USA: Jinx killer Robert Durst dies in prison at 78

News agencies

11/01/2022

Tuesday, 11 January, 2022, 10:32 Updated: 10:46

• Share on Facebook

• Share on WhatsApp

• Share on Twitter

• Share on Email

• Share on general

• Comments

  Comments

Indicted himself in the "Jinx" series.

Robert Drest at his trial in Los Angeles last year (Photo: Reuters)

Millionaire and killer Robert Drest died at the age of 78 in a California jail where he was serving a life sentence, Drest's lawyer said last night (Monday) that he died "of natural causes related to the many medical problems he suffered" and which he has reported to courts in recent years.

He was sentenced to life in prison in October after being convicted of the murder of his girlfriend Susan Berman in 2000. Drest, a millionaire whose grandfather was one of the founders of one of New York's major real estate companies, managed to evade the law for decades. York in 1982. However, he got into trouble after accidentally indicting himself in the 2015 documentary series The Jinx.

The prosecution claimed he murdered Berman because he feared she would eventually turn him over to authorities. Berman, 55, was shot in the head at her home in Beverly Hills. Durst said at trial that he found Berman dead when he came to visit her. He admitted that he had sent an anonymous letter to the police in which he told them that the body was "his job", but insisted that he did not murder his girlfriend. The judge denied the defense's request for a retrial, saying the evidence had been proven many times.

The trial took place six years after Drest participated in "Jinx", and after the interview he continued to carry the microphone and was heard saying to himself in the bathroom: "What the hell did I do? I killed everyone, of course." Hours after the episode aired, he was arrested in New Orleans.

Durst was prosecuted only for Berman's murder in California, but prosecutors claimed he murdered three people: his wife, Berman and a Texas neighbor who revealed his identity while evading authorities. Yet,Drest is acquitted of the murder in Texas even though he has admitted to overdoing his neighbor's body.

• news

• World news

• America

Tags

• Robert Drest