Kathie’s death and was about to reveal it to the police who had summoned her in those days, Durst denies any responsibility. He also denies having been to Los Angeles, then disappears from circulation.
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He takes refuge in Galveston, Texas, where he even lives disguised as a woman. There he meets Morris whose corpse is later found torn to pieces in the city bay. Durst continues to do strange things: he is arrested in a supermarket while, with his pockets full of dollars, he tries to steal a sandwich and a plaster. Indicted, admits to killing Black (perhaps he too knew too much by now), but claims he defended himself from an attack and tore him to pieces because he panicked. The jury takes his version for granted and acquits him. In 2015 Durst got himself into trouble agreeing to appear in a documentary dedicated to the case. At some point, not realizing that a microphone on, he says, between six: Well, what was I supposed to do? Of course I killed them all. Case reopened, trial started and postponed for 14 months due to Covid. His defenders argue that Durst’s words were edited into the documentary in order to make him appear guilty. In the courtroom another twist: Durst forced to admit that at Christmas 2000 he was in Los Angeles, went to Susan’s house and found her dead on payment: it was he who wrote the anonymous note.
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For the prosecution the decisive test, for the defense only yet another unfortunate circumstance of a hateful and liar character who is always in the wrong place, at the wrong time. This time the jury believes the accusation even if there is no direct evidence. For Durst, 78 and cancer patient, life imprisonment. At the reading of the sentence he was not present: in solitary confinement for Covid. End of the story? Not said: Douglas, the brother of Robert, could still appear, who today manages in his stead an 8 billion dollar real estate (New York buildings). In an interception a few years ago Durst says that depending on how the trials went, it could also have involved his brother in the case of the disappearance of the first wife. Partner in crime?
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September 18, 2021 (change September 18, 2021 | 21:25)
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