Multi-Million Dollar Real Estate Heir and Subject of HBO's 'The Jinx' Robert Durst ARRESTED for Murder in New Orleans Amid His Decade Old Connection to Three Unsolved and Suspicious Deaths
- Real estate heir, 71, arrested with out of state warrant from Los Angeles
- Show about his suspected LA killing of Susan Berman in 2000 airs tonight
- Victim was to be questioned about 1982 disappearance of Durst's wife
- Durst went on trial for 2001 killing of Morris Black but was acquitted
Daily Mail UK, 15 March 2015
Real-estate heir Robert Durst, 71, the subject of the HBO documentary The Jinx,was arrested in New Orleans on Sunday with an out-of-state warrant issued by the Los Angeles County police, pictured center last night.
Durst has been suspected of killing his friend Susan Berman in Los Angeles in 2000, pictured bottom right, and suspected of foul play in the 1982 disappearance of his first wife Kathleen, pictured with him top right. Durst was tried in the grisly 2001 murder of his neighbor Morris Black in Galveston Texas but was found not guilty after claiming the killing was in self-defense.
Durst whose family own huge swathes of million-dollar Manhattan real estate has been the subject of HBO series The Jinx and answered questions about his involvement in the suspicious deaths for the first time, publicity poster left. It is unclear if his appearance on the ongoing series is related to his arrest.
Real-estate heir Robert Durst, who is thought to be linked to three killings, was arrested in New Orleans on Sunday.
A warrant issued by the Los Angeles Police Department was used to arrest the 71-year-old millionaire.
He was arrested around 8pm Saturday night at the JW Marriot on a probably cause warrant for the Beverly Hills murder of his friend Susan Berman in 2000, FBI Los Angeles spokesman Laura Eimiller told Daily Mail Online.
Durst has long been suspected of killing Ms Berman, and is the subject of the recent HBO documentary miniseries The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst.
Ms Emiller said that Mr Durst had been living at the hotel and was recognized in the building's lobby by agents after discussions about his arrest between the FBI, LA police and local authorities had been going on for the last couple of days.
Robert Durst, (pictured) 71, was arrested in New Orleans Saturday night with an out-of-state warrant from Los Angeles County
Durst was questioned in 2000 after the death of his longtime friend and elderly neighbor Susan Berman, who was going to speak to police about the disappearance of Kathleen McCormack (top, with Durst)
Durst's lawyer Chip Lewis said that his client would not fight extradition to California and he is expected to be in court on Monday
'He's maintained his innocence for years,' Mr Lewis said. 'Nothing has changed.'
'It's all about Hollywood now,' he said, adding that the arrest was probably orchestrated by the entertainment industry.
The show has stirred up interested in the case again after her stepson Sareb Kaufman gave the filmmakers a letter from Durst to his mother a year before her death from a gunshot wound to the back of the head.
It has similar handwriting and the same spelling mistake as one sent to police alerting them of her murder right before Christmas.
Some suspect that Ms Berman played a role in the disappearance of Dursts's wife Kathleen
Authorities in Los Angeles, who have long thought Durst sent the murder letter, have reopened the investigation into Ms Berman's murder after receiving the letter.
The killing took place right before she was scheduled to be questioned about the 1982 disappearance of Durst's first wife Kathleen McCormack in New York.
Mr Lewis said he had 'no doubt we will present a most compelling defense' in the case against his client.
Berman, whose father was a mafia boss, was seen as acting as Durst's unofficial spokesman after his wife's disappearance, in which the heir was suspected by many of foul play.
Some have also thought that Ms Berman helped Durst bury Ms McCormack in New Jersey
Durst, who has spoken openly to the HBO series, said that he was 'complicit in Kathie's not being here' last month.
He also admitted to forcing her to have an abortion in 1976 and physically abusing her.
The millionaire was tried in the grisly 2001 murder of his neighbor Morris Black in Texas.
He was found not guilty in 2003 after claiming the killing was in self-defense, but he admitted to dismembering the body, putting it in bags and dumping it in Galveston Bay.
Durst had moved to Texas and was pretending to be a mute woman named Dorothy Ciner at the time of the killing.
Durst was arrested in Pennsylvania for trying to steal a chicken sandwich while jumping bail before his trial for the murder of Morris Black (top)
Durst was found not guilty in the 2000 killing of Morris Black in Galveston, Texas, but he admitted to dismembering the body
The suspected early 2000s murders followed Durst's estrangement from his family, which are heirs to the real estate fortune amassed by his father New York developer Seymour Durst.
Robert did not take up tee reigns of his father's empire, which were instead given to his younger brother Douglas.
The estranged Durst later regained $65 million in a court settlement with his family.
Beyond the HBO documentary, his life is the inspiration for the movie All Good Things, which was also directed by The Jinx's filmmaker Andrew Jarecki.
His bizarre cases have captivated audiences with his eccentricities, which have included dressing up in fake mustaches while a fugitive.
Durst divorced Kathleen McCormack (top) in 1990, angering her family by not telling them. He remarried to Debrah Lee Charatan (bottom during his 2003 trial) in December 2000, shortly before Susan Berman was killed
He was arrested for the Black trial after he shaved all the hair and eyebrows, skipped town on $300,000 bail and was arrested in Pennsylvania for trying to steal a chicken sandwich despite the fact that he was carrying money.
He served about three years in prison for his bail offense.
He was fined $500 last year after peeing on a candy rack at a Houston CVS pharmacy in July.
Durst has remarried to Debrah Lee Charatan, who is seen on the HBO show, on December 11, 2000, shortly before Ms Berman died.
He divorced Ms McCormack in 1990, angering her family by not reaching out to them.
His net worth was estimated to be just under $100million earlier this year,
Forbes estimates that the Durst family has $4.4billion.
The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst, which delves into the 2000 murder of Susan Berman, will air its sixth and final episode tonight on HBO
Durst (pictured) said that he shot Black with a handgun (pictured) in self-defense during a 2001 altercation, and was found not guilty of murder
His net worth was estimated to be just under $100million earlier this year
Forbes estimates that the Durst family has $4.4billion.
Robert Durst is the Subject of HBO's 'The Jinx' Documentary