Robert Durst takes stand at his trial, denies killing friend

LOS ANGELES – Robert Durst took the basal astatine his California execution proceedings Monday and instantly denied sidesplitting his champion friend, who prosecutors accidental was astir to uncover to investigators his engagement successful the 1982 disappearance of his wife.

“Bob, did you termination Susan Berman?” Durst’s lawyer Dick DeGuerin said to unfastened the grounds of the 78-year-old New York existent property heir.

“No,” Durst answered.

“Do you cognize who did?” DeGuerin asked.

“No, I bash not,” answered Durst, who struggled to hear, strained to talk and appeared highly frail arsenic helium sat successful a wheelchair alternatively of a witnesser chair.

Berman was changeable successful the backmost of the caput and killed successful 2000 successful her Los Angeles home. She had been Durst's champion person for decades and acted arsenic his de facto spokesperson aft the disappearance of his wife, Kathie, who was aboriginal declared dead, though nary assemblage was found.

Durst was arrested connected a warrant successful Berman’s sidesplitting successful New Orleans successful 2015 connected the eve of the airing of the last occurrence of “The Jinx,” the HBO documentary bid astir him successful which Durst made respective seemingly damning statements.

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As helium said helium would erstwhile the proceedings began successful Los Angeles Superior Court much than a twelvemonth agone earlier the coronavirus forced a agelong delay, DeGuerin went done with the risky determination of calling a execution suspect to testify, conscionable arsenic helium did with Durst astatine his 2003 Texas trial, erstwhile the affluent heir was acquitted.

After asking him bluntly whether helium had killed Berman, DeGuerin backtracked to the opening of Durst’s life.

Durst’s parent died erstwhile helium was 7 years old, either jumping oregon falling from the apical of their home.

Durst testified that his gramps woke him successful the mediate of the nighttime to look astatine “mommy connected the roof” conscionable earlier her death.

Durst said his father, existent property magnate Seymour Durst, was determined to stay successful the household home, nary substance the trauma it caused him.

“I kept begging my begetter to move,” Durst said, “but helium ne'er sold the location wherever his woman died.”

Durst said helium did each helium could to get distant aft that.

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“I ran distant from everywhere.”

While helium is charged with conscionable 1 killing, prosecutors person been allowed to contiguous grounds from the Texas case. There, Durst testified that his Galveston neighbour Morris Black was killed successful a conflict aft entering his location with a gun. From the stand, Durst described chopping up and disposing of the body, but the assemblage recovered him not blameworthy of murder.

Prosecutors person besides been allowed to contiguous grounds that Durst killed his wife. He has ne'er been charged successful transportation with her disappearance, and has denied having thing to bash with it.

He spent overmuch of Monday's grounds describing the blessed aboriginal years of their matrimony aft gathering her erstwhile she was moving astatine a dentist's bureau conscionable retired of precocious school.

“Kathie was ecstatic. I was ecstatic. We were some precise overmuch successful love,” Durst said of their wedding day, his 30th birthday, successful 1973, calling a light-brown suit shown successful a photograph “my hippie uniform."

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Eschewing the household business, helium and Kathie alternatively opened a tiny wide store successful Vermont that sold wellness nutrient and different supplies.

“You could person immoderate benignant of toothpaste you wanted, arsenic agelong arsenic it was Colgate,” Durst said.

The store was called, helium testified, “All Good Things." The sanction was utilized arsenic the rubric of a movie based connected the couple's life, with Ryan Gosling playing Durst and Kirsten Dunst playing Kathie. Clips from the 2010 movie person been played during the trial.

Durst besides described gathering Berman, a mobster's girl who grew up successful Las Vegas, erstwhile some were successful postgraduate schoolhouse astatine the University of California, Los Angeles successful the 1960s, and striking up a close, decades-long friendship.

“We some had spot funds,” Durst said.

The questioning had not yet addressed Kathie Durst's disappearance oregon the details of Berman's decease erstwhile tribunal ended for the day. Durst is acceptable instrumentality to the basal connected Wednesday.

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Durst, who has bladder crab and respective different ailments that helium listed from the stand, wore the brownish jailhouse attire he’s had connected successful tribunal for the past fewer weeks of the trial. His attorneys said he’s been incapable to basal to enactment connected a suit.

He struggled to perceive some the clerk erstwhile helium was sworn successful and DeGuerin arsenic helium asked questions, utilizing a tablet that showed a unrecorded transcription to assistance him understand.

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Follow AP Entertainment writer Andrew Dalton connected Twitter astatine https://twitter.com/andyjamesdalton

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