A Los Angeles jury found Robert Durst guilty of first-degree murder in the execution-style killing of longtime friend Susan Berman, who was shot in the head in 2000.
Durst, a 78-year-old heir to a New York commercial real estate empire, “intentionally discharged a handgun” and “caused great bodily injury and death to Susan Berman,” according to the verdict on Friday.
The panel also found true special-circumstance allegations of murder of a witness and lying in wait.
“The jury’s decision demonstrates how our legal system can work to hold accountable people regardless of their wealth and status in life,” Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon said in a statement. “I want to commend our prosecution team and investigators for their diligent work to ultimately bring justice for those who have been waiting more than 20 years.”
Durst, who pleaded not guilty, faces life in prison without the option for parole, according to the New York Times. A judge is expected to sentence him on Oct. 18.
LATEX MASK SHOWCASED BY PROSECUTORS IN ROBERT DURST MURDER TRIAL
Durst was convicted of killing 55-year-old Berman on Dec. 23, 2000, by shooting her once in the back of the head, Gascon’s office said. Authorities discovered her body in her home on the edge of Beverly Hills on Christmas Eve.
Durst repeatedly denied the claims against him. On Sept. 1, Durst said he did not know who killed Berman.
But in a 2015 HBO documentary series, The Jinx, he appeared at one point to admit to several murders. In the film’s production, Durst was caught on film saying, “What the hell did I do? Killed them all, of course.”
One day before the show’s final episode, Durst was arrested in Louisiana, where authorities found him with a map of Cuba, money, and a gun. After a 14-month recess due to the coronavirus pandemic, prosecutors reconvened this month to show the jury a latex mask that authorities found when they arrested the real estate heir in New Orleans. Deputy District Attorney Habib Balian said Durst wore the mask as a disguise to evade capture from authorities in 2015.
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“At trial, prosecutors said the defendant murdered his friend because she knew details about what happened to Durst’s wife, Kathie, who disappeared on Jan. 31, 1982, while the couple lived in New York. She has never been found,” according to Gascon’s office.
Durst has never been charged in connection with his wife’s disappearance and denied killing her. He admitted to killing and dismembering his Texas neighbor Morris Black in 2001 but was acquitted of murder after making a self-defense argument.
