Late last night billionaire NYC real-estate heir Robert Durst was arrested in New Orleans on a warrant issued from Los Angeles for the murder of Susan Berman in 2000. According to The New York Times, he'd checked into a New Orleans hotel under a false name, and was appearing to flee potential questioning. Durst was on the lam after an HBO series unearthed some new evidence that possibly linked him to the "Beverley Hills" murder.
Durst was also a prime suspect in the disappearance of his wife, Kathleen, in 1982, and th murder of a neighbor in Texas in 2001. Count 'em, three possible murders. At the end of the six-part HBO documentary series, The Jinx, a series that allowed Durst to tell his own story—and he tells it indeed. In the bathroom, still mic'd up, Durst had a conversation with himself and says, "What did I do? I killed them all, of course."
Director Andrew Jarecki confronted Durst with a letter that was sent to the police department to alert them to a body in "Beverley Hills" and a letter that Berman's stepson found that was addressed to his stepmother, from Durst, with Beverly Hills similarly misspelled, and similarly block-lettered. When Jarecki pointed out that Durst thought he wrote the wrong one, that prompted a strange burp from Durst. Who then excused himself to the bathroom.
There it is. You're caught. You're right, of course. But you can't imagine. Arrest him. I don't know what's in the house. Oh, I want this. What a disaster. He was right. I was wrong. And the burping. I'm having difficulty with the question. What the hell did I do? Killed them all, of course.
UPDATE: Durst waived his right to contest an extradition to Los Angeles during a court appearance in Louisiana on Monday. He will be relocated to Los Angeles to be questioned, and potentially charged with the murder of Ms. Berman in 2000.
"Police and prosecutors would not comment on what led them to accuse Durst now. But one source involved in the recent deliberations, who requested anonymity because of the ongoing investigation, said the documentary had played a role" according to the Los Angeles Times.
“As a result of investigative leads and additional evidence that has come to light in the past year, investigators have identified Robert Durst as the person responsible for Ms. Berman's death,” the LAPD said in a statement issued Sunday.
