Robert Durst has been charged with first-degree murder for allegedly killing Susan Berman 15 years ago. The NYC real estate heir, who was the focus of HBO’s documentary miniseries The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst, was charged on Monday, March 16, by the Los Angeles County District Attorney after being arrested over the weekend in New Orleans.
According to documents obtained by Us Weekly, prosecutors allege that Durst was “lying in wait” when he shot and killed Berman, his close friend, in 2000 because she “was a witness to a crime” involving the disappearance of Durst’s wife Kathie. As detailed in the HBO documentary, Berman was a close confidant of Durst’s and was planning to talk to investigators about the 1982 disappearance of his wife before her death.
The verdict comes after the finale of the HBO miniseries broadcasted Durst seemingly admitting to the murders. “There it is. You're caught. What the hell did I do?” Durst was caught saying on his microphone in a bathroom. “Killed them all, of course.”
The millionaire heir was arrested Saturday in a New Orleans hotel, where he had been staying under a false name and with a fake driver’s license. According to New Orleans Police Department records, Durst was also carrying a gun. According to CNN, authorities now believe that Durst was preparing to flee to Cuba.
Durst’s lawyers, however, deny that he had anything to do with Berman’s death. "Bob Durst didn't kill Susan Berman," his lawyers told reporters Monday. "He's ready to end all the rumor and speculation and have a trial."
