'The Jinx - The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst' on HBO (6 Viewers)

[Ken H]

From The Associated Press

Dead wife’s relatives seek part of Robert Durst’s fortune

By BRIAN MELLEY, January 15, 2022

LOS ANGELES

A quest for the fortune left behind by multimillionaire murderer Robert Durst is underway just days after his death.

A lawyer for the family of his first wife, who vanished and was declared legally dead, notified the real estate tycoon’s trust that it would be seeking more than $100 million from Durst’s estate and widow.

Attorney Robert Abrams told The Associated Press he would soon be filing a new wrongful death lawsuit against the estate and would renew legal actions against others he has claimed helped cover up the killing of Kathie McCormack Durst four decades ago.

Durst, 78, died Monday in a California hospital while serving a life sentence for shooting his best friend, Susan Berman, in the back of the head at her Los Angeles home in 2000. He was facing second-degree murder charges in New York for his wife’s alleged slaying.

A Los Angeles County jury convicted Durst of first-degree murder in September on the theory he silenced Berman as she planned to tell authorities she provided a phony alibi to help him get away with killing Kathie Durst in New York inA quest for the fortune left behind by multimillionaire murderer Robert Durst is underway just days after his death.

A lawyer for the family of his first wife, who vanished and was declared legally dead, notified the real estate tycoon’s trust that it would be seeking more than $100 million from Durst’s estate and widow.

Attorney Robert Abrams told The Associated Press he would soon be filing a new wrongful death lawsuit against the estate and would renew legal actions against others he has claimed helped cover up the killing of Kathie McCormack Durst four decades ago.

Durst, 78, died Monday in a California hospital while serving a life sentence for shooting his best friend, Susan Berman, in the back of the head at her Los Angeles home in 2000. He was facing second-degree murder charges in New York for his wife’s alleged slaying.

A Los Angeles County jury convicted Durst of first-degree murder in September on the theory he silenced Berman as she planned to tell authorities she provided a phony alibi to help him get away with killing Kathie Durst in New York in 1982.

Abrams sent a letter Tuesday to a lawyer who is co-trustee warning not to distribute money from the trust or destroy any records.

He singled out Durst’s second wife, Debrah Charatan, whom he said is believed to be either the sole or primary beneficiary of a trust worth tens of millions of dollars.

Echoing allegations Abrams made in a 2017 lawsuit that remains under appeal, he said Charatan quietly married Durst in 2000 to help him evade authorities after the investigation into Kathie Durst’s disappearance was reopened.

“We’re not about to let Debrah Charatan dissolve the trust and get tens of millions of dollars more,” Abrams said. “You don’t get tens of millions of dollars in America for covering up a murder.”

Charatan has never been charged with a crime in the case and her attorneys said in court papers in 2019 that she bears no responsibility related to Kathie Durst’s disappearance, which occurred six years before she met Robert Durst.

Attorney Scott Epstein said the lawsuit was based on rumor “more suitable for a work of fiction.”

“The plaintiffs’ claims are at best an example of the most extreme form of speculation and at worst nothing more than a thinly veiled attempt to publicly embarrass and extort money from Ms. Charatan, an innocent party, who is perceived by the plaintiffs as a deep pocket,” Epstein wrote.

The lawsuit against Charatan and others was thrown out because it was filed after a deadline expired, though it’s being appealed.

Epstein did not immediately respond to a phone message seeking comment. A woman who answered a phone listed in Charatan’s name hung up when an AP reporter called for comment on Friday.

Attorney Gary Freidman, the co-trustee who Abrams addressed his three-page letter to, declined to comment.

Durst’s deadly turn from a wealthy life of ease to a series of bizarre and bungled runs from the law became tabloid fodder and the focus of a feature film and a six-part documentary.

He was long estranged from his family, which controls one of New York’s largest commercial real estate firms, owns several New York skyscrapers and runs One World Trade Center.

After an acrimonious legal dispute, he was bought out of The Durst Organization and his family trust in 2006 for tens of millions of dollars, his brother, Douglas Durst, who runs the company, testified. Prosecutors estimated Robert Durst was worth about $100 million.

The McCormack family’s previous lawsuit against Durst for wrongful death was also tossed because it was filed too late.

They can revive the lawsuit under New York law because Durst was charged last year with murder in the case, Abrams said.

Robert Durst was the last person to see Kathie Durst alive on Jan. 31, 1982. Her body was never been found and she was finally declared legally dead in 2017.

During his LA trial, Durst testified he didn’t kill his wife and didn’t know what happened to her. He also denied killing Berman, though he said if he had killed either woman, he would lie about it.

Abrams’ letter to the trust was akin to a restraining order, essentially saying “we don’t want you paying anyone anything until we get to the bottom of this,” said Matt Hunter, a New York estate attorney.

“Wife No. 1’s estate is trying to glom onto to whatever wife No. 2 is entitled to through either Robert’s estate or Robert’s trust,” said Hunter, who has no role in the case.

Durst married Charatan in December 2000 while he was hiding from New York authorities. The previous lawsuit against Charatan said she handled his finances so he could lay low.

Berman, who told friends in late 2000 she was planning to speak with investigators, was killed about two weeks after they wed.

Durst eventually returned to a low-rent Galveston, Texas, apartment where had holed up disguised as a woman unable to speak. In September 2001, he killed his elderly next door neighbor, Morris Black, chopped up his body and tossed it out to sea.

He was acquitted after testifying that Black, who he had befriended, had pulled a gun on him and it accidentally fired during a struggle for the weapon. He was convicted of tampering with evidence for disposing of the body.

Abrams plans a news conference on the 40th anniversary of Kathie Durst’s disappearance later this month to reveal more evidence he uncovered.

He said he will file legal actions against others, including and Charatan and Durst family members whom he said also helped hide what they knew about Kathie Durst’s slaying.

A spokesperson for The Durst Organization said Abrams has a reputation for bringing unsupported claims, naming the company or Douglas Durst more than 30 times in court filings in the past two years.

