Finally, there might be a chance of justice for “Mafia princess” Susan Berman — and in the end, it may come down to the sin of pride.
Back in 1996, I did a telephone interview with Berman, daughter of a man involved in the Las Vegas mob, about an A&E documentary made about her experiences growing up in that world and her realization, late in life, about her father’s criminal activities.
We hit it off, bonding over telling stories of Meyer Lansky — a Las Vegas crime figure who was also famous for his gambling establishments in my home area of Saratoga Springs, N.Y.
Shortly after the story was published, I got a letter in the mail from someone who said he knew Berman’s father, David Berman, and wanted to get in touch with her. I had her contact info, but of course, I didn’t give it to him. Instead, I referred him to the show’s publicist, who could check with Berman and see if she wanted to talk to him.
I don’t know what ever came out of that correspondence.
A few years later, in January 2001, I read that Berman — who was raised and educated in Los Angeles — was murdered, execution-style, just before Christmas in her home in Benedict Canyon, between the Los Angeles basin and the San Fernando Valley.
That murder has remained unsolved, but many believed that Robert Durst, the son of a New York real-estate mogul, was involved, perhaps because Berman knew something about the 1982 disappearance of Durst’s first wife, Kathleen. Durst has also been connected to the murder and dismemberment of a neighbor in Galveston, Texas, in 2001.
Currently, Durst is the subject of “The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst,” that’s been airing on HBO (coincidentally, the finale of the series airs tonight, Sunday, March 15). He also appears in on-camera interviews.
Today, Robert Durst was arraigned in New Orleans, reported The New York Times, “after being arrested on first-degree murder charges in a killing 15 years ago in Los Angeles, law enforcement officials said.”
According to The Los Angeles Times:
Durst was arrested at a hotel in New Orleans late Saturday in connection with the slaying of Berman at her Benedict Canyon home. He has long denied any connection to her death, and his attorney told reporters Sunday he will fight the accusations
Durst spoke at length about the case in an HBO documentary series now airing, “The Jinx,” which included new information about the slaying.
The law enforcement source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the case was ongoing, said that information presented in the documentary proved key in the investigation.
From Variety:
The fifth episode of the series, which concludes on March 15, revealed what looked to be a bombshell in the Berman case: A letter from Durst that appeared to mirror the writing style on an anonymous one sent to the Beverly Hills police (both misspelled the word “Beverley”) tipping them off to Berman’s death.
Durst’s attorney says he’ll fight the charges, and he’s done it before. In the fall of 2001, Durst went on trial in Galveston for the murder of neighbor Morris Black.
From TIME magazine:
Durst, 71, famously went on trial for the fall 2001 murder of neighbor Morris Black, who was found dismembered in a Galveston, Texas, bay.
Even after jumping bail and later being found in Pennsylvania when he shoplifted a sandwich, he was acquitted via a self-defense claim.
In another interesting TV twist, Fox News host Jeanine Pirro (“Justice With Judge Jeanine”) was the district attorney of Westchester County, New York, when she reopened the case of the disappearance of Kathleen Durst, 17 years before.
Speaking to BloombergPolitics, Pirro said:
“I knew, I knew, I knew, that Robert Durst killed her.”
In a Q&A with writer Lisa DePaulo in the same Bloomberg article, Pirro said:
Jeanine Pirro: Right? I think that they clearly have enough now. California definitely does. I think Bobby Durst knows the jig is up. It appears from what we’ve seen on television that there is no question that they have evidence now that we did not have when I was in office, and that California did not have. And kudos goes to Andrew Jarecki and Marc Smerling. I mean, their tenacity and their determination and their wit and intelligence in moving this case forward is really unparalleled. And so as you look at what has been unearthed, there’s no question that the prosecution of Robert Durst for the murder of Susan Berman is far more in play that it was six months ago.
It’s fashionable to beat up on the media, but the combination of persistent investigators, talented documentary filmmakers and a network willing to air a series like “The Jinx,” could finally crack a case that might otherwise have continued to lay fallow.
Speaking to the press back in January, filmmaker Andrew Jarecki talked about getting Durst — whom he describes as “uncannily bright” — to speak about his past. That included a notorious incident at a party celebrating Kathleen Durst’s entrance into medical school, in which Durst, upset that someone else is the center of attention, grabbed her by the hair and pulled her out.
Jarecki had earlier directed the 2010 movie “All Good Things,” based on Durst’s story, starring Ryan Gosling and Kirsten Dunst. So, Jarecki was sitting with Durst, watching the movie, while doing the audio commentary for the DVD release:
And the story was that he had come back into the party, crosses the party, grabs her by the hair and drags her out of the party by her hair. This is the first time that anybody in her family had ever seen any violence from him. And I’m watching while we are doing the audio commentary, I’m watching this scene get closer and closer, and I’m thinking, what’s this going to feel like with me sitting next to Bob Durst and when this comes up? He’s going to be furious, or he’s going to say, “This is crazy.” This is a scene he’s going to have trouble explaining to me.
So we get up there, and the moment is at hand. And there’s Ryan Gosling, and he’s fed up with being at the party. He walks out to the car, comes back in, crosses the party, grabs Kirsten Dunst by her hair. Everybody in the audience is completely and, sort of, taken aback by this. And he says, “Oh, yes. I’ve heard this described two ways.” And I said, “Well, tell me about that.” He says, “Well, one way is that I went out to the car. Then I came back in, and I grabbed her by the hair, and I dragged her out of the party by her hair.” And I said, “Well, what’s the other way? He said, “Well, the other way is that I crossed the party, I yanked her by the hair, and a big chunk came out.” I said, “Oh.” And there’s a long pause, and I think he’s about to tell me how ridiculous that is. And he says, “Either one of those is pretty close.”
HBO released a statement:
“We simply cannot say enough about the brilliant job that Andrew Jarecki and Marc Smerling did in producing The Jinx. Years in the making, their thorough research and dogged reporting reignited interest in Robert Durst’s story with the public and law enforcement.”
And then, the series ended with a shocking scene. Click here to see what happened.
Image: Courtesy HBO
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