[103] On November 16, 2015, a New Orleans federal judge ordered Durst rearraigned on the weapons charges and scheduled a hearing for December 17. After two dates, he invited McCormack to share his home in Vermont, where she moved in January 1972. [18][35] In 2016, McCormack's family asked to have Kathleen declared legally dead, a request that was granted the following year. Then in November 2021, Durst was indicted for the death of his first wife. His defense team argued at trial that the diagnosis explained his behavior. In a March 2015 New York Times interview, however, his brother Douglas denied that Robert had witnessed her death. Gary Coronado/Los . He was 78 and serving a life sentence for the execution-style murder of his close friend Susan Berman at a state prison for ailing inmates in Stockton. A murder charge in New York appears to be moot. Capital crimes for which Durst has been investigated, Disappearance of Kathleen McCormack Durst, The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, "US multimillionaire Robert Durst receives life in prison for killing best friend", "Robert Durst, Real Estate Scion Convicted as a Killer, Dies at 78", The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles, "Seymour B. Durst, Real-Estate Developer Who Led Growth on West Side, Dies at 81", "Woman Suicide Foils Rescuers in Death Leap", "A Durst Sibling Recounts the Violent Ripples Below a Charming Surface", "Robert Durst admits lying about wife's disappearance on HBO", "A Two-Decade Spiral Into Suspicion; Long After Wife Disappears, Heir Vanishes After Texas Murder", "Robert Durst Biographer Matt Birkbeck on What The Jinx Got Wrong", "Alum's Deadly Decisions: The killer story that inspired the new movie, 'All Good Things', "Millionaire Fugitive Has Been Caught, but Mysteries Remain", "New York Real Estate: Douglas Durst Takes Helm to Change City Landscape", "NYC real-estate mogul: My killer brother is a dog-slaying monster", "Robert Durst Found Guilty of Murder After Decades of Suspicion", "That's Me on Screen, but I Still Didn't Do It", "Reopened Mystery: A special report. The McCormack family's attorney, Robert Abrams, called Durst the "poster child" for why courts block defendants from disposing of assets while civil lawsuits are pending. [149], On December 11, 2000,[47] shortly before the Berman killing, Durst married Debrah Lee Charatan. Durst's lawyer, Chip Lewis, said in a statement Monday, "We understand that his death was due to natural causes associated with the litany of medical issues we had repeatedly reported to the court over the last couple of years.". Durst's attorney, Dick DeGuerin, said at the time that the real estate heir was on a ventilator. Robert Durst, the multimillionaire who was the focus of the HBO documentary The Jinx and who was found guilty of murdering his friend, died on Monday at a hospital in California, his attorney said. He claimed self-defence at his 2003 trial, and was acquitted after arguing that he fled because he thought his story would not be believed. Robert Durst, the New York City real estate heir who was convicted of murdering his friend Susan Berman, has died in prison, his attorney confirmed to CBS News. Nine years later, Kathleen McCormack Durst disappeared, and suspicion quickly fell on her husband after he gave police conflicting accounts about when he last saw her and after investigators learned that she had been talking about a divorce. [9][18], At the time of her disappearance, McCormack was a student in her fourth and final year at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in The Bronx, studying to be a pediatrician; she was only a few months short of earning her degree. [51], On October 9, 2001, Durst was arrested in Galveston shortly after body parts belonging to his elderly neighbor, Morris Black, were found floating in Galveston Bay. [14] Due to Durst's inappropriate conduct, however, his father broke tradition and appointed Douglas to take over the Durst Organization in 1992. His trial had been delayed for more than a year due to the Covid pandemic. [20], After McCormack's disappearance, the New York City Police Department (NYPD) said that Durst had claimed to have last spoken to her when she called him from the Riverside Drive apartment. [27][28], McCormack had been treated at the Bronx's Jacobi Medical Center for facial bruises three weeks before her disappearance. [25][26] Only three weeks after Durst reported McCormack missing, the superintendent at the Riverside Drive apartment found her possessions in the building's trash compactor. [129][130] One of the jurors was dismissed for ignoring court instructions to not follow the trial in the news during the pandemic break. Durst had been pursued by investigators for decades in multiple deaths. Video, At the crash site of 'no hope' - BBC reporter in Greece, Record numbers of guide dog volunteers after BBC story. Perhaps most importantly, one of Durst's long-time friends, Nick Chavin, testified that Durst told him, "I had to. [73][74] Durst, who had been tracked to the hotel after making two calls to check his voicemail,[75] was observed wandering aimlessly in the lobby and mumbling to himself, having driven to New Orleans from Houston four days before. [180] McCormack's brother James had attempted in October 2015 to file a wrongful death suit against Durst on behalf of his mother, but was challenged by one of his sisters, who holds her mother's power of attorney. hospitalized in October 2021 with COVID-19. Durst, 78, was sentenced to life in prison in October 2021 for the first-degree murder of his friend, Susan Berman, who was shot and killed in 2000 in her Los Angeles home. [135] Durst appeared on the stand for fourteen days, under questioning from Lewin, who gave seemingly endless examples of Durst's propensity to lie. Durst, who is 78 and in poor health, still has two years to serve in prison for violating federal gun laws at the time of his arrest for the Berman murder in 2015. [75][102], Durst's attorneys requested a later date for the federal weapons trial, saying they would need more time to prepare after rulings on pending motions. (Video: Reuters) Article First, there was. [61] As of 2021, the Durst family's real estate holdings are worth more than $8 billion, but Durst's brother