US millionaire
He evaded the law for decades: the notorious murderer Robert Durst is dead
Robert Durst on trial in 2016
© Jae C. Hong / Pool / AP POOL / DPA
He dismembered his neighbor and has been linked to his wife’s disappearance. Robert Durst was sentenced to life imprisonment in autumn 2021 for another murder 20 years ago. Now the US millionaire has died.
In October he was sentenced to life imprisonment, now he is dead. According to his lawyer, the notorious murderer Robert Durst has died. The US millionaire died on Monday at the age of 78 in California, as defense attorney Chip Lewis announced on request. Durst was in custody of the judiciary and died of natural causes.
“I killed them all”
Probably the most famous sentences by Robert Durst were never actually intended for the public. After an interview for a documentary series, the eccentric US millionaire’s lapel microphone went unnoticed while he went to the bathroom. Between the rush of water and the crumpling of paper, he spoke to himself. “The time has come. They have you. What a disaster,” muttered Durst during the recordings for the 2015 HBO documentary series “The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst “. “What the hell did I do? Sure – I killed them all.”
The muttered sentences made America hold its breath – and gave new impetus to the investigation into the thirst, which had been suspected of being murdered for decades. Last fall, the son of one of New York’s best-known luxury real estate dynasties was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole for the murder of a friend more than 20 years ago. Another murder charge against Durst was filed shortly thereafter – almost 40 years after the spectacular disappearance of his wife.
But this process will no longer happen. Durst was in custody of the judiciary and died on Monday of natural causes. The millionaire had been in poor health for a long time. Thirst, who suffered from bladder cancer among other things, appeared in the court in a wheelchair, and in the meantime he was also sick with Covid-19.
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Durst’s own family lived in agony of him
Born in New York in 1943, the story of Durst is creepy but also tragic: As the eldest son of a New York real estate dynasty, he was certain of a life of wealth, but luck never came along. His mother died when he was seven years old. He argued constantly with his brother Douglas – and the conflict escalated when his father preferred Douglas to the older Robert, who was supposed to be the successor to the head of the family empire.
Most recently, Robert Durst had been completely at odds with the rest of his family. Douglas Durst once told the New York Times that he had always been sure that his brother was guilty of the murders – and that he was afraid of him. “I have absolutely no doubt that – if he had the chance – he would kill me.”
Robert Durst has been linked to three murders: In 1982, his wife Kathleen McCormack disappeared without a trace in the US state of Vermont. The police assume that she is dead, even if the body of the then 29-year-old was never found. In 2000, Durst’s close friend Susan Berman was discovered murdered in her California home. Body parts of Morris Black, then a neighbor of Durst in Texas, were found a year later.
Durst dismembered his neighbor – and was acquitted
In all three cases, Durst was suspected and questioned several times – but not convicted for a long time. In the case of Black’s murder, he went to court but was acquitted. Durst confessed to having killed and dismembered the neighbor. According to prosecutors, Durst wanted to steal the man’s identity to avoid the investigation into his wife’s disappearance. The killing was carried out in self-defense, thirst defended himself – and was right.
Then he tried again and again to escape the judicial authorities – fled across the United States, checked into hotels under false names and is said to have even disguised himself as a deaf woman at times. It was only last year that this crime thriller came to an end with the conviction for the murder of Susan Berman. The jury considered it proven that Thirst shot her to death at her Beverly Hills home over the Christmas period of 2000.
The famous sentences from the HBO documentary started this murder trial – but the guilty verdict was ultimately not based on it. The transcripts of the sound recordings in court showed media reports that the quotations had been merged and edited to put them in a different order and context.