Disclaimer: This article contains mentions of murder. Reader discretion is advised.
“Robert Durst: The Lost Years” is an episode of Dateline: Secrets Uncovered that will be aired on Oxygen on February 14, 2024, at 8 p.m. ET. The episode will follow the life of the real estate heir and multimillionaire over the past few decades before his death through stories and observations from his close friends and acquaintances. They also discuss his arrest in New Orleans.
When Robert Durst was charged with the murder of his wife, Kathleen Durst, in October 2021, he had already been serving time for the murder of Susan Berman, his long-time spokeswoman and journalist. However, he died at the age of 78 at the San Joaquin General Hospital before he could be tried in court for the murder of Kathleen. Reportedly, Kathleen was reported missing in 1982, shortly after she seemingly decided to divorce her husband.
Robert Durst was born in 1943 and was the eldest heir to his father’s apartment-building empire. After just a couple of dates, he reportedly invited Kathleen, a medical school student, to move in with him to Vermont. A year after they started living together, Robert took over his family business. Robert and Kathleen married in 1973. However, by 1976, they reportedly began having problems in the marriage.
According to her family, Robert Durst coerced Kathleen to have an abortion, The New York Times reported. Meanwhile, Kathleen completed nursing and medicine at the Albert Einstein Medical College in the Bronx. In 1981, she reportedly hired a divorce lawyer. She also went to the hospital to get treated for several bruises that were inflicted on her by her husband. As per Vulture, in February of the following year, Robert Durst reported Kathleen missing.
How did Robert Durst get caught?
Robert Durst said Kathleen was traveling to Manhattan for a medical school appointment. He claimed to have last seen her when he dropped her off at a train station. He then drove back to South Salem. There, he had a few drinks before contacting her over the telephone at Riverside Drive in Manhattan.
However, phone records did not reveal any calls from his South Salem home to Riverside Drive. The New York Times reported that although he claimed he used a pay phone, the nearest payphone was miles away, and neighbors he claimed to have had a drink with denied having done that. Despite the significant inconsistencies in his claims, Kathleen Durst’s murder case went cold for 16 years until 1998, when burglars stole some financial records that Kathleen gave her friends for safekeeping.
The records revealed Susan Berman’s heavy involvement in Robert Durst’s life. She was only known to be his spokeswoman until then. Berman was called in for questioning as part of the revived investigation in 2000. Before the questioning unfolded, police in Westchester, New York, received an anonymous letter that mentioned a “cadaver.” It also mentioned an address where Susan Berman was then found dead. She was shot.
As per Vulture, he was arrested and charged with the murder of Susan Berman in 2015. The prosecution presented strong evidence that connected Robert Durst to the note that the Westchester police received when Susan Berman died. Although the defense argued that the note only indicated that Robert Durst knew of the murder, he was convicted of Berman’s murder, ABC News reported. However, he was never convicted of Kathleen’s murder and died of a cardiac arrest in 2022 after he was charged with it.
Dateline: Secrets Uncovered’s episode on Robert Durst will be aired on Oxygen, on February 14, 2024, at 8 p.m. ET.
