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Robert Durst: The Lost Years

Robert Durst: The Lost Years

Released Tuesday, 21st May 2024
 1 person rated this episode
Robert Durst: The Lost Years

Robert Durst: The Lost Years

Robert Durst: The Lost Years

Robert Durst: The Lost Years

Tuesday, 21st May 2024
 1 person rated this episode
Rate Episode

Episode Transcript

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0:00

This. Is the story of the one. As.

0:02

Head of maintenance at a concert hall. He

0:04

knows the show must always go on. That's

0:06

why he works behind the scenes. Ensuring

0:08

every light is working. The

0:11

H Back is humming and his

0:13

facility shines with granger supplies and

0:15

solutions for every challenge he bases

0:17

plus twenty four. Seven Customer Support

0:19

his been You never misses a

0:22

Be Car, quick.com or just that

0:24

by. Granger. For. The ones

0:26

who get it done. Is

0:29

so murder mystery You've got

0:32

a wealthy family is something

0:34

for everybody. There is a

0:36

club of people concerned by

0:38

trying to figure out what

0:40

happened. I've never seen anything

0:43

like it. Almost

0:47

everywhere Robert Durst went mystery,

0:49

follow a missing wife. Everything

0:51

about this rate of heart

0:54

of murder. best friend, a

0:56

dead neighbor. It's hard to

0:58

understand now the stories you

1:01

haven't heard as those who

1:03

knew Robert Durst best speak

1:05

out. I hope and pray that

1:07

when all this is done, we all get

1:09

answers. And hear his

1:11

own account of a strange life.

1:14

The reclusive millionaire spent much

1:17

of his time on the

1:19

road. So where was he?

1:21

What was he doing? Who

1:23

was he with? What is

1:25

a guy of his wealth

1:28

doing hanging out at a

1:30

homeless shelter soup kitchen for

1:32

decades? Suspicions questions raised. a

1:34

new one. The Series The

1:36

Jags Will They're finally Be

1:39

Answers Bob Didn't Kill Susan

1:41

Berman The Twisted Trail of

1:43

Robert Durst. And a mystery

1:45

that haunts a mother and her

1:48

are here is definitely in the

1:50

mix. He is in the next.

1:52

I'm Lester Holt and this is

1:54

dateline. Here's

1:57

a kid. Morrison with Robert Durst the

1:59

last year. A

2:08

minor written decades. Offices

2:12

As a warning, hold

2:15

on. A

2:17

darker writing about of very troubled third

2:20

year old boy was on the phone.

2:22

The hostility is. Sufficient

2:27

to produce a personality

2:29

three composition and possibly

2:31

even Schizophrenia. The

2:34

troubles little was his name

2:36

is well known. Robert. I

2:46

know you've heard the bizarre saga

2:48

the multi millionaire scion of a

2:50

New York real estate empire the

2:53

disappeared while the dead friend the

2:55

dismembered neighbor. He's been the subject

2:57

of several Dateline episode and the

2:59

star though not in the way

3:01

he intense debate fios the Jake's

3:03

but the you does anyone know

3:06

the truth about. Story

3:12

behind the story. Trail

3:14

we saw the revelations we encountered

3:17

the personal account he wrote and

3:19

we were given which have led

3:21

us into a very weird place

3:24

the last years of the infamous

3:26

Robert Durst A Tail. It's like

3:28

quicksand it sucks you in. Bomb

3:32

is endlessly fascinating N

3:35

n always surprises make

3:37

he was certainly elusive.

3:39

The Curio sometimes. Desperate,

3:42

always in motion, Tracking

3:45

him his dissent is strange. detour

3:47

off the road off the grid.

3:49

A lie said No one, not

3:51

even his family or close friends

3:53

could save them soon as I

3:56

could harm in size. I'm really

3:58

thankful. We.

4:02

Begin with to people who knew

4:04

and loved the man they called

4:07

Bobby godfather of their son. Close.

4:09

Friend of more than forty years. Long

4:12

before the rest of the world heard

4:14

of him. And when did you mean

4:16

I'm wee hours? I still together. Stewart

4:18

and Emily Altman spoke to us after

4:20

Durst was arrested. Says

4:24

suicide of Bob has not a

4:26

monster in the has a heart

4:28

that gets cost me a great

4:31

to have concerts. And I catch

4:33

up my head around his whatever happened.

4:35

To. Bob. His

4:38

heart. The

4:40

Altman shared personal photos and

4:42

the story about they've lived

4:44

and breathed. Starting with the

4:46

family disaster that tormented it.

4:49

Is. Bomb committed suicide when he

4:51

seven years old and new

4:53

was a devastating. Experience

4:56

for Vog. Compounded

5:00

by Bob strained relationships with his

5:02

brother Douglas and his father see

5:05

more than in the nineteen seventies,

5:07

Stewart introduce Bob to a young

5:10

woman. And this whole twisted

5:12

tale was set in motion. How

5:14

seven on he says the second street on

5:17

the second floor and casting was of and

5:19

on the third floor and Bob owns the

5:21

building. And

5:23

his cholesterol. Cassie.

