Real estate heir Robert Alan Durst has been sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole for the murder of Susan Berman. The son of the New York City real estate mogul, Seymour Durst, was handed his sentence Thursday.
Durst faced murder charges following the explosive HBO documentary, titled "The Jinx," which chronicled his life, the mysterious disappearance of his wife, the murder of his friend Susan, and the death of his neighbor Morris Black.
In court, Durst has repeatedly denied all charges, including accusations that he shot his friend in the back of the head in 2000 inside her home in Beverly Hills. Prosecutors had accused Durst of murdering Berman as she threatened to talk to the police about what she knew about the disappearance of Durst's wife more than 20 years ago.
Judge Mark Windham said before reading out the sentence that Durst was guilty of the crime of witness killing. The judge also rejected the request of Durst's attorneys for a new trial, stating that was already overwhelming evidence presented to prove their client's guilt.
Throughout the reading of the verdict and his life sentence, the 78-year-old Durst reportedly sat motionless and quiet in his wheelchair.
Berman, who was the daughter of a known Las Vegas mobster, was Durst's best friend. After his wife, Kathleen, had mysteriously disappeared, Berman acted as his spokeswoman and defended his innocence in public and with the press. Durst, who was the estranged son of one of New York's wealthiest families, was never arrested or charged for his wife's alleged murder.
Before he was sentenced on Thursday, Berman's relatives had urged Durst to come out clean and reveal to police where he hid his wife's body. Durst did not respond to the pleas.
In 2001, Durst was arrested and pled guilty to two counts of bail jumping and one count of evidence tampering related to his killing of his neighbor. Durst admitted to killing dismembering Black but claimed that it was all in self-defense. Durst was eventually acquitted.
Durst was arrested again in March 2015 just hours before the final episode of the HBO documentary was aired. During the taping of one of the episodes, Durst reportedly forgot that his microphone was still on when he went inside a restroom. He was recorded muttering to himself saying "There it is, you're caught" and "Killed them all, of course."
"For the last 20 years, he's avoided responsibility for Morris Black. Durst is not jinxed. He's a three-time killer who has managed to escape accountability until this very moment," prosecutor John Lewin said following Durst's sentencing.