“Mr. Abrams has a long history of leveling hollow, baseless attacks without ever providing a single shred of documentation to substantiate his wild claims,” Jordan Barowitz said. “Time and time again, these accusations have been summarily dismissed and thrown out by the courts.”

Associated Press journalist Michael R. Sisak in New York contributed to this report.

Dead wife's relatives seek part of Robert Durst's fortune

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A quest for the fortune left behind by multimillionaire murderer Robert Durst is underway just days after his death.

apnews.com

 

[Ken H]

From The Associated Press

DA: There were ‘missed opportunities’ to go after Durst

By JENNIFER PELTZ, January 19, 2022

NEW YORK (AP) — Authorities decades ago blew chances to build a case against multimillionaire Robert Durst in the death of his first wife, a suburban New York prosecutor said Wednesday after Durst’s death in a California hospital lockup last week quashed a case that took nearly 40 years to bring.

Westchester District Attorney Mimi Rocah cited “tunnel vision” — and underscored that she wasn’t “putting blame anywhere” — for investigative shortcomings that she recapped in a report on her office’s recent re-investigation of the 1982 disappearance of Kathie McCormack Durst. The renewed probe led to a murder indictment this past fall against her incarcerated former husband, a New York real estate heir who for years deflected suspicion in her death and another killing — and beat a murder charge in a third — before a 2015 documentary put him on a path to prison.

Rocah said her inquiry turned up some new witnesses and physical evidence that corroborated elements of the case, and that her office had re-interviewed some witnesses who were “more forthcoming than before,” but she didn’t elaborate.

Noting that grand jury secrecy laws prevent divulging some of what investigators learned, the report essentially reviewed facts that already had emerged publicly.

“Some missed opportunities by law enforcement officials directing the early stages of the investigation may have contributed to delays in bringing the charges in this case,” Rocah, a Democrat, said at a news conference. She added that authorities now “can and must learn from this,” particularly for future investigations involving rich, powerful and high-profile people.

An attorney for Kathie Durst’s family blasted the DA’s remarks as an attempt “to explain away how money, power, and influence allowed a killer to escape justice” and called on Rocah to resign.

“All the evidence that was needed to prove that Robert Durst killed Kathleen beyond a reasonable doubt was available in 1982,” the lawyer, Robert Abrams, said in an interview.

Durst always maintained that he last saw his then-wife when he dropped her off in Westchester County for a train to New York City, where they had an apartment and she was in medical school.

Investigators initially let themselves be “guided by Durst’s version of events” despite inconsistencies, Rocah said.

For example, although Durst said the two weren’t having marital problems, one of their Manhattan neighbors told police that his wife had said he had beaten her and repeatedly sought shelter from him in the neighbor’s apartment, once climbing over via their adjacent balconies. Neighbors who he said he had visited in Westchester after dropping her at the train denied that he came over.

Meanwhile, a trash can in the Dursts’ Westchester weekend home held a curious note he’d written: “town dump, bridge, dig, boat, other, shovel, truck or car rental.” A cleaner said she told police that she’d noticed some unusual things — including what she believed was blood on the dishwasher — and that he had told her to dispose of many of his wife’s possessions shortly after she vanished.

Noting that grand jury secrecy laws prevent divulging some of what investigators learned, the report essentially reviewed facts that already had emerged publicly.

“Some missed opportunities by law enforcement officials directing the early stages of the investigation may have contributed to delays in bringing the charges in this case,” Rocah, a Democrat, said at a news conference. She added that authorities now “can and must learn from this,” particularly for future investigations involving rich, powerful and high-profile people.

An attorney for Kathie Durst’s family blasted the DA’s remarks as an attempt “to explain away how money, power, and influence allowed a killer to escape justice” and called on Rocah to resign.

“All the evidence that was needed to prove that Robert Durst killed Kathleen beyond a reasonable doubt was available in 1982,” the lawyer, Robert Abrams, said in an interview.

Durst always maintained that he last saw his then-wife when he dropped her off in Westchester County for a train to New York City, where they had an apartment and she was in medical school.

Investigators initially let themselves be “guided by Durst’s version of events” despite inconsistencies, Rocah said.

For example, although Durst said the two weren’t having marital problems, one of their Manhattan neighbors told police that his wife had said he had beaten her and repeatedly sought shelter from him in the neighbor’s apartment, once climbing over via their adjacent balconies. Neighbors who he said he had visited in Westchester after dropping her at the train denied that he came over.

Meanwhile, a trash can in the Dursts’ Westchester weekend home held a curious note he’d written: “town dump, bridge, dig, boat, other, shovel, truck or car rental.” A cleaner said she told police that she’d noticed some unusual things — including what she believed was blood on the dishwasher — and that he had told her to dispose of many of his wife’s possessions shortly after she vanished.

But police didn’t thoroughly search the Westchester home. The investigation remained focused in Manhattan, where some workers in the couple’s apartment building reported seeing Kathie Durst on the night of her disappearance and the dean at her medical school said he had gotten a phone call from her the next day.

Pressed by prosecutors during the Los Angeles case, the initial lead investigator in New York City, retired Det. Michael Struk, reluctantly admitted several mistakes, saying he wished he had “done other things and more things.” But he said he was “not aware of any evidence that was conclusive” that Durst had killed his wife.

No working phone number or email address for Struk could immediately be found Wednesday. The Westchester district attorney from those days has died.

A re-investigation that the New York State Police and the DA’s office began in 1999 frayed the potential proof that Kathie Durst had gotten to New York City. The building workers said they were mistaken or uncertain about seeing her, and evidence developed that the medical school caller who said she was Kathie Durst was actually Susan Berman, a writer who was Robert Durst’s best friend.

Berman was found slain in her home in her Los Angeles in December 2000, before a New York state police investigator could follow through on plans to interview her.