5:29

Is Kathy Mccormick stewards young and

5:31

beautiful upstairs neighbor. He was like

5:34

since arming end of Princess has

5:36

he was the love of the

5:38

size. But

5:42

it didn't last. A

5:45

few years later the opens watch

5:47

their prince and princess grow apart.

5:49

See B more Independence Lessons A

5:52

fairytale. Many months know it's I

5:54

kept His brother Jim told us

5:57

it was more like a horror

5:59

movie. There's. A dark side?

6:01

A bob that you know

6:03

was fairly well camouflaged when

6:06

they were first. Does you

6:08

know it's going out? Married

6:10

with escalated? Ultimately, it's psychological

6:12

abuse, economic abuse, physical abuse,

6:15

Remember that doctors letter warning that the

6:18

ten year old Bob suffered from severe

6:20

hostility issues? Cassie

6:22

gave a coffee to were friends,

6:24

including Ellen Strauss evidence he said

6:27

just in case. Cause

6:29

he warned all of us that if anything

6:31

ever happened to look. And.

6:38

Then the Nineteen Eighty

6:41

Two Kathy Durst disappeared.

6:43

How does he take

6:45

his spot? Arms. You

6:49

know he asked if we had seen

6:51

or heard anything from you anything, but

6:53

they didn't No one did. Bob.

6:56

Was typically almost

6:58

detached. And in

7:01

his demeanor an enormous i don't

7:03

know nothing. I don't know anything.

7:07

From. The outset, Bob denied any

7:09

involvement and cab his disappearance

7:11

of the time, he was careful

7:14

to distance himself from investigators. New

7:16

York Times reporter Charles Bagley

7:18

is covered the Durst real estate

7:20

empire for more than three

7:22

decades, and when Kathy vanished setbacks,

7:25

Bob's protective friend Susan Berman the

7:27

name you've probably heard of

7:29

became use unofficial spokesperson. And

7:33

Susan would call back and say

7:35

well bob's you know really not

7:37

feeling right right now. ah I'm

7:39

I'm gonna handle a lot of

7:42

as the move on himself was

7:44

pretty much incommunicado them but we

7:46

have obtained this. His own

7:49

account his version of things

7:51

which he rode later. Is

7:54

what he wrote about caffeine disappearance

7:56

after my wife Kathy. Best I

7:58

could use of. alcohol, drugs,

8:00

and food chains from an

8:03

infrequent problem. with daily event.

8:06

It in com him to work for about two

8:08

years. Later

8:11

when Bob against showing up at

8:13

work again sporadically, he was an

8:16

anything like of Buttons Up executive.

8:18

He enjoyed smoking pot and a

8:20

social situation burping and farting. That's

8:23

because it disturb people in L

8:25

ne like to watch their react

8:28

size. So these stories about misbehaving

8:30

p and a wastebasket a somewhere

8:32

that was peeing in a way

8:35

Starting all of that it gave

8:37

pause to the family. Said.

8:42

It was no great surprise when

8:44

the family patriarch Seymour Durst chose

8:46

Bob younger brother Douglas to run

8:48

the family business. did. He really

8:50

thinks up until the point where

8:52

Douglas picked that that he had

8:54

a shot at, it is room

8:56

for it to go Supposed to

8:59

be his his job? He was

9:01

upset has devastating effects on Bob.

9:06

That is one. A little known and

9:08

reclusive Bob Durst went off on his

9:11

own to embark on. A strange new

9:13

life but we wanted to know

9:15

is how and why trouble seem

9:18

to be his traveling companion. When.

9:23

We return. More mysteries and more

9:25

questions for Robert Durst and a

9:27

P Get his new life on

9:29

a lost coast. I. Think he wanted

9:32

the a cross dresser and maybe he was

9:34

experimenting with us. You

9:36

know what I mean. Hanging out at

9:38

a homeless shelter, soup kitchens, and

9:40

he bought a house he hangs

9:43

out in a home. soon. I'm

10:00

almost mystical corner of Northern

10:03

California where Bob there's came

10:05

to pass get lost himself.

10:08

It was ninety ninety five after he

10:10

was dumped from the company Thirteen years

10:12

after Kathy disappeared. Far.

10:15

Walked into the office of local real

10:17

estate broker Gene Davenport. To

10:19

tell me was a writer for the Wall Street

10:21

Journal is that your mom have a place most

10:24

severe. Bob

10:27

forked over nearly four hundred thousand in

10:29

cash for a big family house in

10:31

the town of Printed Out overlooking the

10:34

Pacific. Where's live like a hermit number

10:36

really seem around. He never really had.

10:39

Contacts or didn't really have any best

10:42

friends. In

10:44

that personal account of his,

10:46

he explained why. I.

10:48

Hated the have more that a brief conversation

10:51

with someone because I immediately found myself being

10:53

asked what do you do. The.

