Robert Durst

Robert Durst (born April 12, 1943, New York City, New York, U.S.—died January 10, 2022, Stockton, California) was an American real-estate heir who was a suspect in the 1982 disappearance of his first wife and who was convicted in 2021 of the 2000 murder of a friend; he was acquitted of killing a neighbor in 2003. Durst gained national attention as the subject of the HBO documentary series The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst (2015).

A disappearance and two deaths

Durst was the eldest child of Seymour Durst, whose family owned a prominent real-estate company. Robert studied economics at Lehigh University, and, after graduating in 1965, he attended UCLA, where he became friends with Susan Berman, the daughter of a mobster. Durst later returned to New York City, and in 1973 he married Kathleen McCormack, a dental hygienist. That year he also began to sporadically work at his family’s business. According to various reports, by 1981 Durst’s marriage was unraveling amid allegations that he was violent and controlling. On January 31, 1982, several months before she would have graduated from medical school, Kathleen disappeared. According to Robert, who did not report her missing until February 5, he had taken his wife to the train station in Katonah, New York, so she could return to the city after spending the weekend at the couple’s lakeside home in South Salem. Durst claimed no involvement in her disappearance, and, though his account of events raised questions, several people reported seeing or talking to Kathleen after she supposedly returned to Manhattan. During the media attention, Berman served as Durst’s unofficial spokesperson. Without leads or a body, the case eventually went cold.

Durst continued to be involved in the family business until 1994, when he was passed over as successor to his father. For the rest of the decade, Durst lived in various states, and in 2000 he remarried. In November that year, amid reports that his first wife’s case was being reopened, Durst moved to Galveston, Texas, where he disguised himself as a mute woman and rented an inexpensive apartment. A month later Berman, who was to be interviewed by investigators in Kathleen’s disappearance, was found shot to death. The day her body was discovered, policed received a letter stating that a “cadaver” would be found at her address, which was misspelled as “Beverley Hills.”

Discover the fascinating events that shaped the world, straight from our editors.

SIGN UP

By clicking “Sign Up”, you consent to the Britannica Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

Durst continued to live in Galveston, and on September 28, 2001, he came home to allegedly find his 71-year-old neighbor, Morris Black, in his apartment, watching television. Although the two were friends, Durst claimed that Black pointed a gun at him. He then said that, in fear for his life, he began struggling with his neighbor, and Black was fatally shot. Worried that he would be accused of murder, Durst dismembered the body, wrapped the pieces in garbage bags, and tossed them in Galveston Bay. He was later arrested, but while out on bail he fled to Pennsylvania. After a six-week manhunt, he was apprehended following his arrest for shoplifting at a supermarket. In 2003 Durst went on trial for murder but was acquitted after claiming self-defense. However, he later pled guilty to several minor charges, including jumping bond, and he served nearly six months in prison in 2005. Soon after being released, he violated parole and spent another 26 days in jail.

The Jinx and murder charges

In 2006 Durst was reportedly paid $65 million to settle a lawsuit he had filed for his share of the family’s wealth. Several years later he agreed to be interviewed by Andrew Jarecki and Marc Smerling, documentarians who were making a series about Durst. He met with the filmmakers in 2010 and 2012. During the latter meeting, in a private moment off-camera when he apparently did not realize the microphone was still on, Durst said, “What the hell did I do? Killed them all, of course.” However, the filmmakers said that they did not became aware of the footage until some two years later. They also uncovered other evidence, including a letter from Durst to Berman in which Beverly was misspelled in the same way as in the letter sent to police in 2000. The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst premiered on HBO in February 2015. The night before the last episode aired on March 15, Durst was arrested for Berman’s murder. He was apprehended in a New Orleans hotel, where he had registered under an assumed name. At the time he was in possession of a gun, which was illegal given that he was a felon. In 2016 Durst pled guilty to weapons charges and was sentenced to 85 months in a prison in California.

In November 2016 Durst appeared at an arraignment hearing in Los Angeles, where he pled not guilty to murdering Berman. Two years later a judge ordered Durst to stand trial after determining that there was sufficient evidence against him. In 2021 he was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison. Shortly thereafter New York officials charged Durst with murdering his first wife, who had been declared legally dead in 2017. However, Durst died in 2022, before that case could go to trial.

In 2024 The Jinx: Part Two was released. It focuses on the legal proceedings and includes new interviews as well as Durst’s jail calls.

Explore Britannica Premium!

The trusted destination for professionals, college students, and lifelong learners.

SUBSCRIBE