Durst was convicted in September of killing her, with prosecutors arguing he did so to keep her from incriminating him. He was sentenced to prison for the rest of his life — about three months, as it turned out. He died Jan. 10 after being hospitalized for a variety of ailments.

Rocah said the Los Angeles case paved the legal way for the New York charges.

At his trial, Durst denied he’d killed Berman or his wife, though he also said that if he had, he’d lie about it, and that he’d lied under oath in the past.

Kathie Durst was declared legally dead in 2017, but her body has never been found.

After the investigation was reopened in 1999, Durst took off, pretended to be a mute woman and holed up in Galveston, Texas, where he killed and dismembered neighbor Morris Black in 2001. Durst was acquitted of murder after testifying that he was defending himself, but prosecutors in his Los Angeles trial argued that Black was killed for realizing who his neighbor really was.

Then the 2015 HBO documentary series “The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst” revealed an envelope that connected him to the scene of Berman’s killing and captured him making incriminating statements — most famously a muttered “killed them all, of course.”

Durst later testified he was using methamphetamine during the interviews and deeply regretted doing them.

Associated Press writer Brian Melley contributed from Los Angeles.

DA: There were 'missed opportunities' to go after Durst

A prosecutor in suburban New York says authorities decades ago blew chances to build a case against multimillionaire Robert Durst in the death of his first wife.

apnews.com

 

[Ken H]

From The Guardian

Family of Robert Durst’s first wife sues second wife for wrongful death

Dani Anguiano, Feburary 1, 2022

The lawsuit alleges Debrah Lee Charatan, who stands to collect millions from Durst’s estate, helped him avoid justice for years

The family of Kathie McCormack Durst, the first wife of the late disgraced real estate heir Robert Durst, have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against his second wife.

New York officials charged Durst with the murder of his first wife last year, nearly 40 years after she disappeared under mysterious circumstances. But his death in a California prison, where he was serving a life sentence for the murder of his friend, brought the case to a halt.

Robert Durst was convicted on Friday of murdering his best friend in December 2000.
‘Durst is where he belongs’: Jinx producer says real estate heir wanted to be stopped
Read more

In a lawsuit filed on Monday, the McCormack family alleges that Debrah Lee Charatan, Durst’s second wife who stands to collect millions from his estate, helped him avoid justice for years in connection with McCormack’s death and two other killings.

Charatan is believed to be the sole or primary beneficiary of a trust worth tens of millions of dollars and is now the nominated executor of Durst’s estate, said Robert Abrams, a lawyer for the McCormack family.

The lawyer alleges the money was promised to Charatan in exchange for her help and recently notified Durst’s trust that the McCormack family would be seeking more than $100m from Charatan and Durst’s estate. Filed in federal court on the 40th anniversary of McCormack’s disappearance, the lawsuit seeks damages in excess of $75,000.

Robert Durst died on 10 January in a California hospital while serving a life sentence for shooting his best friend, Susan Berman, in the back of the head at her Los Angeles home in 2000 as she was preparing to tell police what she knew about McCormack’s death. Just weeks after he was sentenced for Berman’s killing, a New York grand jury indicted him on a second-degree murder charge in McCormack’s case.

But the 78-year-old’s death upended both cases, bringing the McCormack charges to a halt and, thanks to a quirk in the California law, seeing the Berman murder conviction rendered void because the case was under appeal when Durst died.

Durst was suspected in his first wife’s disappearance for years, and the Westchester county district attorney’s office has long faced criticism for waiting decades to file charges against him in the matter.

A civil lawsuit against his estate was one of the only remaining legal avenues for McCormack’s family, according to Neama Rahmani, a former federal prosecutor who was not involved in the case.

“No one was willing to prosecute and try the case. Unfortunately, because of this long delay, Kathie Durst and her family will never receive the criminal justice that she deserves,” Rahmani said last month.

The McCormack family previously filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Durst in 2019, but the case was thrown out because it was filed too late. The judge in that case said, however, the case could be revived if Durst were to face criminal charges in connection with his first wife’s death.

McCormack disappeared in 1982 and her body was never found. At the time of disappearance, she was a medical student, who was preparing to become a pediatrician. Her family has said Durst was abusive, and that she had previously required treatment in a hospital for injuries he caused.

Durst married Charatan in December 2000. Abrams alleged in a previous lawsuit, now under appeal, that Charatan wed Durst to help him evade authorities after the investigation into McCormack’s disappearance was reopened.

Charatan has never been charged with a crime in the case, and her lawyers said in court papers in 2019 that she bears no responsibility related to McCormack’s disappearance, which occurred six years before she met Robert Durst.

Attorney Scott Epstein said allegations against her were based on rumor “more suitable for a work of fiction”.

“The plaintiffs’ claims are at best an example of the most extreme form of speculation and at worst nothing more than a thinly veiled attempt to publicly embarrass and extort money from Ms Charatan, an innocent party, who is perceived by the plaintiffs as a deep pocket,” Epstein wrote.

Durst’s suspected involvement in three killings in three states was documented in the 2015 HBO documentary series The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst. The series chronicled McCormack’s disappearance, Berman’s murder and the 2001 death of Durst’s neighbor, Morris Black, in Galveston, Texas, where Durst was hiding out while disguised as a deaf-mute woman.

The Associated Press contributed reporting

Family of Robert Durst’s first wife sues second wife for wrongful death

The lawsuit alleges Debrah Lee Charatan, who stands to collect millions from Durst’s estate, helped him avoid justice for years

www.theguardian.com

 

[Ken H]

From Rolling Stone

Robert Durst’s Death Vacates His California Murder Conviction, But It’s ‘Absurd’ To Say He’s Cleared

“Durst will not stand convicted of murder,” said the DA who prosecuted the case. “The only reason for that is because he died”

By Nancy Dillon & Andrea Marks, January 10, 2022

The Los Angeles prosecutor who spent eight years pursuing Robert Durst before convincing a jury the eccentric millionaire murdered his best friend Susan Berman says it’s “absurd” to suggest the technicality that will posthumously void Durst’s conviction is a victory.