10:55

To answer was nothing. I

10:57

live off the family estate.

11:01

Which was true enough, but it

11:03

wasn't exactly idol either. that author

11:05

Matt Birk Back, who followed The

11:08

Dirt Case for over fifteen years.

11:10

Wrote a book about it called

11:13

a Deadly Secret. Bob

11:15

nurse was buying other properties. He

11:17

said. But some of his choices

11:19

didn't seem to make sense. The. Scientists

11:22

homes were talking storage facilities and

11:24

Keel Foxes Media by one storage

11:26

place or some have an address.

11:28

The i just went out to

11:30

be storage facility and was he

11:32

doing wheelies. different stores, facilities, The

11:35

main town near Trinidad is

11:37

Eureka where we discovered boss

11:40

been credited of time in

11:42

a second hand clothing store

11:44

primarily for women. I

11:46

want a be a cross dresser and maybe

11:48

he was experimenting with that. You

11:51

know what I mean. He

11:53

always came along said shopkeeper cake

11:55

kings. He went by something pretty

11:58

plain my says in own. We

12:01

are in are showing it was

12:03

outstanding and then he was just

12:05

a skirt chino and try to

12:07

match it up you know I

12:09

must. First time he couldn't so

12:12

I would try and helping match.

12:15

See. Has seen her serve cross

12:17

dressers, but there was something different

12:19

about this one. He

12:21

wanted to be somebody else besides Robert

12:23

Durst. Which

12:26

would explain another untold story of

12:28

those years and on and so

12:30

far unexplained habit of frequenting Juri

12:33

Good see. besides. Hanging

12:36

out as a was homeless

12:39

shelter, soup kitchen, He

12:43

bought a house. He hangs out at

12:45

a home so sing at a homeless shelter. But.

12:49

Sir Charles Barkley. He. Was

12:51

also restless and was

12:53

in constant motion whether

12:55

he was here in

12:57

Texas or California or.

13:00

In Europe. Or

13:02

Los Angeles where he'd look in on

13:04

Susan Berman, who you'll remember spoke for

13:06

him after Kathy disappeared and was now

13:09

trying to make it as a Hollywood

13:11

screenwriter. The

13:13

sea and Bobby I always felt were

13:15

very tight. This is Susan Berman friend

13:18

Kim like for. See was.

13:21

Very protective of Bobby. Susan.

13:26

Moved in a slight be run down cottage

13:28

in L A Benedict Canyon. And

13:31

occasionally Bob would stop by, but

13:33

soon he be gone in. Sometimes

13:36

flying back to Trinidad where he'd

13:38

question is settled. Driver Ross. Sea

13:42

would set a specific really ask

13:44

questions about as a sheriff's department

13:46

been out area seen many Llangollen

13:48

on. And and

13:50

Ninety Ninety Seven. Well, Bob lived

13:52

here. Something did happen. A

13:55

local teenager named Karen Mitchell vanished

13:57

after leaving a women to store.

14:00

That later Bob was known to frequent.

14:03

By. The year two thousand. The case was cold.

14:07

For that of course is one

14:09

across the country a New York.

14:11

Another case was suddenly hot against

14:13

the investigation into the disappearance of

14:15

Bob's wife Kathy Reopen by Westchester

14:17

County d I Jeanine Pirro. Who.

14:20

Later became a Tv host on

14:22

Fox News Channel. i hadn't. Instincts.

14:24

Everything about. This rate of

14:26

murder. We had evidence that she

14:28

was battered by him. I would

14:30

see a sense confirmed. Ah, he

14:32

was clear to me that he

14:34

tells her investigation was supposed to

14:36

be top secret But as we

14:38

know. Bob. Durst found

14:41

that seem wise. Men:

14:45

One of Kathy's friends you've met

14:48

her Ellen Strauss offered the cops

14:50

a tip. I begged

14:52

of the police interview his best

14:55

friend Susan Berman. I sell them

14:57

all my research I sell. Susan

14:59

Berman was the key. Always did.

15:03

And the boys did plan on

15:05

interviewing Susan Berman. The

15:08

problem was they just waited

15:10

a little too long. Time

15:14

ago said Susan ever tell

15:16

you that she was. Afraid

15:20

of Robert. She did

15:22

tell me suis assess of as and my

15:24

first thought was whether they listen to me

15:26

over there waiting for the dough. When

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You added a two thousand

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Westchester County Reinvestigation of the

17:36

Missing Millionaires Wife Kathy Durst

17:38

had been chugging quietly for

17:40

months. When the story broke,

17:42

Durst about himself in the

17:44

media glare. Again, it had

17:46

been eighteen years since Kathy

17:48

disappeared and public opinion he

17:51

wrote turned against him Unlike

17:53

before. And Nineteen Eighty

17:55

Two, The tone of the publicity was

17:57

of a scandal about a rich Mark,

17:59

the reddit. Durable Marriage people did

18:01

not distance themselves from me because

18:03

of in two thousand I was

18:06

a murderer who? everyone just light.

