Editing Robert Durst

{{Important}}
{{Villain Infobox
|image = Robert Durst.jpg
|fullname = Robert Alan Durst
|alias = Bob Durst<br>Everette Ward
|origin = Scarsdale, New York, U.S.
|occupation = Real estate agent
|skills = Wealth
|goals = Kill anyone who can connect him to his wife's disappearance <small>(succeeded)</small><br>Get away with the murder of Susan Berman <small>(failed)</small>
|crimes = [[Murder]]<br>[[Cruelty to animals|Animal cruelty]]<br>[[Domestic Abuse]]<br>Theft<br>Stalking<br>Conspiracy<br>Destruction of evidence<br>Firearm charge
|type of villain = Murderer}}
{{Quote|What the hell did I do? Killed them all, of course.|Robert Durst}}
'''Robert Alan "Bob" Durst''' (April 12, 1943 - January 10, 2022) was an American millionaire and convicted killer. Durst has been speculated to be a serial killer due to his involvement in three mysterious deaths: his wife Kathy, who disappeared in 1982 and was declared dead; his neighbor Morris Black, who he admitted shooting and dismembering but whose death was deemed self-defense; and his best friend Susan Berman, who he was eventually convicted of murdering on September 17, 2021. He was sentenced to life without parole on October 16.

==Biography==
Durst was born in New York in 1943 to a Jewish family, the eldest of three brothers. When he was seven, he allegedly saw his mother die after falling off a roof (while her cause of death is not disputed, it is not known if Durst witnessed the accident). A psychiatrist's report made on Robert when he was ten stated he may suffer from schizophrenia.

At school, Durst was described as a "loner" by classmates, but went on to achieve a bachelor's degree in economics in 1965 from Lehigh University. He later enrolled in UCLA, where he first met his future victim Susan Berman. Durst dropped out of UCLA, but he and Berman remained in contact for years afterwards. Eventually, Robert Durst became a real estate developer in the Durst Organization, founded by his grandfather Joseph. After his brother Douglas took over the company, Robert sued the rest of the family for his share.

In late 1971, Robert met a young woman named Kathleen McCormack who worked as a dentist. They moved in together in 1972 and got married in April 1973. However, it was not a happy marriage; three weeks before she vanished, Kathy was checked into a hospital with facial bruising. She told people that Durst and physically and emotionally abused her and the bruises were caused by Robert beating her. No charges were brought. In response, Robert cancelled her credit cards and refused to pay for her medical tuition. On January 31, 1982, Kathy attended a dinner party, only for Robert to call her. Kathy came home and the two fought. Later that night, Kathy disappeared. Her friend Gilberte Najamy became concerned and called the police; Robert later filed a missing persons report.

The NYPD began investigating Kathy's disappearance. They interviewed Durst and said his story was "full of contradictions", but were unable to arrest him. He had an alibi, provided by none other than Susan Berman. In 1987, Kathleen was declared officially dead. Several lawsuits have been filed against Durst for wrongful death in Kathleen's case, but all were dismissed because of the statute of limitations. Durst eventually married Debrah Lee Charatan.

On December 4, 2000, police received a note informing them of a "cadaver" at an address in Benedict Canyon. Responding officers discovered a dead woman who had been shot execution style with a 9mm handgun. The victim was identified as Susan Berman, Durst's friend who provided him with an alibi after Kathy's disappearance. Police questioned Durst about the murder, and he admitted to sending Berman thousands of dollars. Some have theorized that Berman was blackmailing Durst with the truth about Kathy's disappearance. Durst was not charged.

On October 9, 2001, Durst was finally arrested after body parts belonging to his elderly neighbor, Morris Black, were found floating in Galveston Bay. He was released on $300,000 bail, but jumped and went on the run. During his time as a fugitive, Durst allegedly snuck onto his brother Douglas's property with a gun and stalked him. Eventually, Durst was arrested shoplifting a newspaper and band-aids from a supermarket in Pennsylvania. His reason for doing this is unknown, considering he had $500 in cash in his pocket and another $37,000 in the car. Also in his car were two firearms, directions to Gilberte Najamy's home (he may have intended to kill him too), and Morris Black's driving license. He was extradited to Texas.

While awaiting trial, Durst was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome. His defense team argued that this explained his behavior. Durst entered a plea of self-defense, claiming that Black had stolen his gun and been killed in a struggle. He admitted that he then dismembered Black and disposed of his body parts. Durst pleaded guilty to bail jumping and tampering with evidence, but in a verdict that shocked the country Durst was acquitted of murder. As Black's head was never found, the prosecution could not disprove Durst's account. He was sentenced to five years, requiring him to serve three because of time served. He was paroled on July 15, 2005, but later re-imprisoned for leaving the state (by coincidence, he met the judge who sentenced him in Pennsylvania). He was released in 2006.

