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Jury begins deliberations in Robert Durst's murder trial

Robert Durst
Posted at 7:41 AM, Sep 15, 2021
and last updated 2021-09-15 15:20:59-04

LOS ANGELES — A Los Angeles jury has begun deliberating in the murder trial of New York real estate heir Robert Durst in the shooting of his best friend.

Jurors deliberated about three hours Tuesday without reaching a verdict.

Durst has denied killing Susan Berman. She was killed in Southern California in 2000, and investigators say she was shot in an "execution-style" killing.

Prosecutors say he silenced her because she provided a phony alibi for him after his wife vanished in New York in 1982.

"Bob Durst is not crazy. He's not some nut job serial killer who goes around killing for the thrill of it," Deputy District Attorney John Lewin said, according to The Associated Press. "Don't let this narcissistic psychopath get away with what he's done."

The defense says the prosecution failed to support their theory with evidence.

Durst faces a life sentence if he's convicted.

The trial began in March last year and then was postponed until May because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Durst's case received international attention in 2015 after HBO docuseries "The Jinx" profiled his life and the violent deaths of many of his loved ones. The day before the finale of the series aired, Durst was arrested in connection with Berman's murder.

Editor's note: A previous version of this story noted that Susan Berman was killed in Texas.