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New York real estate heir Robert Durst appeared on the witness stand on Monday in his own defense in Los Angeles County court – a move seen as risky for a defendant in a murder trial.
Durst, 78, is charged with the murder of his best friend Susan Berman, who was shot dead at her Benedict Canyon home in 2000. His lawyers said Durst found his body, panicked and fled.
Appearing frail and soft-spoken, Durst was led to an area next to the witness stand. His senior lawyer, Dick DeGuerin, sat down in front of him and asked, “Bob, did you kill Susan Berman?
“No,” Durst replied.
“Do you know who did it?” Asked DeGuérin.
“No, I don’t,” Durst said.
Trying to speak, Durst described seeing “mum on the roof” the night she died from her family home when he was 7 years old.
In this still image taken from the law &; Crime Network Court video real estate heir Robert Durst, right, describes the ailments he suffers from defense attorney Dick Deguerin during his murder trial in Los Angeles County Superior Court in Inglewood , in California.
(Law and Crime Network via AP)
He said he didn’t know if she jumped or fell. He described an unhappy childhood, recounting how he constantly ran away from home and school.
Durst, who suffers from bladder cancer and other illnesses he listed at the stand, wore the brown prison outfit he wore in court during the final weeks of the trial. His lawyers said he was unable to get up to put on a suit. The judge rejected several requests for delays and a motion to quash the trial due to health concerns.
Durst testified while sitting in a wheelchair and struggled to hear both the clerk when he took the oath and DeGuerin as he asked questions, using a tablet that showed a transcript in direct to help him understand.
Durst struggled to hear the prosecution’s objections and the judge’s rulings about them, speaking frequently after being told to stop.
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Earlier, prosecutors resumed their cross-examination of the only other defense witness, false memory expert Elizabeth Loftus, to start the day.
Durst has been accused of killing his neighbor in Galveston Morris Black while in hiding after Berman’s murder. He said Black was accidentally killed in a fight after entering Durst’s apartment with a gun. He admitted to dismembering and disposing of Black’s body. The jury acquitted him of the murder.
Durst was arrested in New Orleans on warrant from Los Angeles in 2015. This happened on the eve of the airing of the final episode of HBO’s six-part documentary series “The Jinx,” in which he starred. several seemingly damning statements about the murder.
His trial finally began in early 2020, but the coronavirus forced a break of more than a year before resuming in May.
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Durst’s testimony is expected to last several days.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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