In early 2015, HBO released a documentary series titled ''The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst'', detailing circumstantial evidence that linked Durst to the murders of Berman and Kathy. Against the advice of his lawyers, Durst agreed to give several interviews to the makers of the documentary. Nobody expected the series to be particularly groundbreaking. However, during their research the filmmakers spoke to Durst's stepson, who gave them a letter written by Durst in the 1990's. When they examined it, they found the handwriting to be a complete match for the "cadaver" note from 2000. When asked about it, Durst admitted that only the killer could have written the cadaver note but denied writing it, despite being unable to tell them apart. The documentary ended with the moments that followed: Durst entered the bathroom, still wearing his microphone, and said to himself "This is it. You're caught!". He then began rambling to himself, not realizing the microphone was recording, and during his ramblings he was heard to say "What did I do? I killed them all, of course.". Knowing Durst was a flight risk, HBO handed their evidence over to police before they released the finale.

A federal judge signed an arrest warrant for Durst on charges of first-degree murder. On March 14, 2015, Durst was tracked to a hotel in New Orleans after making two phone calls to check his voicemail. He was staying under the name "Everette Ward". Durst was in possession of marijuana, an illegally-obtained firearm, a fake ID card and a latex mask. Bank statements also showed huge cash withdrawals made in the last month. Police believe Durst intended to flee to Cuba, which has no extradition treaty with the US.

Durst pleaded guilty to federal gun charges for his possession of an illegal weapon and received an 85-month prison sentence. Now it was time for him to return to California. His trial began with a preliminary hearing in 2017, and was delayed or stopped in its tracks multiple times by the ailing Durst's many health issues, including bladder cancer, and by the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. The prosecution's main argument was that Durst killed Berman because she knew too much about his wife's disappearance, allowing them to introduce evidence relating to the disappearance of Kathy. Judge Mark Windham also ruled that prosecutors could introduce evidence relating to the death of Morris Black, as Durst was accused of killing him for the same reason.

Over the course of a four-year trial, a wealth of evidence was produced that Durst had killed Berman and Kathy. Nick Chavin, a close friend of Durst, testified that Durst confessed to murdering Berman and said he had "no choice". The evidence from the HBO documentary was also introduced, with Durst's lawyers claiming that the recorded "confession" had been edited by HBO (something which turned out to be partly true). Shockingly, Durst finally confessed that he had written the so-called "cadaver note" back in 2000, claiming that he had found the body and written a note informing police where to find it, but had not come forward for fear of being suspected. Douglas Durst testified that he believed his brother wanted to kill him, and also told the court that during the years Robert Durst was married to Kathy, he had owned a series of seven Alaskan Mameluke dogs, all of which had died suspiciously. As Douglas had previously said in an interview, "I now believe he was practicing killing and disposing [of] his wife with those dogs."

In August 2021, Durst took the stand in his own defense. For fourteen days, he faced questioning from LA County Deputy DA John Lewin, who cross-examined him so rigorously that Judge Windham eventually ordered him to make his closing arguments. Durst did not do a good job of defending himself, reportedly bursting out laughing when recounting the death of Morris Black. Durst also admitted that "there are certain important things I would lie about" and told Lewin that he had lied five times during the trial and once during his previous trial. The proceedings came to an end on September 14, 2021. Three days later, the jury found Robert Alan Durst guilty of the murder of Susan Berman. He was sentenced to life without parole on October 16. 

Shortly after his conviction, the NYPD announced that Kathy's disappearance had been re-opened as a homicide. On October 22, a grand jury officially charged Durst with her murder.

Durst contracted COVID-19 in 2021, which exacerbated other medical conditions. He died of cardiac arrest at the San Joaquin General Hospital in Stockton, California on January 10, 2022, at age 78. He had been undergoing testing at the time. At the time of his death, Durst still remained in the custody of the California Department of Corrections.
[[Category:List]]
[[Category:Wealthy]]
[[Category:Elderly]]
[[Category:United States of America]]
[[Category:Thief]]
[[Category:Criminals]]
[[Category:Serial Killer]]
[[Category:Abusers]]
[[Category:Modern Villains]]
[[Category:Animal Cruelty]]
[[Category:Liars]]
[[Category:Male]]
[[Category:Fugitives]]
[[Category:Imprisoned]]
[[Category:Stalker]]
[[Category:Dimwits]]
[[Category:Mentally Ill]]
[[Category:Destroyer of Innocence]]
[[Category:Mutilators]]
[[Category:Arrogant]]
[[Category:Misogynists]]
[[Category:Suicidal]]
[[Category:Business Leaders]]
[[Category:Adulterers]]
[[Category:Sadists]]
[[Category:Family of Victim]]
[[Category:Deceased]]
[[Category:Weaklings]]