Durst died Monday at age 78, four months after he was convicted of killing Berman execution-style in December 2000. Because he died with his appeal still pending, California law dictates his conviction must be vacated.

“It’s basic law. If your conviction is not final when you die, your conviction is never going to be final,” Durst’s lead lawyer Dick DeGuerin told Rolling Stone. “The appeal is now dead. It’s over. We’ll never have an answer to it, legally.”

DeGuerin, who said his client was suffering from a litany of health woes including bladder cancer, confirmed that Durst filed his notice of appeal and was “in the process of arranging for an appellate lawyer when he died.”

“He’s had a very tough, tortured existence the last decade. Being in jail and being so ill, I didn’t think he was going to survive the trial. He shouldn’t have been tried in his condition,” DeGuerin said.

Deputy District Attorney John Lewin, who prosecuted the case in California, said while it’s true “Durst will not stand convicted of murder,” he’s adamant “the only reason for that is because he died.”

“The evidence is what the evidence is,” he said after convincing 12 jurors that Durst murdered Berman because he wanted to guarantee her silence after she helped him cover his tracks in the 1982 disappearance of his first wife, Kathie Durst.

“I think we demonstrated beyond any reasonable doubt that he murdered Susan Berman, that he did it because she was a witness to his killing of Kathie Durst and that he murdered [his Texas neighbor] Morris Black. And I think that any idea that somehow this mitigates or lessens Bob Durst’s culpability is absurd,” Lewin said.

Beyond vacating his California conviction, Durst’s death on Monday means he’ll no longer face trial in New York’s Westchester County following his Nov. 1 indictment on charges he murdered Kathie.

One well-placed source tells Rolling Stone that Kathie’s family is disappointed the trial won’t happen but still hopeful more details about Kathie’s fate will come to light — even if Durst took her final resting place to his grave.

“I think the family is realistic. Even if [they] had a general area of where she was at, or even exactly where she was at, it’s been 40 years in the ground. At this point, it’s not necessarily as important,” the source said. “Her body parts, at this point, would be so severely decomposed.”

Westchester County DA Miriam Rocah said Monday she empathized with Kathie’s remaining relatives.

“After 40 years spent seeking justice for her death, I know how upsetting this news must be for Kathleen Durst’s family,” Westchester DA Miriam E. Rocah said in a statement Monday. “We had hoped to allow them the opportunity to see Mr. Durst finally face charges for Kathleen’s murder because we know that all families never stop wanting closure, justice and accountability.”

Her office said it planned “to make further information surrounding this case available to the public, to the extent allowed by law, at a press conference in the coming days.”

A lawyer for Kathie’s siblings, meanwhile, said the family was planning a separate press conference for Jan. 31.

“Although Robert Durst has died, the ongoing investigation into those who helped him cover up her murder continues. On January 31, 2022, the 40th anniversary of Kathie’s murder, we will provide a further update. In the interim, please say a prayer for Kathie and his other victims,” lawyer Bob Abrams said.

In March of 2019, Kathie’s sister Carol Bamonte filed a wrongful death complaint in New York alleging Durst killed Kathie because she planned to explore his family’s business dealings. The lawsuit claimed Durst covered up the murder with help from his “crime family.” It singled out Durst’s father Seymour, other Durst Organization representatives, and even Berman with claims they interfered with the investigation by telling police Kathie had a “$1,000-a-week drug habit” and was flunking out of school. The suit was thrown out because the statute of limitations had expired.

Lewin said Monday that he does not believe Durst had any accomplices.

“I’m 100 percent confident that Bob Durst killed Kathie Durst alone, that Bob Durst alone got rid of her body and that Bob Durst alone killed Susan Berman,” he told Rolling Stone. “Any idea or any accusations that other people were involved in committing this crime or in helping Bob get rid of bodies, or in setting up murders, there’s not one iota of evidence that I’ve examined to support it.”

Robert Durst's Death Vacates His California Murder Conviction, But It's 'Absurd' To Say He's Cleared

Since Robert Durst was appealing his murder conviction of Susan Berman when he died, his conviction is technically vacated.

www.rollingstone.com

 

[The Drifter]

RD was a murdering piece of garbage who killed numerous innocent people. He should have been convicted for his crimes many years ago, but due to his wealth (or rather, his family's wealth) he remained a free man. It's obvious that if he had been poor/middle-class & had committed these same crimes, he would have been in prison many years ago.

This latest technicality means nothing. We all know he was guilty of not just one heinous crime, but many heinous crimes.

 

[Ken H]

This latest technicality means nothing. We all know he was guilty of not just one heinous crime, but many heinous crimes.

I couldn't agree more. I've always had a theory that Durst was involved in many more crimes than we will ever know.

After The Jinx in 2015 when his notoriety was at its peak, the FBI encouraged local law enforcement to check their cold case files to see if a link to Durst existed. They had already created an informal task force in 2012 to work with authorities in locations where Durst was known to have lived, including Vermont, New York, and California. Texas private investigator Bobbi Bacha traced Durst operating under stolen identities in Texas, Florida, Massachusetts, New Jersey, South Carolina, Mississippi, and Virginia.

Days after the Berman murder, police were examining connections between Durst and the disappearances of 18-year-old Lynne Schulze from Middlebury, Vermont, and 16-year-old Karen Mitchell from Eureka, California. Investigators were also considering possible connection between Durst and the disappearance of 18-year-old Kristen Modafferi, who was last seen in San Francisco in 1997. In all three cases Durst was known to have been in the areas at the time of the disappearances.

 

[Ken H]

Excerpted from News 12 Westchester

Federal judge blocks Robert Durst's wife from touching his $100M estate

Tara Rosenblum, Mar 17, 2022

A federal judge in the Southern District of New York has blocked Debrah Lee Charatan, the wife of convicted killer Robert Durst, from touching his $100 million estate. A complaint of wrongful death was filed by the family of Kathleen Durst (McCormack), Durst's first wife who disappeared in 1982.