18:08

Of course, Susan Berman had kept

18:10

the bad Crescent Bay back in

18:13

eighty two and now investigators wanted

18:15

to talk door. And

18:17

what did Bob do that? He.

18:20

Got married not to Susan

18:22

Berman. But the New

18:24

York real estate broker Deborah Sheraton

18:26

there was a marriage been haven't

18:29

Sat was clearly a marriage of

18:31

convenience and that. Is

18:33

is Bobby. there is say. In any

18:35

event, I'm arrested. I have

18:37

someone to bail me out into the hands of my

18:40

affairs. Well. Course, that's just

18:42

an opinion. Maybe it was a

18:44

love facts, but it did come

18:46

with spousal privilege, which meant Deborah

18:48

didn't have to talk to the

18:50

cops about her new wealthy husband.

18:52

He also reportedly got access to

18:55

a substantial share of his money.

18:57

Never doesn't do anything unless several

18:59

assets after. A

19:01

character reference I'm not sure I want to

19:03

have. C is a savvy. Business.

19:06

Woman Meanwhile, out in Hollywood,

19:08

Susan Berman was struggling to

19:10

make it as a screenwriter.

19:13

Things weren't quite going as well as

19:15

see would have liked with her. Career.

19:17

For years Susan had relied

19:20

on Bob for help and

19:22

he responded sometimes with sex

19:24

to at least were twenty

19:26

five thousand dollars. To

19:29

with some staccato as kind as

19:31

silky. Added say that when on.

19:33

The trains on. We had some

19:35

unique insights. I'm a Woman Hussein,

19:38

She was Susan Berman his closest

19:40

confidants, a therapist and psychic. Her

19:42

name is Barbara stabbing her and

19:45

she told us he knows what

19:47

Susan was thinking. Of fact, she

19:49

gave the police many hours of

19:51

her recorded conversations with Susan in

19:54

which are those last months of

19:56

two thousand according to Barbara. Susan

19:58

grew increasingly worried. Good

20:01

Susan ever tell you that she

20:03

was. Afraid of

20:05

Robert. She did tell

20:07

me she was a sea of

20:09

south as hand they ties I

20:11

had the ceiling see cells. Afraid

20:13

of a big says she was

20:15

afraid he lives with Char. Any

20:17

help. But it was more than a

20:20

synthesizer. Susan was afraid

20:22

of Bob, she said, because

20:24

she knew too much she

20:26

knew his secrets, twas the

20:28

and civilise ice is very

20:30

agitated with. When

20:34

he save her. Susan.

20:36

Didn't know said Barbara and then

20:38

just before Christmas two thousand she

20:40

said Susan let know that Bob

20:42

was on the way with money.

20:45

He said I'll bring it. And

20:49

that's what has since I

20:51

can't pills it. Away

20:54

Cops have long suspected Bob did go

20:56

to Susan's house in a way, but

20:58

not to bring her more money. To

21:01

prevent her from talking ever.

21:04

We do know from flight records

21:06

and Fobs own personal account that

21:08

he did go to California Christmas

21:10

two thousand. Robert Durst was on

21:13

the move again late December he

21:15

flew here to Eureka, California. He

21:18

had owned a house in this area

21:20

for several years, but had recently sold.

21:22

It wasn't coming to stay here. Got

21:26

a car. Got inside it. Pointed.

21:28

South. In

21:31

Bob There's own personal account, he notes

21:33

a visit the Garber feel six hundred

21:35

miles from Los Angeles. After that, we

21:37

can't follow his crew. We

21:40

do know that lead on December twenty

21:42

second or early the Twenty Third Susan

21:44

Berman was murdered by a bullet to

21:46

the back of her head, at her

21:48

home and away and on the Twenty

21:50

Third flight records him from Bob Took

21:52

off from San Francisco on The Red

21:54

Eyes to New York. And.

21:57

Soon after this at. Least.

22:00

December twenty third. Showed up at the

22:02

Beverly Hills p d I call it

22:04

the cadaver know? Oh yes. the famous

22:06

note directing police to her body. A

22:09

note like be written by her killer.

22:12

Word of Susan Berman murder

22:14

traveled fast. Was

22:17

like. Oh My.

22:19

God. I'm on and off. My first thought

22:21

was, why didn't they listen To me It

22:23

Is not. Interview Susan Berman in a timely

22:26

manner. Over there

22:28

waiting for the dough. Bob

22:30

skipped Susan Berman memorial service

22:33

and a few weeks later

22:35

he surfaced in Galveston, Texas.

22:38

Another good place to get

22:40

lost, except of course trouble

22:43

eventually found him there. I

22:45

killed a dismemberment and an

22:47

unforgettable acquittal. We all know

22:50

the stories. That.

22:52

Not this person. Coming

22:56

up did Robert Durst

22:58

rehearse telling the truth?

