Robert Durst, the wealthy New York real estate heir who was dogged for decades with suspicion in the disappearance and deaths of those around him, died at 78. He was convicted last year of killing his best friend, the Associated Press reports. Durst died of natural causes Monday in a hospital outside the California prison where he was serving a life sentence. Durst had been held in a hospital lockup in Stockton suffering a litany of ailments. He was convicted in September of shooting Susan Berman at point-blank range at her Los Angeles home in 2000. He was sentenced Oct. 14 to life in prison without parole.
Durst had long been suspected of killing his wife, Kathie, who went missing in New York in 1982 and was declared legally dead decades later. Durst made several damning statements including a stunning confession during an unguarded moment in the six-part HBO documentary series “The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst.” He said he was using methamphetamine at the time. The night before the final episode aired, Durst was arrested in Berman’s killing while hiding out under an alias in a New Orleans hotel. He was caught with a gun, more than $40,000 cash and a head-to-shoulders latex mask for a presumed getaway. Durst had bladder cancer and his health deteriorated during the trial. He was escorted into court in a wheelchair wearing prison attire each day because he was unable to change into a suit.