Robert Durst, a real estate heir, was arrested on a murder charge in New Orleans, concerning the 2000 killing of his confidant, Susan Berman as earlier reported here on Realty Today.
Durst was the subject of the docu-series, "The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst," recenty shown in HBO Channel. True to the series' name, he got unlucky this time, as an important piece of evidence featured in the documentary has lead to his arrest.
During his capture at the Marriott Hotel in New Orleans, Durst, a member of a wealthy New York clan, was disguised under the name of "Everette Ward," reports SFGate. The agents who caught Durst stated that Durst was in possession of around $43,000 in cash, a gun and a latex mask, adds SFGate. This rubber mask could mask and cover his head which may be used to conceal his identity. With the money he had, the authorities got worried that he has the financial capability to escape the country, reports CBC News.
The basis of his arrest was a letter shown in the series. It was a letter which Durst himself wrote to Berman a year before her killing. The similarities of that personal letter to the note given by an anonymous informant---with the aim of pointing the police to Berman's body--- became clear to the authorities, reports CBS News.
On Tuesday morning, the court in New Orleans ordered him to be moved to a Louisiana state prison equipped with a mental health unit. But the medical reasons for his transfer were not specified, notes NBC News.
However, sources cited by ABC News claim that there's an underlying reason for the move.
"In court today Durst's legal team said he suffers only from mild Aspergers, but prosecution sources told ABC News they believe he suffers from undisclosed conditions that are 'much more severe'."
After hearing the court's decision for the transfer, Durst's lawyer, Dick DeGuerin, proclaimed his client's innocence. He insisted that the warrant was "not because of facts" but just "because of a "television show," reports CBC News.
DeGuerin added, "Bob Durst didn't kill Susan Berman and he doesn't know who did."
Durst was first linked to the disappearance of his first wife Kathleen Durst in 1982 and in 2001, he was charged with murder but was not convicted of the death of his Texan neighbor, Morris Black reports Reuters.
The authorities stated that he shall be awaiting extradition to Los Angeles to face a first degree murder charge, ABC News adds.
