Robert Durst
US millionaire is on trial again for murder
Robert Durst on his final murder trial in August.
© Gary Coronado / Pool Los Angeles Times / AP / DPA
In 2003, US millionaire Robert Durst was on trial for the murder of his neighbor, in October he was sentenced to 20 years for the murder of his girlfriend, and now he has to answer again for the murder of his wife.
Almost 40 years after the sensational disappearance of his wife, US millionaire Robert Durst has to stand trial again for murder. The District Attorney’s Office in Westchester, New York, said they have officially filed a lawsuit against Durst over the disappearance of Kathie McCormack Durst in 1982. The case caused quite a stir in the United States at the time, but the body of the then 29-year-old had never been found – and so far no charges had been brought in connection with her disappearance.
District Attorney Miriam Rocah said the newly created unsolved cases division had laid the groundwork for the indictment. Thanks to the incredible hard work of prosecutors, investigators and the FBI, progress has been made in the pursuit of justice for Kathie Durst, her family and victims of domestic violence. “There has been much speculation about this case for nearly four decades, much of it fueled by Robert Durst’s own public statements.”
Rocah was apparently referring to the 2015 HBO documentary “The Jinx,” in which Durst appeared to confess to several murders. He went to the bathroom while he still had a microphone on and said, “You got caught! What the hell did I do? Killed them all, of course,” he said. However, according to media reports, the transcripts of the sound recordings in court showed that the quotations had been merged and edited to put them in a different order and context.
Robert Durst sentenced to 20 years in October
In October, Los Angeles real estate heir, Durst, was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole for the murder of a friend over 20 years ago. He had previously been found guilty by a jury of having shot and killed his friend Susan Berman at her Beverly Hills home over the Christmas period of 2000. Thirst, who suffered from bladder cancer, among other things, appeared sitting in a wheelchair in the courthouse. Most recently, he was also sick with Covid-19. His lawyers announced that they would appeal.
Thirst was also in court earlier. In 2003 he confessed to having killed and dismembered a neighbor in Galveston, Texas, two years earlier. The killing was done in self-defense, he panicked and decided to dismember the body. Durst was acquitted. According to prosecutors, Durst wanted to steal the man’s identity to avoid the investigation into his wife’s disappearance.