In October 2001, the dismembered remains of seventy-one-year-old Morris Black were found floating in Galveston Bay. A few days later, Black’s neighbor, Robert Durst, was arrested on suspicion of murder and released on $250,000 bail. After posting bail, Durst jumped bail and disappeared for six weeks, before being arrested by Pennsylvania authorities at the end of November.In the years that followed, investigators and prosecutors began combing through Durst’s life, discovering disturbing connections between the excentric millionaire and the mysterious disappearances and deaths of several people who were once close to Durst. Robert Durst had been a suspect in the murder of Morris Black, but was it possible he was in fact a multiple murderer who’d evaded detection for decades?Thank you to the Incredible Dave White of Bring Me the Axe Podcast for research and Writing support!ReferencesAssociated Press. 2001. "Fugitive is arrested in Galveston man's death." Fort Worth Star-Telegram, December 1: 26.Babineck, Mark. 2001. "A mysterious trail left in Galveston." Austin American-Statesman, October 20: 25.Bagli, Charles. 2020. "4 decades of Durst's past are traced as trial begins." New York Times, March 11.—. 2021. "Durst faces new charge for murder of his wife." New York Times, October 23.—. 2021. "Durst is convicted of murder after 2 decades of suspicion." New York Times, September 18.—. 2021. "Durst is sentenced to life in prison for 2000 murder of friend." New York Times, October 15.—. 2020. "Real estate scion admits he wrote note in case profiled in 'The Jinx'." New York Times, January 1.—. 2014. "Stranger than fiction? Try fact." New York Times, December 2.Bagli, Charles V., and Kevin Flynn. 2001. "A two-decade spiral into suspicion." New York Times, October 21: A33.Bagli, Charles, and Kevin Flynn. 2001. "On the run with a fugitive: tales of aliases and disguises." New York Times, December 7: D1.Bagli, Charles, and Vivian Yee. 2015. "Straight from TV to jail: Durt is charged in killing." New York Times, March 16.Cartwright, Gary. 2002. "Durst case scenarios." Texas Monthly, February: 87-112.Collins, Marion. 2002. Without a Trace: Inside the Robert Durst Case. New York, NY: St. Martin's Press.Forbes. 2020. Durst family. December December. Accessed March 28, 2025. https://www.forbes.com/profile/durst/.Gerber, Marisa. 2021. "The Hollywood ‘Mafia princess’ was Robert Durst’s best friend. Did loyalty lead to murder?" Los Angeles Times, May 21.Hale, Mike. 2024. "Conversations on murder." New York Times, April 24.2015. The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst. Directed by Andrew Jarecki. Performed by Andrew Jarecki.Lozano, Juan. 2003. "Juey to see Galveston case evidence." Austin American-Statesman, August 14: 21.—. 2003. "Officer testifies there's no direct evidence against heir." Austin American-Statesman, October 21: 17.—. 2003. "Murder trial gets under way for multimillionaire Robert Durst." Fort Worth Star-Telegram, September 23: 21.Miller, Julie. 2015. "Robert Durst may have had a Mission Impossible-style plan to flee the country." Vanity Fair, March 18.Palmer, Alex. 2015. The Creepiest Things Robert Durst Says in His All Good Things DVD Commentary. April 15. Accessed April 1, 2025. https://www.vulture.com/2015/04/robert-dursts-all-good-things-dvd-commentary.html.Reporter-Dispatch. 1950. "Durst death in Scarsdale ruled an accident." Reporter-Dispatch (New York, NY), November 10: 9.Stewart, Richard, and Kevin Moran. 2003. "Millionaire is acquitted of murder." Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Nevember 12: 1.Streeter, Kurt. 2001. "N.Y. police had sought to quiz slain author." Los Angeles Times, January 9: 28.Zeman, Ned. 2020. "He also decided to kill her." Vanity Fair, April 23.—. 2015. "The fugitive heir." Vanity Fair, March 16.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Chapter 1: What is the introduction to the podcast about Robert Durst?