23:01

Is is moistened friend smuggled in

23:03

the a cassette tape recorder into

23:05

the jail. He would mean. Discuss

23:08

with them whether know. The

23:10

story of. At.

23:25

The end of the he A

23:27

to Galveston, Texas is Rules and

23:29

Miles Zero it says this is

23:31

where Bob Durst went to Sadness

23:33

Good Actually moved here just weeks

23:35

before Susan Berman murder and initially

23:37

he was needs assessment and he

23:39

took pains to keep himself. He

23:41

did as he told his friends

23:43

the all. Of

23:45

a new will be looking for a other Thurston

23:48

or three on the dollar a month apartment under

23:50

an assumed name. The

23:52

name of an old high school classmates

23:55

they dorothy. Signer: a

23:57

low in his log he wrote he didn't

23:59

like wearing a wig. It

24:02

itched it got in my eyes unless it

24:04

was on tight which made my head sweat.

24:07

But the version Bob told

24:09

over the years believes author Matt

24:11

Birkbeck doesn't tell the real story.

24:14

Certainly not the famous killing of

24:16

his elderly neighbor Morris Black or

24:19

Bob's activities in Galveston and Elstl.

24:22

It was really strange you know him

24:24

and Black appalling around in Galveston amongst

24:26

homeless. So what is a guy of

24:29

his wealth and his family's

24:32

influence doing stealing identities.

24:37

In fact in the spring of 2001 at

24:40

the same time as he as Dorothy

24:42

Signer was living in Galveston he rented

24:44

another room in New Orleans under

24:47

the name Diane Wynn. We

24:49

found the place and his

24:51

old landlord Michael Ogden. He

24:53

was wearing blouse with

24:56

small brassiere a wig.

24:59

He lived on the top floor and

25:01

the neighbors often saw him wearing women's

25:03

clothing. He wasn't a

25:05

drag queen he was

25:08

just in disguise. And

25:12

then he'd fly off somewhere else

25:14

New York, California, Connecticut. Always

25:17

returning as he carefully noted in

25:19

his personal account to

25:21

that downmarket apartment in Galveston

25:24

where in September 2001

25:26

he shot Morris Black accidentally

25:28

and in self-defense he claimed

25:30

and then dismembered the man

25:32

and threw his body parts

25:34

into Galveston Bay. Here's

25:37

how Durst described Jack

25:40

Daniels marijuana bought

25:42

Boesaw. Boesaw not deep enough

25:44

returned for bigger Boesaw could

25:47

not use saw went

25:49

back first looked at electric saws

25:51

bought axe. But

25:57

Matt Birkbeck believes Bob's claims about the killer

26:00

were attempts after the fact to

26:02

sanitize what the evidence suggests was

26:04

a brutal murder. It

26:06

makes no sense. And if you look at

26:09

the autopsy report, it shows that Morris had

26:11

been beaten severely in the upper torso and

26:13

even perhaps suffered a heart attack. So obviously

26:15

something else was going on. After

26:20

his arrest, Bob called his friends,

26:22

the Aldmans, and tried to explain

26:24

what happened. He said

26:26

he went to the field stage. He was

26:28

an out of body experience. And

26:32

it's hard to understand. Charged

26:35

with murder, Bob Durst

26:37

also called his new wife, Deborah

26:39

Cheriton, who helped arrange 300,000 in

26:43

cash for bail, which

26:45

he promptly skipped, got a car,

26:47

and traveled the country, sometimes using

26:49

Morris Black's ID. It

26:53

was weeks later when they finally caught

26:55

him, shoplifting in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Well,

27:00

more than 38,000 in cash was in his car. The

27:06

Altmans visited him in jail. You

27:09

know, I asked him how he was doing. And

27:11

he said, you know, not great. He

27:13

talked about how he pretty much was going

27:15

to do maybe suicide by cop. But

27:19

Bob, of course, didn't pull that particular

27:21

trigger and was sent back to Texas

27:23

for trial where his Houston

27:25

attorney, Dick DeGaren, devised the defense that

27:27

beat the murder charge. It

27:29

was a simple case of a struggle over

27:32

a gun and the gun went off. If

27:35

it truly was self-defense, then

27:38

what happened after the

27:40

killing doesn't change that.

27:44

Bob wasn't so confident he'd get

27:46

off. In fact, he asked

27:48

his friends, the Altmans, to help him learn

27:51

more about what life behind bars would be

27:53

like for him. He thought that

27:55

if we got to know the ins and outs,

27:58

that maybe it would be easy for him. who was

28:00

on the inside. He worried

28:02

about how he'd hear his favorite music,

28:04

for example. He was trying to

28:06

find out if maybe there was a radio station he

28:08

could buy, so that if he

28:10

were in jail he could have music that he

28:13

liked. Bob knew his

28:15

chances of acquittal depended in large

28:17

part on winning the jury's sympathy.

