Guilty, Guilty, Guilty

 I wrote that word three times to denote the number of victims killer Robert Durst is known to have murdered over the years including his first wife Kathie and fellow Galveston boarder Morris Black.  The third time was the charm today when a Los Angeles jury found the previously lucky killer finally guilty, in this case of his friend from college Susan Berman, who was an author and a mobster's daughter.  He killed her in 1980, allegedly because she knew too much about the details of Durst murdering his ex-wife and had planned to go to authorities.  Durst shot her dead execution style.  Durst, however, has one foot in the grave and another on a banana peel being in terrible health at the age of 78.  

The HBO documentary The Jinx was credited for bringing his crimes to light and especially of reviving the Berman case thanks to new evidence.

"Life" in prison given Durst's age and health probably won't be that long.

link

He did take the stand in his own defense, but it was for naught.

Will the "Jinx" Get Away With It Again?

Millionaire acquitted murderer Robert Durst, 76 and damned near on death's door, is expected to stand trial for the 2000 murder of writer and longtime friend Susan Berman early next year.  We will see if he gets away with murder yet again.

Durst, as most people know, is believed to have murdered his first wife, Kathie McCormack Durst, back in 1982 and either dumped or had somebody dump her body in an undisclosed location.  Her body was never found.  He was considered the prime suspect because he was very controlling of Kathie and did not at all support her ambition to become a pediatrician.  She was just months from getting her M.D. when she disappeared after a party in early 1982.  No doubt he wasn't going to let her have the life she wanted.  Reportedly Durst had been cheating on her with Mia Farrow's sister, Prudence, and had been involved with her for three years.  Durst had a separate apartment.     However, there was no evidence connecting him at all with Kathie's disappearance.

Years went by with Durst seemingly disappearing off the radar.   Then Durst was connected to the death of  mob daughter and writer Susan Berman.  They had been friends for many decades, since they attended college at U.C.L.A.  A paper trail, including car rentals, found him going from Eureka, California, (where he is allegedly linked to one or murders in the region) to L.A. at the time of Berman's death.  Most observers believe she knew too much about Kathie's murder and tipped off authorities.   Durst is alleged to have shot her in the back of the head to make sure she never talked again.  He is scheduled to go on trial for her murder on January 13, 2020.

I had followed his saga for years, especially during his trial and acquittal for the murder of Morris Black, who Durst shot, dismembered, and  dumped Black's body parts in Galveston Bay, Texas, back in 2001.    I made a bunch of posts and links to the case because it was so fascinating the same way the despicable T. Cullen Davis case was.  Durst admitted he killed Black, but he said it was in "self-defense."  Obviously it wasn't, but Black's head was never recovered in the search, and therefore the jury could not determine whether Black was indeed killed in a struggle or was shot in the head like Berman was, which would have indicated premeditation or at least a crime of passion.  The biggest problem with the Black case was the defense made sure the only options the jury had were either Murder One or acquittal.  This was in fact a second-degree murder case or manslaughter, with the added crime of abusing a corpse, and, if those options had been made available to the jury, Durst would no doubt have been convicted.  The jury felt without the head, they had no choice but to acquit this guilty man.  It was a slightly less outrageous acquittal than the cases of O.J. Simpson or T. Cullen Davis, but it was still an injustice regardless.

HBO's The Jinx covered all this in its excellent documentary of a couple of years ago and featured the added bonus of recording Durst muttering he "killed them all" while in the men's room.  This admission helped in getting Durst tried for the murder of Susan Berman.  It remains to be seen whether he gets away with this murder or if he finally gets convicted, assuming he is still alive in January.