Hey weirdos, before we unleash today's macabre mystery, we were wondering, have you ever heard of Wondery Plus? It's like a secret passage to an ad-free lair with early access to episodes. You can join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or in Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
You're listening to a Morbid Network podcast.
Lamont Jones is shattered when his cousin dies just weeks after entering prison. The official report says natural causes, but bruises and missing teeth tell a different story. Wondery presents Death County PA, a chilling true story of corruption and cover-ups. Follow Death County PA on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts.
Hey, weirdos. I'm Ash. And I'm Elena. And this is Morbid.
This is Morbid, and we've had a good day. I know. It's been like a hectic good day. Yeah, it's a creative day, a very fun day. Yeah. Yeah, it's been a blast.
I figured out a technical issue. She did. I watched her do it. I never figure out technical issues, and this is big for me. The only reason you're hearing our voices right now is because Ash figured it out. You know when that's ever happened? Not before this. None. None. As your youngest would say, none times.
None times.
They have none-dama.
Yeah, so we're feeling good. Yeah, I'm trying to think if there's anything really exciting.
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Chapter 2: Who are Ash and Elena, and what is Morbid?
Maybe you are. I don't know. You just connected it to the wrong nostalgia bomb.
I don't know. Let me know in the comments.
But either way, the main part of that was the future is bright.
Yeah, I was wondering how we even got there.
Lots of fun plans for the future. The near future.
So let's get into it. I'm ready for part two.
Let's get into part two of Robert Durst because this guy sucks. Yeah, that's accurate. Yeah, he sucks a lot. I want to rewatch The Jinx, though. You should. It has an amazing theme song.
I know.
We talked about that last one. Fresh Blood by The Eels. I think that theme song was actually in Yellow Jackets, the last episode I watched. And I said, oh, I love this song. Yeah, that song goes fucking hard. It goes hard. And the actual documentary is wild.
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Chapter 3: What happened to Robert Durst's wife, Kathy?
This was a big turnaround for the man who so long had denied having anything to do with that note, which he claimed was an indication of something that only the killer could have known. He himself said that. Still, while Durst's lawyers were willing to admit he was in the area and even in Berman's home around the time of her death... And he wrote the note.
They steadfastly denied that he had anything to do with the murder. They said, sure. He was in the area. He was in her home. And he wrote that note. He wrote a note that said cadaver at this address, but he did not do it. Totally didn't kill her.
Nick DeGaran told the court what the note demonstrates is that the person who mailed it was aware there was a body at the house, not that the individual murdered Susan Berman. That's a wild-ass argument. That's a wild-ass argument. I hope he stretched before he made that. For real.
Durst's trial dragged on for nearly seven months, during which jurors and spectators heard a thorough overview of his personal history and the full extent of his criminal activities. The defense claimed that he... had nothing to do with the Berman murder and that the prosecution was simply trying to capitalize on the popularity of an HBO miniseries.
Defense attorney David Chesnoff said, we believe the absence of evidence is evidence that Bob is not guilty. I don't think there's an absence of evidence. The prosecutor, John Lewin, acknowledged the lack of conclusive physical evidence, but stressed that while the evidence may have been largely circumstantial, there was a lot of it. That's the thing.
And from very reputable sources, including the defendant himself. Well, circumstantial evidence is evidence nonetheless. Yeah. In his opening statement, he said, "'It's a long and complicated story because Mr. Durst committed a lot of crimes. As you're listening, some of the most damaging aspects of this case are going to come from him.'" Yeah.
Lewin reminded the jury Durst wasn't just in the area when Berman died. He was in her house, which he admitted. Y'all. He somehow also appeared to know there would be a body in Susan Berman's home before she was even dead. She wasn't dead yet.
Y'all.
Which they knew because he had confessed to writing and sending the note, which was post-dated before her death. Medically, they found that out. In the end, the jury sided with the DA, and on September 18th, 2021, after more than seven hours of deliberation, Robert Durst was found guilty of the murder of his best friend, Susan Berman, more than two decades earlier.
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