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The Jinx: Multimillionaire and convicted murderer Robert Durst dies aged 78

New York property scion and convicted murderer Robert Durst has died aged 78.

The jailed multimillionaire died early on Monday morning in California’s San Joaquin General Hospital, his lawyer Chip Lewis confirmed.

Durst had been taken to the hospital for testing while on custodial release from California Health Care Facility, where he was serving a life sentence for the killing of his longtime confidante Susan Berman.

The killer was convicted of the murder last September and shortly afterwards tested positive for Covid. Mr Lewis said the virus had exacerbated a host of pre-existing medical problems.

The heir to a New York real estate empire was sentenced to life in prison in October without the possibility of parole.

Jurors found Durst guilty of the first-degree murder of Ms Berman after seven-and-a-half hours of deliberation.

Prosecutors say he shot Ms Berman, a long-time friend, at point-blank range in her home to prevent her from telling police what she knew about the disappearance of Durst’s wife.

Ms Berman had reportedly told friends she had provided Durst with a false alibi for the day his wife disappeared without knowing she was covering up a murder.

Two days after the sentencing, New York State Police investigators filed a criminal complaint accusing Durst of second-degree murder in the long-unsolved disappearance of his wife, Kathie McCormack.

He was later charged in the death of Ms McCormack, who vanished aged 29 in 1982 after a fight at their New York home and was never seen again.

Ms McCormack was declared legally dead in 2017 at the request of her family.

Durst is suspected of having killed three people in total over four decades.

A 2015 documentary into the real estate heir revealed details of his life after the two women’s disappearances, including the death of Durst’s neighbour Morris Black.

The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst, a hugely popular HBO miniseries, cast a fresh spotlight on the property tycoon and played a pivotal role in his conviction.

The documentary revealed Durst’s life as a fugitive in the wake of the murders, who often disguised himself as a deaf-mute woman to avoid unwanted attention.

While on the run he shot dead Mr Black, a neighbour in Durst’s Texas apartment building in 2001.

Durst avoided a murder conviction for Mr Black’s death but spent three years in prison for other charges in the case, including evidence tampering for dismembering his body.

In the final episode of The Jinx, Durst appeared to confess to the killings, saying to himself while seemingly unaware that the microphone was still recording: “What the hell did I do? … Killed them all, of course.”

The convicted murderer was once in line to inherit the empire of his real estate magnate father Seymour Durst.

He became a developer in the family business, but his father later passed him over to make his younger brother, Douglas, the head of the Durst Organization in 1992.

The family are one of New York’s wealthiest and most powerful real estate dynasties, owning landmarks such as the Condé Nast building in Times Square and the One World Trade Center development.

Robert Abrams, the attorney for the family of Ms McCormack, said on Monday that the investigation into Durst would continue.

“Although Robert Durst has died, the ongoing investigation into those who helped him coverup her murder continues. On 31 January, 2022, the 40th anniversary of Kathie’s murder, we will provide a further update. In the interim, please say a prayer for Kathie and his other victims,” Mr Abrams said in a statement. 

Reference: Poppy Wood