Gerald Herbert / AP
Robert Durst, the estranged heir to one of New York City's most prominent real estate families, pleaded guilty to gun charges in a Louisiana federal court on Wednesday, setting the stage for a possible murder trial, the New York Times reported.
Durst has been the subject of much speculation since 1982, when his first wife, Kathleen Durst, disappeared without explanation. Eight years later, his friend Susan Berman was found dead in her home with a gunshot to the head. Prosecutors in California believe Durst murdered Berman to prevent her from talking about Kathleen's disappearance.
Berman, the daughter of a Jewish gangster, was a journalist who acted as Durst's press liaison during the scandal that followed the disappearance of his wife.
The tangled story served as the plot forThe Jinx, a six-part documentary that aired on HBO. In the last episode, filmmaker Andrew Jarecki confronted Durst with evidence that he had murdered Berman. Durst denied the accusation, but a live microphone later captured whispering that he had "killed them all."
Durst, who broke with his family in 1994, was arrested in New Orleans last March, after the FBI became convinced that he was preparing to leave the country rather than face charges in California.
After searching Durst's hotel room, agents discovered a .38-caliber revolver. Durst, who is a convicted felon, is not allowed to own a firearm.
Durst's plea on Wednesday is part of an agreement that will send him to prison for seven years.
The guilty plea will allow prosecutors in California to extradite and arraign him on murder charges in a state court in Los Angeles. Durst's attorneys have said in the past the charges are spurious and that they are confident they will be vindicated in court.
The arraignment in California, which is expected to take place in August, will not be the first time Durst stands accused of killing. In 2003, a jury in Texas declined to convict him of murder even after he admitted to dismembering the body of a neighbor.
LINK: Real Estate Heir Robert Durst Agrees To Be Extradited To California
from BuzzFeed - USNews http://ift.tt/1o6DENC
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