This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-31897350
The article has changed 12 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
Version 2 | Version 3 |
---|---|
US millionaire Durst held after saying he 'killed them all' | |
(about 4 hours later) | |
An American millionaire from a prominent New York family has been arrested on suspicion of murder after appearing to say he "killed them all". | |
Robert Durst was arrested in New Orleans on Saturday after Los Angeles prosecutors issued a warrant for the 2000 killing of a friend. | |
The 71-year-old has always maintained his innocence in Susan Berman's murder. | |
Prosecutors are also reportedly tying the case to the unsolved disappearance of his first wife, Kathleen, in 1982. | |
She went missing after spending the weekend at their country home in New York State and was eventually pronounced legally dead. | |
In 2001, Mr Durst was acquitted of murder after convincing a jury that while living in Texas disguised as a mute woman, he had shot dead elderly neighbour, Morris Black, dismembered his body and dumped it in Galveston Bay in an act of self-defence. | |
Mr Durst's estranged family, who are believed to be worth at least $4bn (£2.71bn), said they were "relieved and also grateful to everyone who assisted" in his arrest. | |
"We hope he will finally be held accountable for all he has done," said his brother, Douglas, in a statement quoted by the Associated Press. | |
'You're caught' | 'You're caught' |
Mr Durst was arrested by FBI agents as he walked into a hotel in New Orleans where he had checked into under a false name, officials said. | |
He was remanded in custody pending a hearing on Monday. | |
Mr Durst's lawyer, Chip Lewis, said his client would not challenge his transfer to Los Angeles and would continue to maintain his innocence. | |
The arrest came after Mr Durst gave a lengthy interview for the six-part documentary The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst. | |
The final episode, broadcast on Sunday night, included what appeared to be a confession to the killings of Ms Barman, Mrs Durst and Mr Black. | |
According to the filmmakers, Mr Durst was still wearing a wireless microphone when he went into a hotel bathroom after the interview. | |
"There it is, you're caught," he whispered to himself in an unguarded moment that was not filmed. "What the hell did I do? Killed them all, of course." | |
It is not known if he is speaking sincerely, but it came after he was asked whether he had written a letter only Ms Berman's killer could have sent. | |
The filmmakers found similarities between handwriting on a letter from Mr Durst to Ms Berman and that on an anonymous note sent to police alerting them to a dead body in the victim's home. The word "Beverly" is also misspelled as "Beverley" on both documents. | |
Ms Berman, whose father was an associate of the Las Vegas mobsters Bugsy Siegel and Meyer Lansky, was a close friend of Mr Durst and also acted as his spokeswoman. | |
She was shot in the back of the head at her home in Los Angeles as investigators from New York prepared to question her over the disappearance of Kathleen Durst. | |
Los Angeles police were not able to place Mr Durst in Los Angeles at the time of the killing, but suspected he was the author of the anonymous note, according to the New York Times. A handwriting analysis performed in 2003 was inconclusive. | |
Last week, Mr Durst told the newspaper that he did not have the "faintest idea" who killed Ms Berman, nor know what happened to his first wife. |