Movie eyed as Durst evidence
Prosecutors tell a judge the film could help prove the real estate scion’s guilt.
Prosecutors on Tuesday asked the judge handling Robert Durst’s murder case to consider as evidence a fictional movie loosely based on the New York real estate scion’s life, as well as the DVD commentary he made while watching the film.
Durst’s comments and, at times, his silence while viewing “All Good Things” constitute a tacit admission of guilt, prosecutors wrote in a motion filed Tuesday. The 2010 film starring Ryan Gosling as the character based on Durst ties him to the slayings of his wife, his best friend, his neighbor and his dog.
“After reading the script and watching this movie,” prosecutors wrote, “defendant did not sue the production company for slander, nor did he object to how the movie portrayed him.”
The prosecution’s request came during a preliminary hearing for Durst, who is charged with shooting his friend Susan Bermaninside her Benedict Canyon home in 2000. Prosecutors allege that he killed her because of what she knew about his first wife’s disappearance in New York years earlier. Los Angeles prosecutors have argued that Durst killed his wife, Kathleen, in 1982, but her body has not been found.
The 75-year-old Durst has publicly denied involvement in Kathleen’s disappearance and has pleaded not guilty in the L.A. case, saying he didn’t kill Berman and doesn’t know who did.
His attorneys have said they believe the L.A. murder prosecution was prompted by publicity surrounding the HBO miniseries “The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst,” not evidence. He was arrested in connection with Berman’s slaying on March 14, 2015, the day before the series finale aired.
In the motion filed this week, prosecutors said that after Durst watched “All Good Things,” he contacted the director, offering praise and agreeing to sit for an interview, which was used as commentary for the DVD release. Durst’s only criticism of the film, prosecutors said, was the depiction of him killing his dog, Igor.
“His failure to dispute any of the other damning allegations from the rest of the movie manifests his belief in the movie’s truth,” prosecutors argued. “It strains all credibility to suggest that a person being depicted as a serial killer would not have stood up and proclaimed the falsity of such allegations.”
In court Monday, Durst’s attorney Dick DeGuerin scoffed at the attempt to use the film as evidence.
“This is a work of fiction,” he said. “It’s a work of drama, it has actors and all of the accouterments of a Hollywood production.”
Judge Mark E. Windham has yet to make an official ruling on whether he will consider the film and commentary as evidence. In court Monday, the judge told prosecutors he had specifically avoided watching the film, saying he found it “problematic” to rely on “a fictionalized account of something you’re alleging actually took place.”
As prosecutors laid out evidence Tuesday, a fuller picture emerged of how director Andrew Jarecki, who made “All Good Things” and “The Jinx,” helped L.A. authorities build their case.
By the time he contacted law enforcement, Jarecki “was more convinced than ever” that Durst was responsible for Berman’s death and his wife’s disappearance, according to a detective’s report based on an interview with the director in 2015. Jarecki initially contacted an FBI agent, who suggested he call L.A. County Deputy Dist. Atty. John Lewin, a veteran cold-case prosecutor.
The production team turned over a key piece of evidence to prosecutors — a letter from Durst to Berman in 1999 showing handwriting that looks similar to that in an anonymous note sent to police at the time of Berman’s death, telling them they’d find a “cadaver” at her home. In both documents, Beverly Hills is misspelled as “Beverley Hills.”
At the end of the preliminary hearing, set to stretch into Thursday, the judge will decide whether there is enough evidence to try Durst for Berman’s murder.