It's a extremely rare legal decision that's being called a win for the family of Kathie Durst.

Durst Organization real estate heir Robert Durst sued his family and won over $65 million in 2006 for his share of the family business. At the time of his arrest for the Berman murder he was estimated to be worth over $100 million, with real estate acquisitions that appreciated in value since being purchased.

He was indicted last November for the murder of his first wife. Durst, who was convicted and in prison for the 2000 murder of his best friend Susan Berman in California, died in January 2022 before going on trial for murder the third time. Besides Berman and his first wife, Durst also was accused of murdering his neighbor Morris Black in while on the lam in Galveston, TX. He was acquitted of the murder charge but took a plea deal for bail jumping and evidence tampering after he admitted dismembering Black's body.

The court documents say Charatan and/or her attorney must appear on March 25th and show cause why the order should not be issued.

The court document can be found here:

 

[Ken H]

On Friday March 18, 2022, ABC's 20/20 did a two hour episode titled The Devil You Know, on the various deaths and disappearances surrounding Robert Durst.

The program is primarily a treasure trove of interviews and comments including from Charles Bagli of the New York Times, Tara Rosenblum of News 12, journalist Lisa DePaulo, a number of Kathie Durst's friends and family dating from current day back to 2001 (from 20/20), friends and relatives of Susan Berman, a friend of Morris Black, Judge Susan Criss from the Morris Black murder trial, police officers from New York State, New York City, Texas, and California, Westchester County DA (at the time) Jeanine Pirro, The Jinx producer Mark Smerling, Durst's lawyer Dick DeGuerin, Durst's ex-best friend Nick Chavin, and more. As might be expected, it's a little dramatic and covers material most reading here are already familiar with, but it's still a powerful story. Worth watching.

It can be seen on ABC.com if you have a cable or satellite pay TV subscription, or on Hulu.

 

[Ken H]

From Psychology Today

Q&A with 4 Journalists Who Covered Killer Robert Durst

By Cathy Scott, March 29, 2022

Robert Durst, a real estate heir, was suspected of three murders and became a fugitive until he was caught in 2001 and confessed to killing his neighbor Morris Black in Galveston, Texas, claiming self-defense. A jury agreed and found him not guilty. A Los Angeles jury last September, however, found Durst guilty in the fatal shooting of his longtime confidant and mob daughter Susan Berman. He was sentenced to life in prison. Then prosecutors in Westchester, N.Y., charged Durst with murder in the disappearance 40 years earlier of his wife Kathie. Durst, 78, worth $100 million, died of cancer this January while in a California prison medical facility.

To celebrate Women’s History Month, four women journalists stand out who covered Durst and his serial killings, namely magazine writer Lisa DePaulo, freelance writer Vanessa Leggett, national broadcast journalist Pat LaLama, and TV 12 investigative reporter Tara Rosenblum. Here are their answers.


Question: When did you become aware of the cases involving Durst?

Lisa DePaulo: I had never even heard of Robert Durst, though I lived in NYC when my editors at New York Magazine called me in early January 2001 to say that Susan Berman had been murdered and could I hop the next plane to LA? Susan was a writer for NY Magazine but she was a bit before my time so I never met her. As the case evolved over the next two decades, I learned more and more about “Bobby,” as Susan called him. She always said, “Bobby, Bobby, wonderful Bobby.” I never met him, but I really wanted to.

Vanessa Leggett: The first I heard of Robert Durst when I was incarcerated at the Federal Detention Center in Houston—the same jail Durst would eventually be in. It was my 135th day in custody for protecting sources on a murder-for-hire case which I was writing a book about. I was in the rec room reading a newspaper and ran across an article about him being arrested in Pennsylvania for shoplifting a sandwich. The facts were jaw dropping.

Pat LaLama: I began my own long journalistic journey with this story when Susan Berman was murdered in 2000. My husband Anthony Brooklier, a criminal defense attorney, and I had many discussions about the case because his father Dominic was "Il Capo" for a time in the Mafia. We spoke often about the consequences of being the child of a mobster. We wondered if that connection spelled doom for Susan. We know now that she was an inconvenient witness in Durst's twisted life.

Tara Rosenblum: My team and I have been covering Durst on and off for about two decades. In the past year, I covered the case weekly. It was the main story I focused on for most of 2021.


Question: Did you ever feel your life was in danger of being targeted by Durst because you were writing about him?

Lisa DePaulo: Friends were worried. I wasn’t. Once, I think around 2015, there was a thing on “Page Six” about Durst seen on the streets of Long Island City near the apartment building where I lived at the time. So many friends said, ‘Are you okay? Stay inside.’ But my gut feeling was, Let me run into him. I have questions to ask.

Vanessa Leggett: I did worry about turning down Durst’s request to meet for lunch. He’d spent weeks trying to set up a meeting with me, messaged me on LinkedIn, asked for my phone number—which I never provided—and tracked me down at work, leaving a message for me during a criminal justice class I was teaching at the University of Houston. I was lecturing on deception detection, ironically a class where I used excerpts from The Jinx. I knew I’d have to meet with him to get him to leave me alone and couldn’t avoid him indefinitely. We lived in the same neighborhood and frequented the same Starbucks. I didn’t want to tick off Bob Durst. So, I agreed to meet him, knowing I would never work with him on a story.

Pat LaLama: I believe Robert Durst fancied himself a master of manipulation and intimidation. He glared at several of us in the courtroom during the trial. One day he locked eyes with me as I sat in the second row. I wouldn't call it disarming. I've interviewed serial killers, face to face, on death row. Surreal might be the word that describes the moment I stared back at Durst. I told myself not to be the first to look away. And I wasn't. After about 20 seconds, he spun his chair back around to face the front of the court. He did not scare me.

