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Robert Alan DurstUS billionaire real estate heir suspected of killing three people
Date of Birth: 14.04.1943
Country:  USA |
Content:
- Robert Durst: The Troubled Heiress
- Early Life and Family History
- Education and Early Career
- Marriage and Disappearance of Kathleen McCormack-Durst
- The Black Murder and Trial
- The Jinx and Subsequent Charges
- Multiple Identities and Elusive Lifestyle
- Film and Documentary
Robert Durst: The Troubled Heiress
Robert Durst, a New York real estate scion and alleged murderer of three individuals, has a life shrouded in both wealth and mystery. Born into the prominent Durst family, his childhood was marked by tragedy and psychiatric concerns.
Early Life and Family History
Robert Alan Durst was born in Scarsdale, New York, on April 12, 1943. His paternal grandfather, Joseph Durst, was an Austrian-Hungarian Jewish tailor who emigrated to the United States in 1902 and eventually became a successful real estate developer, establishing the Durst Organization in 1927.
When Robert was seven years old, his mother died after falling from the family home in Scarsdale. The billionaire later claimed that she had been standing on the roof when his father led him to a window overlooking the scene. As a child, Durst and his brother, Douglas, underwent psychotherapy devido to intense sibling rivalry. A 1953 psychiatric report of the 10-year-old Robert suggested "schizoid" traits and possible schizophrenia.
Education and Early Career
After graduating from high school, where classmates described him as a loner, Durst earned a bachelor's degree in economics from Lehigh University in 1965, where he played lacrosse and served as editor of the student newspaper, The Brown and White. He met Susan Berman, the daughter of gangster David Berman, while pursuing a doctorate at the University of California, Berkeley, which he left in 1969. Durst briefly joined the family business but was not given control of the Durst Organization, which was instead entrusted to his brother Douglas in the 1990s. This decision caused a rift between Robert and his family and led to his estrangement.
Marriage and Disappearance of Kathleen McCormack-Durst
On April 12, 1973, Durst married Kathleen McCormack-Durst, a dental hygienist who planned to become a pediatrician. She vanished without a trace on January 31, 1982. Susan Berman provided an alibi for Durst, but she herself was later found executed in her home on December 24, 2000, with a bullet to the back of the head from a .38-caliber gun. A 2005 statement by Durst indicated that Berman had called him shortly before her death to inform him that the LAPD wanted to question her regarding McCormack's disappearance. Berman had been facing eviction at the time and was also preparing to publish an explosive book about the mob. Durst was known to have given her two cash gifts totaling $50,000 in the months leading up to her execution. In a November 5, 2000, note, Berman expressed hope that her financial struggles would not damage her friendship with Durst. On March 14, 2015, Durst was arrested in New Orleans on suspicion of Berman's murder. A preliminary hearing concluded in April 2018, with Superior Court Judge Mark Windham finding sufficient evidence to charge Durst with her murder.
The Black Murder and Trial
In 2001, Durst was arrested on a third high-profile charge. On October 9, the dismembered remains of his elderly neighbor, Morris Black, were found floating in Galveston Bay, Texas. After posting a $300,000 bond, Durst skipped a court appearance and was captured attempting to steal a sandwich, bandages, and a newspaper from a grocery store in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, with $500 in his pocket. Police discovered $37,000 in cash, two guns, marijuana, and Black's driver's license in Durst's rented car. He was extradited to Texas and stood trial in 2003.
Prominent attorney Dick DeGuerin, who had defended figures like Tom DeLay, Allen Stanford, and David Koresh, mounted a self-defense strategy on behalf of his wealthy client. Psychiatrist Milton Altschuler, who had evaluated Durst for some 70 hours, diagnosed him with Asperger's syndrome. Durst admitted to dismembering Black's body but claimed that the neighbor, a "nasty, mean-spirited loner," had attacked him, grabbed his gun, and threatened to kill him. In the ensuing struggle, Durst shot Black in the head. He then dismembered the body, using a vegetable peeler, two saws, and a hatchet, placed the parts in bags, and disposed of them in the bay. Because Black's head was never recovered, prosecutors could not dispute Durst's account. He was ultimately acquitted of murder but convicted of tampering with evidence by dismembering the body and violating his bail conditions, receiving a five-year prison sentence. Durst was released on parole in 2005 after serving two years in custody, but he violated parole and remained in prison until March 2006.
The Jinx and Subsequent Charges
On January 16, 2019, Judge Windham set a retrial date for September 3, 2019. Prosecutors reportedly now have additional evidence linking Durst to Black's murder and are also seeking to connect Berman's death to Kathleen McCormack's disappearance.
In addition to the three murders, Durst has been linked to the disappearances of 17-year-old Lynne Schulze, 16-year-old Karen Mitchell, and 18-year-old Kristen Modafferi.
Multiple Identities and Elusive Lifestyle
Durst has lived and worked under numerous aliases in Virginia, Mississippi, Florida, Massachusetts, and elsewhere. He allegedly fabricated many of these identities himself using a scanner, copier, and laminator. While hiding from police in Galveston, he lived in a boarding house and posed as a woman.
Film and Documentary
Robert Durst's enigmatic life has been the subject of intrigue and media attention. Director Andrew Jarecki made the 2009 film All Good Things, where Ryan Gosling played a character loosely based on Durst named David Marks. Durst watched the film and contacted Jarecki, expressing his admiration for it. Jarecki's follow-up conversation with Durst led to the 2015 HBO documentary miniseries The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst, which further explored Durst's life and his role in the deaths of McCormack, Berman, and Black.
