TX - Trial of Robert Durst in the murder of Morris Black

[TexMex]

I thought was interesting even from the first few episodes of Jinx that they were showing a "surveillance looking type" video of he and Durst smoking outside somewhere. :dunno:

iirc (note, my iirc's are more than 50% wrong :floorlaugh:.... ) that he WANTED $200k, but only got 20k or 25k per year for a few years? Others will correct me here :biggrin:

My iirc may be wrong too...my memory is he got $50K a year for four years-but I have not rewatched that part of the show yet!

Susan got two $25K checks from Durst in the months preceding her death

 

[Luvrosco]

Actually, I don't think the stepson got any money. Wasn't Durst arrested in Galveston shortly after the phone call about the college $ ?

 

[atthelake]

This is my opinion… I am just speculating… but I think that most of this had to do with Durst's money. Everyone who held his secrets seems to be either terrified of what RD might do to them, or figured they would see if they could benefit from RD's skeletons and get some $$ from him. The stepson got his education paid for (blood money?). The stepson may truly have believed RD did not do it, and was happy to get the $$. His current wife got $20 million just to marry him. She is smart enough not to live with him and has so far stayed safe and alive. And to us sleuthers - this is just so mind-boggling and fascinating. It is obvious to me that the investigation into his first wife's death was a non-investigation. Whether it was because people were paid off by the Durst family, or you just had a detective who thought she ran away and did not care enough to investigate it properly - who knows. But it is fascinating.

Agree, I think I'm hooked on this one for the long term.


I want to give a big shout and and thanks :tyou: to all those that went before me on this thread that did quotes from articles within their posts so that I could catch up quickly (many, as we know, go dead link after some time-easier to get gist with quotes etc)....


Any whoooo... hope this will not end up to be another case flashback like FCA and Oscar trials as to justice not being served for Caylee or Reeva iykwim. raying:

http://lowres.cartoonstock.com/animals-fish-hook-fisherman-fishes-fishing_lines-bstn563_low.jpg

http://cdn.mg.co.za/crop/content/cartoons/2014/03/04/oscarpistoriustrial.jpg/600x400/

 

[TexMex]

Actually, I don't think the stepson got any money. Wasn't Durst arrested in Galveston shortly after the phone call about the college $ ?

That could very well be. Maybe the agreement was for four payments but none actually were sent...
I need to rewatch The Jinx

 

[TexMex]

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/crime-c...well-can-be-expected-jail-lawyer-says-n327986

"He's in a good place," defense attorney Dick DeGuerin said of the jail where Durst is being held. "They have full medical facilities where he is being held ... I don't think it's unusual for a 71-year-old or a 72-year-old man to have medical conditions. He's a cancer survivor."

 

[TexMex]

"Hi Carol Christian: I have been approached by a bunch of media outlets including the 3 nyc newspapers about giving an interview towards end of HBO series. Except for lawyers nobody seems to know I live in Houston, have lived here for last ten years .... Would the chronicle be interested in interviewing me?"

The message was signed "bob."

To confirm that the message really came from the Robert Durst, I emailed a couple of his attorneys to ask them about it. One replied that he didn't think so, given that Durst had declined the "many requests" the attorney had relayed to him but that he would check. Hearing nothing further, I assumed the email had come from an anonymous teenaged hacker in a foreign country.

A few days later, the other lawyer confirmed that the lower-case emailer was, in fact, Robert Durst.

Why the mercurial real estate heir approached me, rather than other Chronicle reporters who have written about him, I will likely never know.
Now, I'd love to know if he was already on the run while I was hanging around Croissant and Brioche, waiting for him.

Although I felt blown off at Durst's absence, I must say it was heartwarming when I returned to the office to hear a little burst of applause from the web team and a cheery, "Carol's back!"

http://www.chron.com/houston/article/Robert-Durst-stood-me-up-6147874.php

 

[jennapuppy]

Douglas Durst claims it never happened - he and his sibilings were asleep, their mother jumped, and they were all whisked off to a neighbors house before they could see anything. Robert was with him the entire time. I am more inclined to believe Douglas.

