The sentence fell. Robert Durst, a 78-year-old multimillionaire, was convicted in September of killing his friend Susan Berman with a bullet to the head at the latter's home in 2000, in Beverly Hills, to prevent him from speaking to the police. of the disappearance of his wife, Kathleen, two decades earlier. He therefore receives a life sentence on Thursday. “This crime is the murder of a witness,” Judge Mark Windham said before handing down the sentence. "This circumstance (…) has greatly aggravated this terrible and disturbing crime", he added. The magistrate rejected the defense's request for a new trial, arguing that there was "sufficient, indeed overwhelming, evidence of guilt."
The court also heard from a son of the victim, who said he wondered what his life would have been like if Robert Durst had not killed his mother.
“All the plans have been completely swept away,” said Sareb Kaufman, crying.
"You also killed me, (you killed) the person I was."
During the hearing, Robert Durst, who had pleaded not guilty, remained almost motionless in his wheelchair.
Relatives of Susan Berman urged him in court to say where the body of his wife Kathleen is.
" What did I do ?
I killed them all, obviously ”
The prosecution believes that Susan Berman helped Robert Durst cover up his role in the murder of his wife Kathleen and that Mr. Durst ended up killing Ms. Berman to prevent her from responding to the New York police officers who were investigating the disappearance of his wife in 1982. A black sheep from one of New York's biggest real estate families, Robert Durst was arrested in March 2015 on the eve of the airing of the last episode of a six-part HBO biographical documentary, "The Jinx". The series revisited another bloody episode in Robert Durst's life: the murder of a neighbor, which he then dismembered and thrown into the sea.
He had been acquitted of this crime thanks to an army of prestigious lawyers who had pleaded a mixture of self-defense, an accidental gunshot and acts committed under the influence of alcohol.
In "The Jinx", Mr. Durst seemed to make an involuntary confession, whispering to himself as he was in the bathroom and his wireless mic was not turned off, "What the hell did I have?" made ?
I killed them all, of course.
"