The defense for California murder defendant Robert Durst, 77, is scheduled for a status hearing on Friday, ahead of the resumption of his trial on April 12. You can watch in the player above. Court is set to start at 8:30 a.m. PT / 11:30 a.m. ET.
It has been almost a year since the COVID-19 outbreak put a long pause on his murder trial in the death of friend Susan Berman. The defense tried and failed to get a mistrial declared. They reasoned that the pandemic put a pause on the proceedings for far too long.
#RobertDurst – Prosecutor John Lewin begins his response to the defense motion for mistrial: “It is not the People’s fault that Mr. Durst chose to kill 3 people.” pic.twitter.com/vKsIBAD1BY
— Law&Crime Network (@LawCrimeNetwork) July 17, 2020
Durst only stands trial in Los Angeles County, California in Berman’s death, but two other cases stand in the backdrop: the 1982 disappearance of the defendant’s wife Kathleen McCormack Durst, and the 2002 fatal shooting and dismemberment of his Texas neighbor Morris Black. There have been no charges in the missing persons’ case, and defendant Durst previously beat a murder trial in the shooting of Black, claiming it was an accident and in self-defense.
#RobertDurst – Lewin: Susan Berman dated a man with two kids, when they broke up she was extremely close to them and the daughter even lived with her. Mella Kaufman will testify that Susan told her she had been the alibi after Durst’s wife disappeared.
— Law&Crime Network (@LawCrimeNetwork) March 4, 2020
Both sides of the case agree that the so-called cadaver letter places Durst at the scene of the Berman shooting. The defense maintains, however, that it was written in a panic after Durst found his friend shot and killed.
#RobertDurst – DeGuerin says Bob went to Susan’s as they had planned and he found her dead. He panicked. He sent the cadaver letter and ran. “That’s what Bob did. He ran.”
— Law&Crime Network (@LawCrimeNetwork) March 10, 2020
[Image via Alex Gallardo-Pool/Getty Images]
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