Robert Durst, 75, the subject of HBO's documentary The Jinx, was back in court on Monday. He is accused of the execution-style shooting of his best friend Susan Berman.
The preliminary hearing will last for two weeks as the prosecution makes the case that they have enough evidence against Durst to take the case to trial. Earlier in the year, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Mark Windham made the unusual decision to allow pre-trial testimonies from witnesses who testified in earlier hearings, "in case they die or become incapacitated before the case could go to a jury."
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In January, Deputy District Attorney John Lewin argued for the decision, saying of Durst, "That man kills witnesses. That's what he does. When pushed into a corner, he murders people."
As the subject of the six-part 2015 documentary The Jinx, Durst was captured on a hot microphone saying, "What the hell did I do? Killed them all, of course."
Many viewers took this as a confession to the 1982 murder of his wife Kathleen and Susan Berman's killing in 2000. Durst had previously been acquitted of the 2001 shooting and dismemberment of his neighbour Morris Black in Galveston, TX. He claimed self defence.
Berman, a longtime confidante of Durst's, was murdered shortly after law enforcement reopened the investigation into Kathleen's disappearance. Prosecutors believe Durst shot Berman because of what she knew about Kathleen's presumed death.
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