Tara Rosenblum: I have been at this for a long time and have covered several high-profile criminal cases involving alleged sociopaths. This risk is just inherently part of my job. I did find it highly unusual and telling when Durst's brother showed up to the courthouse in Los Angeles with his own private security detail and stated on the stand that he remained fearful for his life. I think that caused everyone to pause for a moment for those connected to this case.


Question: Did you hold out hope that Durst would eventually be held accountable for his actions?

Lisa DePaulo: Absolutely. I also held out hope that he would tell where Kathie’s remains were before he died. I thought maybe, maybe he would do the right thing at the end. I was actually being interviewed about him when the news broke that he died. My first reaction was, “Darn. We’re never going to know what he did with Kathie.”

Vanessa Leggett: After the shocking acquittal in Galveston, I assumed Durst would never be brought to justice. In my opinion, he wasn’t. There was supposed to be justice for Kathie. The only reason Susan Berman and Morris Black had to die was because they could tie Durst to Kathie's disappearance. It makes me sad for the McCormack family that there was no justice for Kathie. The McCormacks waited 40 years for Durst to be convicted, but Kathie was just a footnote at the trial for Susan Berman's murder. I wouldn't call that justice.

Pat LaLama: I can't honestly say that I ever hold out hope that anyone is held accountable. Perhaps when I was a correspondent with the original “America's Most Wanted with John Walsh” I may have felt that way. The reporter's role involved an aspect of advocacy, in that we wanted to help police get the bad guy. But in straight journalism, my only role is to research and tell the story as accurately as possible.

Tara Rosenblum: I have always held out hope above all else that the McCormack family would get some sort of resolution or closure. Kathie's family has suffered unimaginable pain for four decades, and I felt they deserved answers and the chance to hold a proper burial. In the end, he died before the case could make its way to trial in Westchester County. That felt unfair.


Question: Do you consider the Durst murder cases to be one of the most important stories you have written over the span of your career?

Lisa DePaulo: Yes, but there were other murder cases that haunted me more. One was a woman in New Jersey who was stabbed to death on her kitchen floor around Christmas time, with the tree twinkling next to her and her kids’ cereal bowls on the table. I have no doubt who did it, but he was never charged. This was a good 25 years ago, but I think of Janice Bell all the time. I think all of us who cover crime consider every case the most important.

Vanessa Leggett: My meeting with Bob Durst was one of the strangest in my career, and I've interviewed more than a few, including a mass murderer, who didn't seem to blink an eye at taking the lives of women close to them. Even though Durst was my briefest encounter, it was certainly one of the most memorable. I think it's probably that way with anyone who ever sat down with Durst. I'm just glad I was able to walk away.

Pat LaLama: I most definitely believe the Durst case is one of the most fascinating cases I've ever covered. But not the most important. I've covered mass shootings, riots, natural disasters, missing and abused children, sex trafficking, the opioid and fentanyl scourge, and domestic violence. These issues are important. But the Robert Durst saga on its own? Purely sensational and unforgettable.

Tara Rosenblum: Durst was not the most important assignment, but it was the most sensational, bizarre, and fascinating one. I know I will never cover another case like it in my career. I never lost sight of the fact that there were multiple families separated from justice and engulfed in grief.

Q&A with 4 Journalists Who Covered Killer Robert Durst

Four female journalists share their insights and experiences

www.psychologytoday.com

 

[Ken H]

Here is the Westchester County New York District Attorney's report into the disappearance of Kathie Durst, released January 19, 2020.

My take is that with the Berman murder conviction, they decided they had more than a chance to convict Durst of Kathie's murder, too.

 

[Ken H]

It's been eight months since News 12's Tara Rosenblum reported the news that Kathie McCormack Durst's family filed a wrongful death lawsuit in federal court asking the court to award them the estimated $100 million estate Durst was estimated to have at the time of his death in January 2022.

This would prevent Durst's second wife Debrah Lee Charatan from inheriting his estate.

Since this report, there has been no additional news I can find on the lawsuit or status of the inheritance. Eight months.

 

[Ken H]

From The Associated Press

Dead wife’s relatives seek part of Robert Durst’s fortune

By BRIAN MELLEY, January 15, 2022

From News 12 Westchester

Judge green lights Kathie Durst's family to pursue wrongful death suit against estate of Robert Durst, his widow​

By News 12 Staff, Mar 31, 2023

Grieving relatives of Robert Durst first wife's Kathie - who has been missing for more than 40 years - received a major legal victory on Friday.

A federal judge has given the green light for the family of Kathie Durst to pursue a wrongful death lawsuit against the estate of Robert Durst and his widow Debra Charatan, who Kathie’s family has accused of helping cover up her murder.

Kathie’s estate claims that Robert’s second wife, who could receive millions from his estate, helped him avoid justice for years.

She was last seen in 1982 leaving the couple’s home in South Salem, but her body has never been found.

Robert Durst died last year while serving a sentence for killing his best friend, Susan Berman, in 2000.

In his ruling, the judge wrote the lawsuit filed is not untimely because of Robert Durst’s death.
He has scheduled a conference for next month.

Judge green lights Kathie Durst's family to pursue wrongful death suit against estate of Robert Durst, his widow

A federal judge has given the green light for the family of Kathie Durst to pursue a wrongful death lawsuit against the estate of Robert Durst and his widow Debra Charatan, who Kathie’s family has accused of helping cover up her murder.

westchester.news12.com

 

[Ken H]

Excerpted from Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, The A.V. Club, Vanity Fair, Rolling Stone



The Jinx - Part 2 comes to HBO in 2024

HBO announced today The Jinx - Part 2, a six episode sequel covering the eight years since The Jinx originally aired in 2015.

“The Jinx - The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst" was a 6 part HBO miniseries about real estate heir Robert Durst, and the 3 known tragedies of disappearance, murder, and death, of his first wife, best friend, and one time neighbor.

It was nominated for six Emmy awards and won two, for outstanding documentary or nonfiction series and outstanding picture editing for nonfiction programming.

