Robert Durst sentenced to life without parole

Robert Durst, the notorious millionaire real estate heir and subject of HBO docuseries “The Jinx,” was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the murder of his longtime friend Susan Berman.

During the sentencing hearing, the victim’s son, Sareb Kaufman described his mother as an “eccentric, vivacious and generous to a fault. Often needy and phobic, a force of nature, but extremely smart and witty." Deni Marcus, lifelong friend, said Berman was an “absolutely extraordinary unforgettable, brilliant person whose life was tragically taken from her.”

Durst, who is afflicted with bladder cancer and other physical ailments, appeared even more frail-looking during today’s hearing, slumped down in his wheelchair, wearing a medical mask, with the back of his hair standing up like he had been in bed. He offered no statement to the court prior to his sentence being handed down.

How we got here: A Los Angeles jury convicted Durst of committing the 2000 murder, which prosecutors proved was Durst’s way of preventing Berman from telling police about his role in the 1982 disappearance of his first wife, Kathleen McCormack Durst. Berman was scheduled to meet with police the day after she was killed. To this day, her body has never been found.

“By telling where Kathie is, perhaps you can find some small redemption in an act of humanity,” Berman’s son urged Durst. “You didn't just murder Kathie, or Morris [Black], or Susan, you also murdered me and murdered the person I was — all his dreams and all his hopes, gone.”

Judge Mark Windham began the hearing by denying a defense motion for a new trial by laying out at least five ways Durst’s guilt was proven beyond a reasonable doubt, including his comments to trial witness Nick Chavin, the infamous “cadaver note” that Durst admitted to writing, and Durst’s pursuit of a plea bargain.

Durst, resting back in his wheelchair, kept his eyes on an iPad showing a transcript of the judge’s words as Windham handed down sentence. A restitution hearing will be held at a later date.

The sensational murder trial, which initially began in March 2020, was postponed for more than a year after just two weeks of testimony due to the Covid-19 pandemic. After resuming in May, testimony was frequently delayed and trudged on for more than 15 weeks. 

Durst spent 15 days on the stand testifying in his own defense.

A number of jurors attended the sentencing, with one telling CNN, “It’s been a long two years.” They declined to comment further.

Andrew Jarecki, producer of HBO’s “The Jinx,” also attended. An audio recording from the series in which Durst could be heard muttering off camera “killed them all, of course,” was another key piece of evidence presented to jurors.

Durst’s defense attorneys plan to file an appeal.

Los Angeles Country Judge Mark Windham described Susan Berman today as "an extraordinary human being" moments before he sentenced Robert Durst to life in prison without parole for her murder.

"As Susan Berman's family has reminded us...in a way that we couldn't have know without them addressing this court, Susan Berman was an extraordinary human being," he said, speaking moments after various members of Berman's family read their victim impact statements.

"I personally wish I could have known her," Windham said. "I feel I got to know her vicariously far too late and under terrible circumstances, but she was an extraordinary human being and killing her was a terrible loss to our community."

Millionaire real estate heir Robert Durst has been sentenced to life in prison without parole.

Durst, the subject of the HBO crime documentary "The Jinx," was found guilty last month of killing his best friend more than 20 years ago

A Los Angeles jury agreed the crime met "special circumstances" in California law, which would allow Durst to be sentenced to life without parole, for the murder of a witness to a crime, lying in wait and using a firearm in the murder. California has a moratorium on the death penalty.

Durst, 78, took the stand in his defense during the sensational trial in Los Angeles County Superior Court. He denied killing Berman and said he found her on the floor of her bedroom with a fatal gunshot to the back of the head.

Susan Berman's son, Sareb Kaufman, read a statement today to the court on the devastating impact her murder had on him, and wondered how his life might have been better if Robert Durst had not killed her.

"I can't tell you what life would have been if she hadn't been murdered," Kaufman told the court. "...All I can say is that at 47, I am still in the same type of job, I never advanced, no wife, no children and almost no family because of what Robert Durst has done."

Kaufman went on to describe the misery he had lived in since her death, saying there had not been a single day that she has not been at the center of every "thought, feeling choice and breath I take." 

"I have not had one day off in almost 21 years from the absolute destruction and pain that this had caused me, my mind body and soul tortured by the effect this has had on me for every second for 21 years," he said.

"I go to sleep angry, wake up angry, eat and drink angry," Kaufman added. 

"I cant describe the PTSD or the nervous breakdown I am still trying to recover from, the extreme stress, depression and anxiety that fills my days," he said.

Various members of Susan Berman's family are reading statements in court ahead of the sentencing of Robert Durst.

The millionaire real estate heir was found guilty last month of first-degree murder for the execution-style killing of his best friend Susan Berman.

Durst, who was the subject of the HBO crime documentary "The Jinx," is in court, in a wheelchair, listening to the statements.

He will soon be sentenced for the murder that took place more than 20 years ago.

Millionaire real estate heir Robert Durst appeared in court today for his sentencing following his conviction for first-degree murder.

Durst did not appear in court last month when a Los Angeles jury found him guilty of killing his best friend, Susan Berman, more than 20 years ago.

His attorney Dick DeGuerin said his absence was due to a recent exposure to someone with Covid-19.

Durst, who is afflicted with bladder cancer and other physical ailments, appeared even more frail-looking during today’s hearing, slumped down in his wheelchair, wearing a medical mask, with the back of his hair standing up like he had been in bed.

A number of jurors attended the sentencing, with one telling CNN, “It’s been a long two years.” They declined to comment further.

Court is now in session for the sentencing of Robert Durst.