Douglas has been in control of the Durst Organization since the early 1990s. VideoAt the crash site of 'no hope' - BBC reporter in Greece, Covid origin likely China lab incident - FBI chief, Blackpink lead top stars back on the road in Asia, Exploring the rigging claims in Nigeria's elections, 'Wales is in England' gaffe sparks TikToker's trip, Ukraine war casts shadow over India's G20 ambitions, Record numbers of guide dog volunteers after BBC story. The convicted murderer was serving his life in prison jail term when he died. [75][76][77][78], In addition to a .38 caliber revolver loaded with four live rounds and one spent shell casing, police recovered five ounces of marijuana, Durst's birth certificate and passport, maps of Louisiana, Florida, and Cuba,[73][79] a "flesh-toned" latex mask,[75] the fake Texas I.D. "Heir Divorced His Missing Wife 11 Years Ago", "Family wants Robert Durst's missing ex declared dead", "Thirty-six years after her disappearance, Kathie Durst's family continues to fight for justice", "Family accuses Robert Durst of killing wife Kathleen in suit", "Family of Still-Missing Kathleen McCormack, Robert Durst's First Wife, Sues Him for $100 Million", "35 Years Later, Sister in Durst Case Is Still Looking for Answers", "Lawsuit accusing Robert Durst of killing his wife thrown out", "Appeals Court Adjusts Death Date in Case of Robert Durst's Wife", "Prosecutors reopen former CT college student Kathie Durst's case as Robert Durst faces homicide trial in California", "Westchester DA to impanel grand jury on disappearance of Robert Durst's wife", "Anonymous note suggests Durst link to pal's LA murder", "Did Robert Durst's nemesis ignore clues before following his trail to California? He was released on $250,000 bail, missed a court hearing on October 16, and a warrant was issued for his arrest on a charge of bail jumping. [11][12] He enrolled in a doctoral program at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) later that year, where he met Susan Berman, but eventually withdrew from the school and returned to New York in 1969. Robert Durst, who was convicted of murdering his best friend and had been charged with killing his first wife, has died at 78, PEOPLE confirms through . [142], Although the FBI ultimately could not connect Durst to the Long Island serial murders (in which some victims were disposed of in a similar manner to the Black killing), the bureau created an informal task force in 2012 to work with investigative agencies in jurisdictions where Durst was known to have lived in past decades, including Vermont, New York, and California. [89] Later that same day, Louisiana State Police filed charges against Durst for being a felon in possession of a firearm and for possession of a firearm with a controlled substance, forestalling his immediate return to California. [23][20][21], Although the couple are known to have argued and fought that evening,[18] Durst initially maintained that he placed his wife on a commuter train to New York City at Katonah station, had a drink with a neighbor, and spoke to his wife at their Manhattan apartment by telephone later that evening. Robert Durst is escorted into Orleans Parish Prison after his arraignment in Orleans Parish Criminal District Court in New Orleans on March 17, 2015. [105][106], Durst (BOP Number 45101-079) was originally placed in the United States Penitentiary in Terre Haute, Indiana, but was later transferred to a Los Angeles County Jail while awaiting trial in the Berman killing. Robert Durst was long estranged from his family and his brother, Douglas Durst, is currently the chairman of the Durst Organization. Real estate heir Robert Durst, who was sentenced Oct. 14 to life in prison for a 2000 murder, is on a ventilator, his lawyer told the Los Angeles Times. "I came back from vacation and I was putting my . Durst claimed to have shot him accidentally, before going on to dismember his body and dump the parts in Galveston Bay. It is always difficult saying goodbye to someone we love and cherish. Durst died on January 10 after suffering from cardiac arrest while serving his life sentence. [180] If successful, the lawsuit would potentially relieve Durst's estate of most or all of the fortune he inherited. Durst was unable to dress himself and was in court in his wheelchair, jail uniform, with catheter bag and covered in a large blanket. After he posted $300,000 bail, Durst took off and was re-arrested a month later at a Pennsylvania grocery store after he was caught trying to shoplift a chicken salad sandwich and other items, even though he had $500 cash in his pocket. Durst was charged with misdemeanor criminal mischief. In rare legal decision, Federal judge in NY essentially", "Law & Order: SVU: Two-hour premiere to explore Robert Durst case", "Watch Improv Show From Saturday Night Live", "Mugshots: Robert Durst Mogul in Murder Mystery", "What to Watch on Saturday: Lifetime's Robert Durst movie, Larry David on 'SNL', "Robert Durst Movie In Works At Lifetime", "Robert Durst: An ID Murder Mystery | Investigation Discovery", "The Jurors Who Acquitted O.J., Robert Durst, Michael Jackson and George Zimmerman Speak", A Deadly Secret: The Strange Disappearance of Kathie Durst, Murder of a Mafia Daughter: The Life and Tragic Death of Susan Berman, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Robert_Durst&oldid=1141811562, American businesspeople convicted of crimes, American prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment, Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in California, Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by California, University of California, Los Angeles alumni, Articles with dead external links from October 2022, Articles with permanently dead external links, Articles with unsourced statements from October 2019, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles with unsourced statements from January 2022, Wikipedia articles needing clarification from October 2021, Wikipedia articles in need of updating from June 2022, All Wikipedia articles in need of updating, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Life imprisonment without parole (2021 conviction), Tampering with evidence and bail jumping 60 months (2004). 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