Robert Durst, a convicted killer and heir to a real estate fortune in New York, has died in a California prison at age 78, reports the New York Post. Durst was serving a life sentence for murdering his longtime friend Susan Berman, and he was subsequently indicted in the 1982 slaying of his wife, Kathleen. Durst died in a state prison hospital facility in Stockton, his attorney Chip Lewis said, per the AP. He said it was from natural causes due to a number of health issues. Durst was convicted in September of shooting Berman at point-blank range in 2000 at her Los Angeles home. He was sentenced to life Oct. 14. Two days later, he was hospitalized with COVID-19.
Durst had long been suspected of killing his wife, who went missing in 1982 and has been declared legally dead. He was finally indicted in November for second-degree murder in her death. Prosecutors in Los Angeles presented evidence Durst silenced Berman because she helped him cover up Kathie’s killing and was about to talk to investigators. They also argued he killed a Texas man who discovered his identity when he was living secretly in Galveston after Berman’s killing. Durst was acquitted of murder in that case in 2003, after testifying he shot him in self-defense.
Durst discussed the cases and made several damning statements including a stunning confession during an unguarded moment in the six-part HBO documentary series The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst. The show made his name known to a new generation and brought renewed scrutiny and suspicion from authorities. He was arrested in Berman’s killing the night before the final episode, which closed with him mumbling to himself in a bathroom while still wearing hot mic saying: “You’re caught! What the hell did I do? Killed them all, of course.” (More Robert Durst stories.)
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