I'm sure the death of his mother affected him deeply. However, his version of events in his life always tend to be self-serving. JMO

 

[TexMex]

“I’m so tired of the same old crud, Sweet baby, I need fresh blood,” sings Eels frontman Mark Oliver Everett, better known as E. You may recognize the tune, called “Fresh Blood”:

“I didn’t see the intro until it was on TV, which was exciting. I really like how they used it,” the singer said. For E, the best moment is the howl, which coincides with a gunshot flash. “One of my favorite things I get to do in my life is I get to do the howl on stage into a microphone and a loud sound system. I recommend it.”
http://www.newsweek.com/fresh-blood-what-eels-have-say-about-writing-robert-dursts-theme-song-315706

 

[Mrs G Norris]

Just finished the last episode, one thing I'll say is I don't really blame Douglas etc for not getting actively involved in the disappearance of Kathleen, they probably only had their suspicions as to what happened, and we saw what happened to anyone else who stood between RD and his freedom. Great ending, super creepy guy, very glad he's behind bars and hope he stays there. Seems to me that LA detectives dropped the ball, I don't know why they didn't do a handwriting comparison between RD and the cadaver note at the time of the initial investigation, or why nobody else did, but maybe things happen at the right time for a reason.

 

[i.b.nora]

I latched onto the latest alias connected to Bob Durst because it seems like the only item not yet seized upon by all the various people who are almost literally coming out of the woodwork regarding his adventures.

What I have found so far is:

- From this New Orleans warrant document: http://special.wwltv.com/durstwarrant2.pdf

- There is a Stafford J Demouchette listed in Houston, age 36. Beyond that, nothing other than an observation that all the people I have seen with that last name, are Black.

- The July 15 Real Estate, LLC is aka BCB Property Management firm at 515 Madison Ave in NYC and is headed by Robert's wife Deborah Lee Charatan and her son. It does NOT have a good reputation. An Aljazeera article from July 9, 2014 describes it as exhibiting predatory-equity behaviors.
Article: http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/7/9/the-new-kings-ofcrownheights.html

- Prosperity Bank is headquartered in Houston and offers VISA cards, not Mastercard.

 

[Mrs G Norris]

Watching the 48hours special now: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/48-hours-presents-robert-durst-the-bizarre-saga/ There are a few differences in the facts I've noticed and I'm only a few minutes in, like we have them meeting when RD collected rent, when in the HBO special it was said they met 'out on the town' also in the HBO series RD returned to NY to work for the family business after being asked to by his father, not returning after a failed business with his tail between his legs, maybe the truth lies in the middle somewhere? There are audio issues on the internet vid too.

 

[Mrs G Norris]

Also .. funny watching Durst's lawyer blaming everyone but Durst for talking to LE, talking to the documentary crew, talking to himself .. well, that's all on Durst.

He ain't getting bail, look forward to this trial, shame Dominick Dunne isn't here to cover it.

 

[TexMex]

I don't think he's conflating anything. He is just lying. He would like everyone to feel very sorry for him so he can continue to get away with murder. "I'm too screwed up to be responsible for my actions and this is why"

I think you are right. In A Deadly Secret Kathie's friends say she told them about Bobby witnessing his mothers death. The author also notes many women in Dursts life feeling the need to "mother" him.
IMO he has used his mothers death to manipulate people his whole life.

 

[i.b.nora]

And, this interesting article from New York Magazine:

http://www.vulture.com/2015/03/debrah-lee-charatan-robert-durst-wife.html

Everything We Know About Robert Durst’s Second Wife, Debrah Lee Charatan
By Nate Jones
March 17, 2015. 3:39 p.m.

snip

"Of all the characters who cross paths with Robert Durst in The Jinx, perhaps the most enigmatic is Durst's second wife, Debrah Lee Charatan. First seen bailing Durst out of jail after his 2001 murder arrest, Charatan appears only in archival police interview footage, where she's a brash, sarcastic presence. (She declined to be interviewed for the documentary, perhaps wisely.) With little else to go on, both Jinx fans and the series itself have speculated on the exact nature of Charatan's relationship with Durst. As one interviewee put in in the penultimate episode, "A lot of people believe Debbie knows Bob’s secrets, whatever they may be."​

Much more...

Following the links in the article brings up lots of other info.

