INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — The murder trial of multimillionaire Robert Durst has resumed without the defendant present and with arguments about whether the case should continue at all after a 14-month recess.
Judge Mark Windham said Monday that Durst refused to leave the jail, though his lawyer disputed that account.
Windham denied a defense request to suspend the case further because Durst has bladder cancer and other health problems that require hospitalization.
The judge planned to question jurors to find out if they can continue to serve four to five more months.
Durst is currently being held without bail.
Durst, who is the heir to a New York commercial real estate empire, is worth more than an estimated $100 million, The Associated Press reported.
Durst has pleaded not guilty to the killing of his best friend, Susan Berman, in Beverly Hills in 2000.
According to the AP, Durst silenced Berman before she could contact authorities about her helping Durst cover up the killing of his wife, Kathie, in 1982 in New York.
