Inside The Death Of Convicted Killer Robert Durst

Robert Durst, a New York City real-estate heir and convicted murderer, has passed away. In the 1980s, Durst was suspected of the disappearance of his first wife, Kathleen McCormack, although no charges or proof were ever brought about. Decades later in 2003, Durst faced trial for the death of his Texas neighbor, Morris Black, although he was acquitted. It wasn't until 2021 when he was on trial again for murder of his friend, mob daughter Susan Berman, that Durst was actually found guilty.

Durst was also the subject of the 2015 HBO docuseries "The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst," where he appeared to confess to the crimes. However, according to Complex, the filmmakers allegedly edited footage to alter the order of his statements for dramatic effect. (Per the same outlet, HBO stood by the doc's creators, saying in a statement, "Andrew Jarecki is an experienced, respected and award-winning filmmaker whose film speaks for itself.")

Prior to Durst's recent death, he was just months into his murder sentence, with many family members refusing to defend him any longer.

Robert Durst was serving a murder sentence before death

Robert Durst — a 78-year-old, who was serving prison time in California for the murder of Susan Berman — has died. Now, those who were both closest to and most affected by his crimes are speaking out about the real-estate mogul murderer. "Bob lived a sad, painful and tragic life. We hope his death brings some closure to those he hurt," Durst's brother Douglas told Daily Beast in a statement following the news.

Durst's personal lawyer, Chip Lewis, also told the publication that his client passed away while still in custody. "We understand that his death was due to natural causes associated with the litany of medical issues we had repeatedly reported to the court over the last couple of years. We will issue no further statements and will not entertain any questions out of respect," Lewis said.

According to The New York Times, Durst's official cause of death was cardiac arrest at San Joaquin General Hospital. He had struggled with various health issues, from bladder cancer during the trial of Berman, needing a wheelchair, and contracting COVID-19, according to NPR.