28:20

So for that, he went on a

28:22

crash diet. Bob was trying

28:24

to use every way within his

28:26

power to look frail when he

28:28

was on trial in Galveston. He

28:31

also went to considerable trouble to

28:33

practice his testimony, as presiding judge

28:35

Susan Chris learned later from recordings

28:37

taped in the jail. He had

28:39

his wife and friend smuggled a

28:42

little cassette tape recorder into the

28:44

jail. He would practice

28:47

his testimony, sneak the tapes back

28:49

to them, and then discuss

28:51

with them whether or not he sounded believable

28:53

with the story that he was telling. The

28:56

defendant pre-roll. The Altman said

28:58

Bob was convinced, 99.9% certain that he'd be

29:00

convicted. Would

29:04

the jury find the defendant Robert

29:07

Durst not guilty? The

29:13

jury took five days to save him

29:15

from 25 years to life in prison,

29:18

though he later served a little time

29:20

at federal prison for skipping bail and

29:22

dismembering Morris Black. But by 2005, he

29:25

was a free man again. Now

29:28

the only person who could catch Bob

29:31

Durst was... Bob

29:33

Durst. Coming

29:35

up. Caught off

29:37

camera and seemingly off-guard on the

29:40

jinx, did Robert

29:42

Durst confess? Why

29:44

did he give that interview? Thought he'd be

29:46

able to show he's not a horrible person.

29:49

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apply. Houston,

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2010. The story of

31:56

Robert Durst took a most unlikely turn.

32:00

The most in Galveston. Long behind

32:02

him he had settled into this

32:04

luxury highrise. Marxism was the condo

32:06

board presence as served or school

32:08

is mostly dad. the shadow was

32:10

didn't look like his hair was

32:12

staff there was messy a look

32:14

like over the street bomb. He.

32:18

Was sixty seven by them. And.

32:20

Seem to have done away with his cross dressing.

32:23

Might have lived out his days in

32:26

quiet as six centric isolation. But

32:29

then the Durst story went

32:32

Hollywood. Or movie

32:34

called all good Things was released.

32:36

Based on Robert Durst Life

32:38

played by Ryan Gosling. It

32:42

was directed by filmmaker Andrew Directly.

32:45

Bob like that movie and that's why you

32:47

got involved with Iraqi I think. It

32:51

was to offer his side of the story

32:53

that Bob Sapp for too long interviews with

32:55

directly for what would eventually become the H

32:57

B O series called The Cheeks. And

33:00

things have not Do it or begged him not to

33:02

do it. Why is it only

33:04

Bob knows what did he think he

33:07

would get out of us forty be

33:09

able to So that is not a

33:11

monster is not a horrible sources Bob

33:13

watch the jinx of the same time

33:15

as everybody else does. And

33:18

according to Directed, the filmmakers had

33:20

given evidence to the authorities two

33:22

years before the show where. Which

33:26

to Bob's attorney Dick Deguerin

33:28

that the shows far from

33:30

objective reporting. They've edited probably

33:32

fifty or more hours down

33:34

into a few minutes, and

33:37

I think that editing job

33:39

was designed to make him

33:41

look bad. But

33:43

it was a simple comparison of hand

33:45

writing samples that on it's own seem

33:48

to condemn Robert Durst. It was episode

33:50

five of the Jinx Series in which

33:52

a letter he admitted sending to Susan

33:55

Berman was compared to the infamous cadaver

33:57

node her presumed kids in the car.

34:02

Soon after seeing that episode, Bob

34:04

packed up and left used by

34:06

the cops, were monitoring his cellphone

34:08

and eventually tracked him to the

34:11

Jw Marriott Hotel in New Orleans.

34:13

So now to F B I

34:15

agents show up at the hotel

34:18

in there talking to the clerk.

34:20

Wealth: You have any one book

34:22

tear under the name of Dorothy?

34:24

sign up Now They go through

34:27

ten other aliases. No.

34:30

No No. Can: Where

34:32

is it? They

34:37

turn around and as bob walking in

34:39

the lobby headed for the elevators. Later

34:43

the accompanied him do his

34:45

room and ultimately they turn

34:48

up cached are gone and

34:50

some pot. So far,

34:52

Durst was booked for possession of

34:54

a handgun and marijuana in Louisiana

34:57

and also arrested for the murder

34:59

of Susan Berman in Los Angeles.

35:02

And the very next day

35:04

the final episode of A

35:06

Jinx Fear featuring the now

35:08

infamous off camera bathroom. With

35:12

was a confession. Course.

35:27

Few people knew this fans as

35:30

a documentary edited durst hot make

35:32

moment manipulate me to senses together

35:34

that we're not actually spokeswoman tourists

35:37

friend certain know like what did

35:39

you think of what you saw.

35:44

That just puts a store and he looked at me

35:46

speechless. Really long time and I

35:48

burst into tears. Because

35:51

it is cyclists like a nice. After

35:55

his arrest a package arrived for

35:57

him that New Orleans hotel. The.

