Real estate heir to argue self-defense - Durst charged with murder of Galveston neighbor, 71

Associated Press ^ | September 22, 2003 | Associated Press Staff

[MeekOneGOP]

Real estate heir to argue self-defense

Durst charged with murder in slaying of Galveston neighbor, 71

08:30 AM CDT on Monday, September 22, 2003

Associated Press

GALVESTON, Texas - After an arrest, a six-week flight from authorities, nearly two years in jail and a three-week jury selection process, attorneys for Robert Durst, the cross-dressing New York real estate heir, are set to defend him against charges that he killed his elderly neighbor.

Opening arguments in his murder trial were scheduled for Monday afternoon.

Durst, 60, is accused of killing Morris Black, a 71-year-old neighbor, then dismembering the body and throwing the parts into Galveston Bay in September 2001. Both lived at a low-rent Galveston apartment complex.

But before the jury of nine women and three men hear opening statements, the prosecution and defense plan to discuss 36 hours of recorded telephone calls Durst made from a Pennsylvania prison after his arrest for shoplifting in November 2001. The question is what portion of the recordings, made after Durst was captured when he went on the lam following his arrest in Galveston, could be introduced into evidence.

State District Judge Susan Criss already ruled that attorney-client privilege protects calls Durst made to a friend who is a lawyer. But she has not said whether that protection extends to calls Durst made to his sister, Wendy Krieger; his brother-in-law, Doug Krieger; and his wife, Deborah Charatan.

Opening statements were originally scheduled for Thursday, but were delayed to give attorneys time to review the recordings, which were only received last week by prosecutors.

Durst has pleaded innocent by reason of self-defense and accident.

Jury consultant Robert Gordon said the fact that the majority of the jury is made up of women might hurt the defense because of what happened to the victim's body.

"His defense becomes a difficult matter to comprehend in light of the" dismemberment, said Gordon, director of the Wilmington Institute Network, which has offices in Houston and Dallas.

When Black's torso and severed limbs were found Sept. 30, 2001, floating in the bay, Durst had been living in a $300-a-month apartment under the guise of a mute woman. Black, whose head has never been found, lived across the hall from him. An autopsy blamed his death on "homicide by unknown means."

Galveston authorities didn't discover Durst's true identity until he jumped bail. They also learned he was wanted for questioning in the unsolved disappearance of his former wife, Kathleen, 21 years ago in New York and the unsolved Christmas Eve 2000 shooting death of a friend, writer Susan Berman, in Los Angeles, who was set to be questioned about his missing wife.

If found guilty, Durst could face from five to 99 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.

A gag order has prevented any of the trial participants from publicly discussing the case.

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Online at: http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dallas/tsw/stories/092203dntexdurst.c0a6e.html

[MeekOneGOP]

AP
Robert Durst

[Texagirl4W]

He looks like Wesley Clark's twin.

[Maeve]

Yeeesh! Burn him at the stake.