Disclaimer: This article contains mentions of murder and abuse. Reader discretion is advised.
A Dateline: Secrets Uncovered episode titled “Robert Durst: The Lost Years” will be aired on Oxygen on Wednesday, February 14, 2024, at 8 p.m. ET. The episode will include narratives from the multimillionaire’s friends and acquaintances as well as their accounts of the events that led up to Robert Durst’s arrests and convictions.
Robert Durst died on January 10, 2022, at the San Joaquin General Hospital after suffering a cardiac arrest at the age of 78. He reportedly tested positive for COVID-19. The virus made a few health complications, which he had already suffered from, worse. He was placed on a ventilator after he was diagnosed and was having difficulty breathing and communicating, The Guardian reported.
At the time of his death, Robert Durst had been serving time in Stockton, California. He was awaiting trial in the case of his wife’s alleged murder. In October 2021, he was charged with the second-degree murder of his wife, Kathleen Durst, according to The Guardian. However, he died before he could stand trial.
The couple married in 1973. In 1981, months before her sudden disappearance, Kathleen reportedly visited the hospital to get treatment for bruises that were inflicted on her by her husband. She also hired a divorce lawyer that year. However, she had been reported missing by her husband five days after her disappearance in January 1982. According to Robert Durst, he dropped her at a train station where she took a train to Manhattan.
His account also stated that he headed back home to South Salem after dropping her off. Robert said he telephoned Kathleen after that, a claim that was disproved by the phone records, which did not include any calls made from his South Salem home to Kathleen’s residence in Manhattan.
What was Robert Durst convicted of?
Several statements that Robert Durst made were inconsistent with other evidence. However, the case did not progress and went cold for nearly 16 years. As per The New York Times, some financial records that Kathleen gave her friends for safekeeping were stolen by burglars in 1998. When authorities got hold of the documents, they noticed an apparent involvement of Robert’s spokeswoman, Susan Berman.
In 2021, Robert Durst was convicted of the murder of Susan Berman. The circumstances under which she died were also noted as suspicious. This is because in 2000, two years after the financial records were revealed, authorities called Berman in for questioning. However, before she could attend the interrogation, a note that read “cadaver” was sent to the Westchester police. The letter reportedly contained the address to Berman’s Beverley Hills home.
At the location, Susan Berman was found dead after someone shot her. Authorities suspected that Robert Durst was afraid of what Berman would reveal during the questioning. In 2015, he was charged with the murder of Susan Berman and was tried in court. Although the defense could not deny Robert Durst’s connection with the note sent to the police, they argued that the note was only proof of his knowing of the murder.
He was convicted of the murder in 2021 and was sentenced to life in prison without a chance for parole. Robert Durst was also tried for the murder of his neighbor, Morris Black. He was acquitted of the murder after he claimed that he killed Black in self-defense. He then pleaded guilty to tampering with evidence by dismembering Black’s body, ABC News reported.
Dateline: Secrets Uncovered’s “Robert Durst: The Lost Years” will be aired on Oxygen on Wednesday, February 14, 2024, at 8 p.m. ET.