Real-estate heir Robert Durst takes 7-year plea deal in gun case, but unrelated murder case ongoing
The son of a New York real estate mogul has taken a plea in a Louisiana firearm case that involves a prison term of a little more than seven years.
However, that won’t be the end of a complex criminal-case saga for Robert Durst, now 72, who will also be fined $5,000 and forfeit $44,000 found in his hotel room and $117,000 sent in an intercepted package as part of his Wednesday sentence in New Orleans federal court.
He still faces an unrelated murder case in Los Angeles, concerning the death of a female friend, Susan Berman. California prosecutors say Durst killed her in 2000 to prevent her from telling what she knew about the 1982 disappearance of his first wife to prosecutors in New York, the Associated Press reports.
The New Orleans case involves a .38-caliber revolver that Durst, as a convicted felon, was prohibited from carrying.
Claiming self-defense, Durst was previously acquitted in another murder case in 2003, involving the death of a neighbor in Texas whose body was admittedly dismembered by Durst. However, he took a plea to charges that resulted from his being on the lam before that trial. Earlier ABC News, Los Angeles Times (sub. req.) and New York Times (reg. req.) stories discuss the Morris Black murder case.
In New Orleans, “This case is and always has been about the accusation that Bob killed his best friend, Susan Berman,” said Durst’s lawyer, Richard DeGuerin. “He did not kill Susan Berman, he doesn’t know who did, and he’s eager to get to California and prove that.”
Related coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “Real-estate mogul’s son is arrested before his ‘killed them all’ comment airs on documentary”
48 Hours (CBS News): “Murder 90210”
Mashable: “Judge who presided over Robert Durst acquittal in Texas murder: ‘He’s very dangerous’”
See also:
ABAJournal.com: “TV judge had ‘little regard for truth and accuracy’ in Robert Durst book, collaborator’s suit says”
