Robert Durst has COVID-19, is on ventilator, says attorney

LOS ANGELES — New York existent property heir Robert Durst, who was sentenced to beingness successful situation Thursday for sidesplitting a longtime person successful her Benedict Canyon location implicit 2 decades ago, has contracted COVID-19 and is connected a ventilator, it was reported Saturday.

Dick DeGuerin, the pb lawyer for the 78-year-old Durst, told the Los Angeles Times that his lawsuit had been hospitalized, and had been successful atrocious signifier during his sentencing hearing.

“He was having trouble breathing and helium was having trouble communicating,” DeGuerin told the newspaper. “He looked worse than I’ve ever seen him and I was precise disquieted astir him.”

It was not wide erstwhile oregon wherever Durst was hospitalized. Attempts to scope DeGuerin and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department for further details were not instantly successful.

Durst, who often appeared frail during his lengthy execution trial, was held successful a helping of LA County/USC Medical Center during the proceedings.

He sat softly successful a wheelchair Thursday arsenic Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Mark Windham sentenced him to beingness successful situation without the anticipation of parole. DeGuerin vowed to entreaty his condemnation for the sidesplitting of Susan Berman, who was changeable successful the backmost of the caput conscionable earlier Christmas Eve 2000.

Durst was convicted Sept. 17 of first-degree murder, with jurors besides uncovering existent the peculiar condition allegations of execution portion lying successful hold and execution of a witness. Jurors besides recovered existent allegations that Durst personally utilized and discharged a firearm during the committee of the crime.

Prosecutors argued that Durst changeable Berman and past his neighbor, Morris Black, successful Galveston, Texas, 9 months aboriginal successful the caput due to the fact that each of them had damaging accusation against him and feared they would talk to authorities aft a re-investigation was launched into the 1982 disappearance of his archetypal wife, Kathleen “Kathie” Durst, whose assemblage has ne'er been found.

Durst spent 14 days connected the basal and repeatedly denied being progressive successful Berman’s killing, and testified that helium wrote a alleged “cadaver” missive to constabulary aft uncovering Berman’s assemblage portion utilizing a cardinal she had sent him to participate the 55-year-old writer’s house.

Durst has besides denied immoderate engagement successful his archetypal wife’s disappearance, and helium was acquitted successful Texas of Black’s execution aft testifying that the weapon went disconnected during a conflict implicit the weapon.

Durst’s proceedings began successful March 2020, initially astatine the Airport Courthouse successful Los Angeles. The proceedings was subsequently moved to a larger courtroom successful Inglewood owed to societal distancing concerns due to the fact that of the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced a hold of astir 14 months successful the trial. Jurors returned to tribunal successful mid-May, erstwhile attorneys gave a caller and abbreviated circular of opening statements earlier grounds resumed.

Within little than a week of the jury’s verdict, Durst’s defence squad filed a question seeking a caller proceedings for their client, contending determination was “insufficient grounds to enactment the condemnation beyond a tenable doubt, and the verdict was contrary to the grounds and the law.”

The justice denied the defense’s motion, explaining that “there is capable evidence, so overwhelming evidence, of guilt.”

Windham called the unfortunate “an bonzer quality being” and said helium wished helium could person known her, saying that her decease was an “awful, disturbing crime” and “a unspeakable nonaccomplishment to our community.”

Durst has been down bars since March 14, 2015, erstwhile helium was taken into custody successful a New Orleans edifice country hours earlier the airing of the last occurrence of the six-part HBO documentary bid “The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst,” which examined the disappearance of Kathie Durst and the shooting deaths of Berman and Black.

During his clip connected the stand, the suspect told jurors that a bath signaling of him shown successful the bid successful which helium said, “There it is, you’re caught,” referred to the cadaver enactment helium yet admitted writing.

Durst had been confronted by Andrew Jarecki — manager and co-producer of “The Jinx” — astir the cadaver enactment and 2 envelopes addressed to Berman and acknowledged that it was beauteous evident that the handwriting was the same, adjacent though helium had denied for years that helium had written the enactment to constabulary astir Berman’s body.

Durst subsequently admitted that helium wrote the letter.

When asked what helium meant by his recorded remark “killed them all, of course” that was shown during the series, Durst said, “What I did not accidental retired large oregon possibly I said precise softly, ‘They’ll each deliberation I killed them all, of course.’”

In his last argument, Deputy District Attorney John Lewin told the assemblage that determination was a “mountain of evidence” against Durst, whom helium said “killed 3 people,” and that it is clip for Durst to beryllium “held accountable.” The authoritative noted that Durst’s woman had mysteriously disappeared ne'er to beryllium seen again, that Berman was killed aft telling Durst she was going to speech to constabulary looking into Kathie Durst’s disappearance, that Black was killed and dismembered and that a communal person of Durst and Berman testified that Durst had told him astir Berman, “It was her oregon me. I had nary choice.”

Another prosecutor, Habib Balian, told jurors the sidesplitting was “planned” and “premeditated,” and that “Susan knew her slayer and fto him into the house” earlier being changeable successful the backmost of the caput erstwhile she turned her back.

Balian noted that Durst acknowledged that Berman had told him she was going to talk with constabulary aft the probe was reopened into Kathie Durst’s disappearance.

One of Durst’s attorneys, David Chesnoff, urged jurors successful his closing statement to acquit the defendant, whom helium had described earlier arsenic “sick and elderly.”

“They person not proven that Bob Durst killed Susan Berman beyond a tenable doubt,” the defence lawyer said. “Bob did not termination Kathie Durst, truthful determination was nary large concealed … No grounds is grounds that they haven’t proven their lawsuit beyond a tenable doubt.”

Chesnoff told jurors Berman did not marque a telephone telephone posing arsenic Kathie Durst to the aesculapian schoolhouse wherever the missing pistillate was a pupil — arsenic the prosecution contends she did to supply an alibi for Durst — and that she “wasn’t a witnesser to anything.” The defence lawyer contended that the archetypal probe by Los Angeles constabulary into Berman’s sidesplitting was “shoddy and incomplete,” and that constabulary didn’t adjacent find a fingerprint from Durst adjacent though helium acknowledged being adjacent the assemblage of the 55-year-old pistillate helium had met astatine UCLA years earlier.

“Who other did they miss?” Chesnoff asked. “They missed the existent slayer … This was a botched investigation. Now let’s blasted it each connected Bob. That’s what we ever bash and radical wonderment wherefore Bob Durst was moving — due to the fact that it ne'er stops. You volition enactment a halt to it.”

The Los Angeles Times reported earlier this period that the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office successful New York would beryllium convening a expansive assemblage wrong a fewer weeks involving the disappearance of Kathie Durst.

Durst has agelong been estranged from his existent estate-rich family, which is known for ownership of a bid of New York City skyscrapers including an concern successful the World Trade Center. He divided with the household erstwhile his younger member was placed successful complaint of the household business, starring to a drawn-out ineligible conflict and yet reached a colony successful which the household reportedly paid him $60 cardinal to $65 million.