36:00

Police openness. And they were A pair

36:02

of shoes in it. and one hundred

36:04

seventeen thousand dollars in cash. So

36:08

he was definitely getting ready

36:10

for some. Her

36:12

shoes and money as as kind of what

36:14

you need a that as a. And

36:17

attorney De Guerin stepped in. Again

36:19

his time He acknowledged because of

36:21

Bob's trip to New Orleans, sitting

36:23

amount of jail might not be

36:26

so easy. I acknowledge early on

36:28

the chance of him making bail

36:30

right now. The. Chances are

36:32

slim and non and slammed his

36:34

left out. Robert

36:37

Durst pleaded guilty to feel legal

36:39

gun possession. He was sentenced to

36:41

seven years and several times. Faster

36:45

the Susan Berman case attorney Dick Deguerin

36:47

insisted father had nothing to do with

36:50

her murder. Trial got

36:52

underway in March. Two thousand and fourteen. But

36:55

was postponed because of the Corona virus.

36:57

Us Senate. Bid.

37:00

Resume Fourteen months later with

37:02

De Guerin continuing his battle

37:04

against it sucks Deputy Da

37:06

Nang John Lewis a frail

37:08

Robert Durst testified from his

37:10

wheelchair forces and under questioning

37:12

by Lewin made this done

37:14

with your muscle. Tissue.

37:18

Mine. Is to. Do

37:23

Not. Live.

37:29

In September Two Thousand Twenty One

37:31

a jury found Robert Durst guilty

37:34

of first degree murder. He was

37:36

sentenced to life without parole. Two

37:38

months later, a Grand jury in

37:41

New York indicted him for the

37:43

death of his first wife, Kathleen

37:45

Durst. That

37:48

a jury would never hear

37:50

that case. In January Two

37:52

Thousand Twenty two, Robert Durst

37:54

died in California hospital while

37:56

serving his life sentence. He

37:58

was. Seventy. And

38:01

in a final twist, John Lewis,

38:03

the prosecutor and the Berman case

38:05

said that because Durst was a

38:08

feeling that verdict at the time

38:10

of his death under California law,

38:12

his conviction will be fake. Robert

38:20

Durst. They be gone. But

38:23

the mysteries remains. Coming

38:27

off. A missing

38:30

teenagers. Are.

38:33

Good or. Raptors.

38:51

Have all the places Robert Durst

38:53

wander. This was not just a

38:56

favorite that now the setting of

38:58

a lingering mystery California is Lost

39:00

Coast He ninety Ninety Seven. A

39:03

pretty teenager named Karen Mitchell was

39:05

helping out at her at any

39:07

Casper shoe store. I

39:09

did not ever need Robert Durst

39:12

that my manager. She said she

39:14

remembered him because. He just drop

39:16

as a woman. From

39:21

mobile. Of Math Robert Durst said

39:23

at any. See. Often helped

39:25

you Ricans homeless population. People.

39:28

Among whom Bob was known to Mexico.

39:31

We can't know for sure, but

39:33

we do know she was involves

39:36

neighborhood more than once. Sang

39:38

is to go to Trinidad on

39:40

the bus. I mean they could have

39:42

mats. definitely a possibility. see like unusual

39:45

people seem like Topic today and Top

39:47

Top. For

39:51

those, he vanished thera unless the shoe store

39:53

to walk to a job at a nearby

39:55

daycare center where she'd arrange to have any

39:58

pick her up as the worse and. As

40:00

I came down, I had this weird

40:02

feeling like something was off. It

40:05

was. Karen never made it

40:07

to work. Her mother, Mary

40:09

Casper, lived in Los Angeles. No

40:12

forgetting what that phone call was like. We

40:15

drove from Southern California

40:17

up here, and I remember

40:21

hanging flyers at the

40:23

rest stop with my daughter. I just feel

40:25

like it's not happening right now. How

40:28

could this be? Karen, where

40:30

are you? A

40:35

massive search produced no sign of her.

40:38

Though there was one curious lead,

40:40

a witness who said

40:42

he saw a young woman get into

40:44

a car with an older man on

40:46

this busy Eureka Road. The

40:48

witness worked with a police artist to produce this,

40:51

but nothing much came of it. At

40:53

least not back then. It

40:55

was fast. And then Matt Birkbeck,

40:57

who authored a book on Durst called

40:59

A Deadly Secret, got a tip from

41:02

some independent investigators also working the

41:05

case, a possible connection. There were

41:07

credit card records that placed

41:09

Durst in the Eureka area the day that

41:11

this girl disappeared. The

41:13

transaction was just off the coast in Trinidad, maybe

41:16

20 minutes or so by

41:18

car, in that spot where the

41:20

witness saw a girl picked up on the road in

41:22

Eureka. And

41:25

then before the trial in Galveston,

41:28

Birkbeck heard this. I

41:30

have a really good source that I was close to

41:32

the defense team. And I was told that Durst was

41:34

extremely concerned about Karen Mitchell and was so concerned he

41:36

thought he was going to get charged. Durst

41:39

brought this up on his own with

41:41

his defense attorney? Yes. And Dictigarin

41:43

apparently said to him Bobby was worried about one case at a time.

