On December 24, 2000, Susan Berman, an author and journalist, was found dead by a gunshot wound in her rented Benedict Canyon house in Beverly Hills. At the time, Berman's murder was unfortunately not linked to any likely suspects, and the case slowly grew cold. Fifteen years later, however, millionaire Robert Durst, a former friend of Berman, was arrested on a first degree murder warrant for Berman's murder. This is not the first time Durst has been linked to a murder; when his wife Kathleen McCormack disappeared in 1982, Durst was a prime suspect in her disappearance and her possible murder. Although Durst was not charged for McCormack's disappearance, he was linked to the Berman case when Berman was murdered hours before she was to speak with the police about Durst's involvement in McCormack's disappearance. In November of 2016, Durst pled not guilty to the murder charge, and the trial was eventually postponed to April of 2018 for Durst's defense team, some of which were affected by Hurricane Harvey. In November of 2018, it was ruled that there was enough evidence to convict Durst, and he again pled not guilty. His trial will begin September 3, 2019, and he faces life in prison without possibility of parole.
There is a multitude of evidence that points toward Durst in the Berman murder case. A strong piece of direct evidence is his unknowing confession to several murders. In the last episode of 2015 HBO documentary series The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst, Durst was recorded mumbling, "You're caught! What the hell did I do? Killed them all, of course," unaware that his mic was still on. This recording was what spurred prosecutors to send the case to trial. Along with this direct evidence, there are pieces of circumstantial evidence against Durst as well. Testimonies from various sources claim that Durst allegedly informed Berman about his involvement in McCormack's disappearance and that Berman helped cover up his crime for years. This suggests that Durst did, in fact, murder McCormack, and to completely cover his tracks, he killed Berman hours before her police interrogation. The strongest piece of circumstantial evidence is his handwritten letter to Berman sent in 1999. His handwriting in the letter featured block form letters and capital letters. At the time of Berman's murder, an anonymous letter with information on the murder was sent to the Beverly Hills police, and after many eliminations on the author of the note, the handwriting was matched to Durst's handwritten letter to Berman. Both the letter and the anonymous note shared the block capital letters as well as the misspelling of the word "Beverly Hills," which was written "Beverley Hills." The matching handwriting undeniably shows Durst's involvement in the murder of Berman.
Durst did not seem to have a problem with murdering his first wife and dismembering Morris Black, a victim of a previous case in which he did not get convicted. A man who has gotten away with many murders would not be afraid to run into the law again. Not to mention, Durst is a millionaire, allowing him to hire the best attorney and pull off the best coverups. Among the evidence, the confession that Durst unknowingly made strongly supports the case that he is the murderer. The handwriting match and the misspelling of "Beverly Hills" were the strongest pieces of evidence that directly link Durst to the murder and imply that he is the murderer, since the anonymous note contained information only Berman's killer would know. His murder trial is actually paused due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so I wonder what will the verdict be when he finally is on trial for the gruesome crime.