After the fact, it was learned the producers altered the sequence of the final episode's audio recording of Durst lamenting what new evidence he was shown, unseen in a bathroom not knowing his mic was still hot and recording him. General opinion is that the comments were damning regardless of the sequence.

Since then, the team behind “The Jinx” have continued their investigation and found more hidden material, Durst’s prison calls and new interviews. The new interviews are expected to be interesting in light of the fact Durst himself is no longer around to inhibit the various people in his circle of family, friends, and acquaintances.

The production is underway, but hindered by the recent entertainment industry labor disputes. The current schedule calls for a planned 2024 release.

The original director and executive producer Andrew Jarecki will once again have dual responsibilities, along with producers Zac Stuart-Pontier and Kyle Martin. Also producing again is A Hit The Ground Running Productions.

Additional producers include Charlotte Kaufman and Sam Neave, while Richard Hankin and Susan Lazarus co-produce. Nancy Abraham, Lisa Heller and Sara Rodriguez executive produce for HBO.

Sources tell me we can expect to see the participation of Charles V. Bagli, the New York Times real estate columnist who reported on the family owned Durst Organization and Robert Durst for decades.

 

[Ken H]

In other Robert Durst news:

The previously mentioned federal lawsuit filed in February 2022 by Durst’s first wife Kathie McCormack Durst's family, is proceeding. It disputes Durst's second wife Debrah Lee Charatan’s claim to his ~$100 million dollar estate.

In March of this year, a federal judge ruled the lawsuit could proceed based on the timing of Durst's death.
Currently, depositions are being taken and discovery is in progress.

 

[Ken H]

Oxygen Network presents Prosecuting Evil with Kelly Seigler, “Justice Is Green”, which gives her spin on the crimes of Robert Durst. Airs on Saturday, January 20, 2024, at 8 p.m. ET.

 

[Ken H]

'The Jinx - Part Two' on HBO / MAX April 21, 2024​

As just announced on Lifehacker, HBO / MAX will present 'The Jinx - Part Two' beginning April 21, 2024.

Last fall, the network announced that The Jinx - Part Two was in production. The six-episode sequel to the hit 2015 HBO miniseries, which investigated the crimes of Robert Durst, is from the same production company and director Andrew Jarecki.

Durst was a one time heir to the Durst family NY real estate fortune, valued at over $8 billion dollars. He was associated with the disappearance of his first wife in Westchester, NY, execution style death of his best friend in Beverly Hills, CA, and death and dismemberment of a neighbor while living disguised as a woman in Galveston,TX. He was ultimately convicted of murder in the CA case in 2021, indited for murder in the NY case just before his death in 2022, and found not guilty of murder in 2004 with a self defense plea, but guilty of tampering with evidence after dismembering the body and bail jumping in the TX case.

The original series ended with Durst’s shocking hot mic admission, “Killed them all, of course,” after the filmmakers uncovered evidence of his crimes. Durst was later arrested in a New Orleans hotel lobby in 2015 on the day the final episode of the original HBO miniseries aired. Since then, the team behind 'The Jinx' have continued their investigation, and found more hidden material, Durst’s prison calls and new interviews.

 

[Ken H]

 

[Ken H]

The Jinx Part 2 on HBO and MAX

S2 E1
Chapter 7: Why are you still here?

Warning: Spoilers to follow.

The first new episode of The Jinx in 9 years picks up where the last episode left off, but in real time. The opening scene takes place the day after Durst was arrested in New Orleans, Louisiana in 2015 by the FBI for the murder of Durst's best friend Susan Berman in 2000. Berman's body was found in her Beverly Hills, CA home, murdered execution style with a single gun shot through the back of the head. The arrest took place the day before the last episode of Part 1 aired on HBO. John Lewin, the Los Angeles DA who specializes in cold cases, upon hearing that Durst was arrested, immediately flew to NOLA to interview Durst. For reasons that make no sense to anyone, Durst decides to talk with Lewin for almost three hours with no lawyer in sight.

The point of showing the interview is to once again reinforce what anyone who has been following this story already knows; Robert Durst was his own worst enemy. He just couldn’t keep his mouth shut. Exactly the same as years ago when he started telling friends, attorneys, and his wife, about agreeing to talk to the producers of The Jinx and be interviewed, and everyone tells him no way, do not do it.

The first person who visits Durst in jail is his second wife Debrah Lee Charatan. This contradicts previous reporting that said Charatan broke off all contact with Durst after seeing the last episode of Part 1; this was obviously completely wrong. They discuss and agree on Durst's decision to again hire Dick DeGuerin to lead his defense, like he did in the Morris Black case in Texas, and DeGurein's decision to bring on David Chesnoff, a noted Las Vegas criminal defense attorney. This shows that not much has changed between Durst and his wife in the 14 years between his murder arrests in Texas and Louisiana. He is in jail and she is there supporting him.

More evidence of the consistency of Durst’s relationships is noted by the volume and explicitness of the jailhouse calls he makes to his friends about the latest predicament he finds himself in. Even though Durst knows the calls are being recorded and are available to law enforcement, he blabs away. All of the calls, roughly over 10, have a couple of things in common. One, Durst is reaching out to his network of friends for support, and two, every single response is 100% in support to do anything they can to help Durst. Nothing short of amazing, considering that Durst has just been indicted for murder for the second time.

The most moving scene takes place at Jinx director Andrew Jarecki’s house. Jarecki gathered about 20 people to watch the final episode of Part 1 in 2015, including the family of Durst’s first wife who disappeared, Kathie McCormick Durst. At the gathering is a niece of Kathie’s that looks like the spitting image of her. Also in attendance is Galveston, TX detective Cody Cazalas, who was an investigator on the Morris Black murder case, and former Westchester County, NY District Attorney and Fox News personality Jeanine Pirro. Pirro wanted to indict Durst for Kathie’s disappearance, but never did for what she claimed was lack of evidence. The reactions are consistently amazed, as everyone hears Durst makes his bathroom confessions.