The millionaire real estate heir, also the subject of the HBO crime documentary "The Jinx," will be sentenced today for killing his best friend, Susan Berman, more than 20 years ago.

A Los Angeles jury found Durst guilty of first-degree murder in September.

Millionaire real estate heir Robert Durst, the subject of the HBO crime documentary "The Jinx," was found guilty last month of killing his best friend more than 20 years ago.

Here's everything you need to know about his case:

• His wife's disappearance: Durst's first wife, Kathleen McCormack, was on her way to medical school in New York when she vanished in 1982. Before her disappearance, McCormack had told her close relatives and friends that her husband had abused her physically during their marriage. However, in a case over a decade later, Durst testified that he "put her on the train in Westchester to go into the city that evening" and never saw her again. Despite a cloud of suspicion over the years, Durst has never been arrested for her disappearance.
• His friend's death: Susan Berman, a crime writer, was a longtime friend of Durst. Berman, who had helped handle Durst's public relations after his wife's disappearance, had written books about her family's mafia ties and had faced financial troubles. Prosecutors say Durst gave Berman money for covering his wife's disappearance. In 2000, investigators reopened the 1982 disappearance case of Durst's wife and wanted to speak with Berman about it in Los Angeles. Days before the meeting, Berman was found dead in her living room. However, police did not find Berman on their own. An anonymous letter was sent to police with Berman's address and the word "cadaver." A police handwriting analysis said the writing on that card looked like Durst’s, but police didn’t have enough evidence to arrest him at the time. However, in 2015, Durst was eventually accused of killing Berman and was arrested due to evidence from an HBO documentary series. In 2019, Durst's attorneys confirmed he is indeed the author of the anonymous note but still maintained his innocence.
• His neighbor's murder: In 2001, after the deaths of McCormack and Berman, Durst said he was facing scrutiny. Thus, the millionaire moved to the coastal Texas city of Galveston. There, Durst had gotten into a scuffle with his neighbor, Morris Black, and admitted to shooting and killing him in 2003. While prosecutors said Durst planned Black’s killing to steal his identity, defense attorneys said Black snuck into Durst’s apartment. According to the attorneys, Durst accidentally shot him as both men struggled for a gun. Then, Durst testified that he panicked and decided to cut up Black’s body and throw away the pieces. Though acquitted of murder for self-defense, Durst later served nine months in prison on felony weapons charges stemming from the Texas case.
• The documentary's impact: Following the last shot for the finale of the HBO documentary series “The Jinx," Durst went into the bathroom, apparently not realizing his microphone was still on. “There it is. You’re caught,” he said. He then rambled a series of seemingly unrelated sentences before saying, “He was right. I was wrong.” Then, he added: “What the hell did I do? Killed them all, of course.” According to Susan Criss, a former Texas District Court judge, this was the third time Durst had accidentally revealed incriminating information while wearing a microphone. Moreover, Durst's attorney said he believed his client's arrest was deliberately timed to the HBO documentary's finale. Cold-case specialist John Lewin asked Durst why he hadn't fled before the documentary aired, especially after filmmakers confronted him with incriminating evidence. "I guess inertia," Durst replied. "l just didn't really, really, really think that (I) was gonna end up arrested."
• Recent evidence: Nathan "Nick" Chavin told the court at the 2017 pretrial hearing for Berman's case that Durst was the best man at his wedding. Chavin said Berman admitted to him that Durst killed his wife. He also told the court that Durst confessed to him in 2014 that he killed Berman to keep her quiet. Furthermore, one of Berman's friends, Hollywood producer Lynda Obst, said that Berman told her that she had played a role in covering up Durst's wife's disappearance. In 1982, when Durst's wife went missing, a school official received a call from a woman saying she was McCormack, according to Lewin. The caller said she was sick and wouldn't make it that day. "Susan Berman disclosed she made the call," Lewin said.

A Los Angeles jury found Robert Durst, the notorious subject of the HBO series "The Jinx," guilty of first-degree murder for the killing of his best friend, Susan Berman, more than 20 years ago.

Durst has been charged with the first-degree murder of Berman in 2000 at her Beverly Hills home, hours before she was set to talk to investigators about the mysterious disappearance of his first wife, Kathleen McCormack Durst, who was last seen in 1982.

McCormack Durst was declared legally dead in 2017. Her body has not been found and no one has been charged in the case.

Jurors also agreed the crime met "special circumstances" in California law, which would allow Durst to be sentenced to life without parole, for the murder of a witness to a crime, lying in wait and using a firearm in the murder. California has a moratorium on the death penalty.

"The jury's decision demonstrates how our legal system can work to hold accountable people regardless of their wealth and status in life," District Attorney George Gascón said. "I want to commend our prosecution team and investigators for their diligent work to ultimately bring justice for those who have been waiting more than 20 years."

Durst, 78, took the stand in his defense during the sensational trial in Los Angeles County Superior Court. He denied killing Berman and said he found her on the floor of her bedroom with a fatal gunshot to the back of the head.

Defense Attorney Dick DeGuerin said he was very disappointed by the verdict.

"We fought hard, but we came in second," he said.

Durst was not in court to hear the verdict due to recent exposure to someone with Covid-19. He remains in quarantine after one of his drivers tested positive for the coronavirus, DeGuerin said.

He said he was unable to reach Durst to relay the verdict to him.

"We are extremely gratified and appreciative of the verdict that the jury reached in this case," lead prosecutor John Lewin said afterward. He called Durst a "narcissistic psychopath" and added, "He got a lot more of a life than he was entitled to."