 

[suzihawk]

And, this interesting article from New York Magazine:

http://www.vulture.com/2015/03/debrah-lee-charatan-robert-durst-wife.html

Everything We Know About Robert Durst’s Second Wife, Debrah Lee Charatan
By Nate Jones
March 17, 2015. 3:39 p.m.

snip

"Of all the characters who cross paths with Robert Durst in The Jinx, perhaps the most enigmatic is Durst's second wife, Debrah Lee Charatan. First seen bailing Durst out of jail after his 2001 murder arrest, Charatan appears only in archival police interview footage, where she's a brash, sarcastic presence. (She declined to be interviewed for the documentary, perhaps wisely.) With little else to go on, both Jinx fans and the series itself have speculated on the exact nature of Charatan's relationship with Durst. As one interviewee put in in the penultimate episode, "A lot of people believe Debbie knows Bob’s secrets, whatever they may be."​

Much more...

Following the links in the article brings up lots of other info.

She comes across as (and I have no doubt she is) one tough broad. But if she knows Durst's secrets she better watch her back. He's no one to trifle with.

 

[TexMex]

Watching Ch. 3. The stepson (Sareb) became friendly with Durst after the murder. (Dec 23, 2000) He knew his mother loved Bobby and refused to believe Durst was involved. "After, Susan's death, did Bob ever give you money". Sareb mentioned college that it would cost around $200K..."he said I'll give you $25K a year for four years"
"Did you see Bob again in the months after that?"
"On his next trip out Bob said he wanted to have dinner"
There was no dinner because Durst was on the run after he got bail for killing Black in Galveston (Sept 28, 2001)
Sareb never said if he did or didn't get any money. Probably not more than one from Durst if it was only 10 months between Susan's death and his arrest in Galveston. In Jinx the other family and friends were not comfortable with Sareb befriending Durst.
So...unless Wifey #2 wrote him some checks he may not have received college money

 

[Mrs G Norris]

You know the lawyers can see when their client has no hope of escaping conviction when they start going after technicalities with LE and start hinting around mental issues .. I predict they'll try to have him declared unfit to stand trial within the first couple of hearings. Also what is the bet his 'mental condition' sees him 'deteriorate in prison' I bet they wheel him into the courtroom and we see a few dramatic courtroom collapses.

 

[i.b.nora]

Here is the original 2002 article from Vanity Fair:

The Fugitive Heir

Two decades after his lovely young wife vanished, Robert Durst, scion of a Manhattan real-estate family worth billions, faces new murder charges. A cold case is now red-hot news, with a gangland-style execution, a headless torso, a manhunt, and revelations that Durst led part of his double life as a woman

FROM THE MAGAZINE
BY NED ZEMAN FEBRUARY 2002

"She was at home, watching TV with a friend, when the call came. She was in Connecticut, where she’d remained all these years since Kathie disappeared. She was 29 back then—the same age as Kathie. Now she was 49. Her day job involved counseling abused women. Nights were a different story. They were devoted to volunteer work, of a sort. The hours were horrible, and horribly unpredictable, and her phone bills were through the roof. Not that she minded.

The caller mangled her name, which was Gilberte Najamy. Everyone mangled it the first time around. (It’s pronounced Gill-BURR-tah Nah-JAY-me.) Strangers were always calling. Strangers were part of the deal.

“I’m Andy Geller,” the stranger said. “I’m calling from the New York Post, and I need to tell you something.” Then, as only a Post reporter can, Geller told her, “They found a headless torso floating in Galveston Bay.” Najamy said nothing. Geller continued: “The reason why I’m calling you is that the person who was arrested is named Robert Durst.”"
​

Enjoy.

 

[Steely Dan]

I'm watching the 48 Hours episode again and the "Dr." that looked at him for the defense spent 70 hours with him. It reminded me of ALV and Samuels using JA to "possibly" run up the tab. I believe DeMarte said that if you spend too much time with a psychopath you start to believe them.

 

[SophieRose]

From a 2003 NY Times article on Debrah Lee Charatan:
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/20/nyregion/for-heir-accused-of-killing-a-loyal-and-tough-ally.html

In 1985, she abruptly left her first husband, Bradley Berger, and ultimately lost custody of her son, who is now a college sophomore. According to friends and family members, she has not seen or talked with her son since he was 5.