Another bizarre aspect of the scene was seeing Pirro and Cazalas sitting together watching at the time they were romantically involved with each other.

The episode spends quite a bit of time with participants giving their insights of various aspects of their involvement. Including Durst attorneys DeGuerin and Chesnoff, New York Times reporter Charles V. Bagli, who’s spent over 20 years reporting on the Durst cases, and former Judge Susan Criss who was on the bench for the Black case in Texas.

Side bar, not addressed in Episode 7: Durst’s second wife Debrah Lee Charatan is currently involved in a legal battle with the family of Durst’s first wife Kathie McCormack Durst. The McCormack family filed a federal court wrongful death suit for Durst’s entire estate. At stake is an estimated $110 million, although depending on the appreciation of commercial real estate properties that Durst invested in, could be substantially more. A judge ruled in March 2023 that the lawsuit could proceed based on the timing of Durst's death. Depositions were taken and discovery was in progress.

All in all an interesting start to what is expected to be an entertaining Part 2.

 

[The Drifter]

In preparation for the new Jinx mini-series, I recently re-watched the original 2015 six-part documentary series. Again, this was excellent & IMHO one of the best true crime docs. I've ever seen.

Several points:

If RD had been poor/middle-class & his first wife had disappeared under the same circumstances that occurred in this case, it seems evident that he would have gotten arrested not long after she vanished. She had already warned others about him; it's obvious she wouldn't have just disappeared without letting someone know what was going on; she had an important class she was taking that she completely missed out on; etc. I.e., people without a lot of $ to pay for expensive lawyers have been put in jail for a lot less than this. And, I completely agree that this isn't fair at all.

I'm appalled - but unfortunately not surprised - that the jury in TX found Durst "not guilty" re: this heinous & grotesque 2001 MB crime. This is especially egregious, considering what Durst did to Black. But, he had an expensive/high-powered lawyer & was part of a wealthy/powerful/influential family. And, that says it all.

I find it odd that RD agreed to do the series/interviews with AJ (for this doc.) to begin with. He obviously didn't need the $ & definitely did not come across sympathetically on camera. I suspect he did this to try to "clear his name". But, agreeing to be interviewed for the series had the exact opposite result. Very ironic. And, I suspect that if he hadn't agreed to do the show - he probably would never have been arrested. Wow. Common sense definitely seems lost on some people.

I still need to see the 20XX film "All Good Things", which is based on RD & these crimes.

 

[Ken H]

In preparation for the new Jinx mini-series, I recently re-watched the original 2015 six-part documentary series. Again, this was excellent & IMHO one of the best true crime docs. I've ever seen.

By far the best I've ever seen.

If RD had been poor/middle-class & his first wife had disappeared under the same circumstances that occurred in this case, it seems evident that he would have gotten arrested not long after she vanished. She had already warned others about him; it's obvious she wouldn't have just disappeared without letting someone know what was going on; she had an important class she was taking that she completely missed out on; etc. I.e., people without a lot of $ to pay for expensive lawyers have been put in jail for a lot less than this. And, I completely agree that this isn't fair at all.

I believe the situation was very different. One, when Kathie disappeared, Durst only had family lawyers, which he didn't use, like or trust, until he was arrested in Texas decades later. Two, Durst had a story that on the surface looked good, and the subsequent poor police work didn't even bother to check any part of it. Was this because Durst was known to be rich? Not from what the NYPD said. It wasn't known who Durst was until he offered the $100,000 reward a week or so after Kathie disappeared, which shortly after got reduced to $15,000. Even at that point the case was already going cold. Three, the friend he later killed, Susan Berman, called the medical school on Monday that Kathie was supposed to go to in Manhattan, and said she was sick and wasn't going to be there. This alleviated any suspicion on Durst who was still at their main home in Westchester. Four, Durst made the missing persons police report in Manhattan, and again poor police work took this at face value and the investigation never made it to Westchester County. No one was ever interviewed there until decades later, and there was no contact between the NYPD and law enforcement in Westchester, which is where their primary residence was, and the crime occurred. Further, this is in spite of the fact a number of Kathie's friends told police in both NYC and Westchester that Durst must have had something to do with her disappearance, and the fact she had filed domestic abuse reports with the police.

I'm appalled - but unfortunately not surprised - that the jury in TX found Durst "not guilty" re: this heinous & grotesque 2001 MB crime. This is especially egregious, considering what Durst did to Black. But, he had an expensive/high-powered lawyer & was part of a wealthy/powerful/influential family. And, that says it all.

Yes, now I agree 100% with you. Durst's lead attorney for the Morris Black Trial, Dick DeGuerin, held multiple test trials to decide what defense to use for Durst. And if I remember correctly, the bill for legal services was over $6 million. I read recently that just before the trial Durst actually asked the court to let him fire his entire legal team because they gave him a bill for roughly an additional $500,000. Apperently the issue got settled, but can you imagine arguing with the people who are trying to save your life over $500,000, when your estimated net worth is north of $110,000,000? Crazy!

I find it odd that RD agreed to do the series/interviews with AJ (for this doc.) to begin with. He obviously didn't need the $ & definitely did not come across sympathetically on camera. I suspect he did this to try to "clear his name". But, agreeing to be interviewed for the series had the exact opposite result. Very ironic. And, I suspect that if he hadn't agreed to do the show - he probably would never have been arrested. Wow. Common sense definitely seems lost on some people.

According to Durst, the whole idea of his participating in The Jinx was to at least get his side of the story out. Jarecki said initially he and Durst bonded more or less, and it wasn't until the series was long in the can and Chapter 4 aired that Durst started to question what was happening. And hopefully take some of the stigma off of being suspected of having something to do with the disappearance, which apperently made him an outcast of sorts with the rich and wealthy set in NYC, which he had been part of.

I still need to see the 20XX film "All Good Things", which is based on RD & these crimes.

Yes, this is where it all started. Be sure to see the version with the additional Durst being interviewed by Jarecki content.