INGLEWOOD, CALIF. -- Robert Durst's long, bizarre and deadly run from the law ended when a Los Angeles County jury convicted him in the murder of his best friend more than 20 years ago.
The global pandemic significantly altered the course of the trial, suspending it in March 2020 after only two days of testimony. After a 14-month break, possibly the longest in the U.S. legal system, the case resumed in May for four more months of testimony.The jury found Durst ambushed Berman and killed her because she was a witness to a crime, which prosecutors said was the suspected killing of Kathie Durst, who has never been found.
In many ways, Durst had only himself to blame for an investigation that took on new life after he rejected the advice of lawyers and everyone he knew to participate in an incriminating documentary about his apparent bad luck of having people close to him go missing or get knocked off. Durst's decision to testify in his own defense -- hoping for a repeat of his acquittal in the Texas killing -- backfired as he was forced to admit lying under oath, made damning admissions and had his credibility destroyed when questioned for nine days by Lewin.
He fled a life of luxury to Galveston, Texas, where he rented a cheap apartment as "Dorothy Ciner," a woman he pretended couldn't speak. He eventually dropped the disguise after mishaps that included igniting his wig at a bar while lighting a cigarette. Durst was acquitted after testifying the 71-year-old was killed in a struggle for the gun. Durst then chopped up Black's body and tossed it out to sea. He was convicted of destroying evidence for discarding the body parts.
He came to deeply regret his decision after "The Jinx" aired on HBO in 2015, calling it a "very, very, very big mistake."
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