41:47

Not true, said Dictigarin. I've

41:49

never had any concern about it. Did

41:51

Bob? No. But

41:55

when Durst was arrested in New Orleans, the

41:58

case was reborn. Mills

42:00

was the Eureka police chief at the

42:02

time. Robert Durst is a

42:04

person of interest in this case. He's definitely in

42:06

the mix. He is in the mix, someone

42:09

that we will consider as part

42:11

of our larger investigation. The

42:14

chief was not alone. The

42:16

FBI and the Humboldt County DA were

42:19

investigating a possible Bob Durst connection, too.

42:22

However, Durst was not the only person

42:25

of interest. There were five

42:27

others. The evidence,

42:29

the circumstantial evidence, is

42:31

just not there at this point. That

42:34

old composite sketch, for example, could

42:36

this be Robert Durst? The

42:39

chief isn't quite sure it's

42:41

particularly accurate. Looks

42:43

very similar. Were you impressed by the similarities?

42:46

I'm impressed by the similarities, but my

42:48

questions are being able to

42:50

recognize somebody in a very small space

42:52

and window, and then being able to

42:55

recount that in a

42:57

description that's pretty precise. That

42:59

sketch? Ridiculous, said Durst

43:01

attorney Dick DeGaren. I know Bob pretty

43:03

well. I doesn't look anything like him.

43:06

It looks like Mr. Potato Head. So

43:11

who was that witness of 18 years ago? Would

43:14

he still remember? The cops

43:16

hadn't spoken to him recently, so we

43:19

found him, riding

43:21

his tractor in the green hills

43:23

above Eureka. Randy

43:25

Gomes, an Army veteran

43:27

local carpenter. Did he remember?

43:31

I looked right at him because I was

43:33

yelling at him. Yelling at him because that

43:35

guy cut him off when he stopped his

43:37

car to pick up a teenage girl. You

43:40

know, and I eyeballed him all

43:42

the way around as I was coming around the car.

43:45

Gomes insisted the girl got into the

43:47

car willingly as if she knew the

43:49

man. So now, 18 years

43:52

later, we showed Gomes his sketch

43:54

and a picture of Robert Durst.

43:57

What is your gut reaction when you see those two

43:59

photographs together? I believe that's

44:01

the man that I saw. So

44:03

how sure are you, you got it right? I'm

44:05

positive, and my heart, I know I have

44:07

it right. And Gomes was

44:09

fairly certain he said the girl who got in

44:11

the car looked like a photo

44:14

the police showed him of Karen Mitchell.

44:17

But it was her, because she, we

44:19

made eye contact. But,

44:24

issues. There's no

44:26

proof that it was Karen Mitchell who got into

44:28

the car. And

44:31

Bob Durst's eyes were not blue.

44:35

And, said Chief Mills, Gomes

44:37

didn't come forward till months after the

44:39

incident. What we don't want

44:41

to do is just take something that's, you

44:43

know, sensational and plug that person into

44:46

the midst of an investigation that

44:48

may or may not have anything to do with him. But

44:51

the investigation continues. And

44:53

some, like Birkbeck, believe

44:56

there may be more. I've

44:58

never said definitively that he was a serial killer. What

45:01

I said was that there's so much

45:03

out there about him that

45:05

clearly there's something going on here. And

45:08

that law enforcement needs to look into it. And

45:10

thankfully, they are doing it now. Waste

45:14

of time, said Dick DeGaren. Well,

45:17

there's no evidence. And

45:20

to think, you know, they

45:23

have to have a theory that he's some kind of

45:25

serial killer. He's not a serial killer. But the notion

45:27

of Robert Durst as a serial killer has come up.

45:30

Guy who does... It sells magazines. It sells

45:32

books. It causes people to turn on their

45:34

TVs. A

45:40

long missing wife, a dismembered neighbor,

45:42

a murdered friend. This

45:45

is how Robert Durst is defined now. Where

45:48

did it all go wrong? All

45:51

that power, privilege, money? It's

45:54

been decades since that Dr. Warren

45:57

Bob's hostility issues could lead to

45:59

personality decay. composition. Is

46:01

that what happened? To

46:07

his friends Emily and Stuart Altman, Bobby

46:09

Durst was a good person and loyal friend

46:11

for more than 40 years. Though

46:16

Emily, painful as it was,

46:19

worried that Bobby Durst may have been

46:21

the friend she never knew. After

46:24

all... I

46:26

can't understand harming a human being, okay? Doesn't

46:30

make sense to me. I

46:32

don't know if I could forgive that, and

46:34

I wish I could, and I'm struggling

46:36

with that. I don't know. I

46:42

don't know. That's

46:47

all for now. I'm Lester Holt. Thanks

46:49

for joining us. You

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