The Life and Crimes of Robert Durst

Filmmaker Andrew Jarecki examines the complicated life of reclusive real estate icon, Robert Durst, the key suspect in a series of unsolved crimes. IMBD

The Jinx, a six-part true documentary series airing on HBO earlier this year, delves into the mysterious case of three unsolved murders spanning over four decades. Robert Durst, son of New York real estate tycoon Seymour Durst, first came under suspension in the early 1980's with the disappearance of his wife. Nearly 20 years later he was the suspect of two more murder cases, Susan Berman and Morris Black. Being that these are all factual murder mystery cases, the show has created a new TV genre: the multi-episode, true-crime docudrama. Andrew Jarecki, director and producer of The Jinx, exposed police files, key witnesses, never-before-seen footage, private prison recordings, and thousands of pages of hidden documents. Soon after the shocking finale, the show came under scrutiny for incorrectly presenting the timeline of events and not presenting their information to the authorities in a timely manner. Is journalism/film a credible way to release information about an ongoing police investigation? Let's find out.

Robert Durst

Kathleen Durst, wife of Robert Durst, was last seen the evening of January 31st, 1982. Robert Durst was immediately under suspicion, but he denied all accusations claiming he put her on a train to New York City. The case eventually became cold and was not brought back to they eye of the public until November of 2000. Only one month later, Susan Berman, Robert Durst's closest friend, was found executed in her Beverly Hills home on December 23rd, 2000. Durst was not initially tried due to the fact that Susan Berman's father was involved with several gang's, and authorities assumed she was a retribution kill for something her father may have done in the past. However, it is highly suspicious that she died so soon after the investigation was revived because she was the main lead on the life of Robert Durst. On October 9th of the next year Durst was arrested in Galveston, Texas shortly after authorities found his neighbor, Morris Black, dismembered and separated into industrial garbage bags. His bail was set at $250,000 but was posted just hours later by his current wife. Durst jumped town and was on the run for nearly a month before being caught shoplifting in a Pennsylvania grocery store. The trial for the Morris Black case took place in 2003, but Durst was acquitted by the jury because he claimed self-defense. He admitted to getting into a physical confrontation with Black (who was armed) and as they both fell to the ground the firearm fired a round into Morris Black's head... According to Robert Durst. He then goes on to explain that he dismembered the corpse of Morris Black and disposed of the remains in the Galveston Bay. However, as this was not necessarily part of the alleged crime, Robert Durst seemingly slipped his way out of trouble again. The public was outraged.

Victims

Morris Black

Kathleen Durst

Susan Berman

In 2010, Andrew Jarecki directed the film All Good Things, a true story following the life of Robert Durst, his marriage with Kathleen, her disappearance and the eventual consequences to come. Durst was so impressed with the film and how he was portrayed that he agreed to sit down with Jarecki for a face to face interview. Jarecki initially met with Durst in late 2010 to discuss his thoughts on the case. He was the first person to have the opportunity to sit down and talk with Durst person to person because of constant restraint by Durst's lawyers. It seems somewhat obvious that if you submit yourself to these journalistic geniuses they are most certainly going to find damning information. And that's exactly what happened. 

"Killed them all, of course..."

The above are the famous last words in the finale episode of The Jinx spoken by Robert Durst in the bathroom while his mic was still recording. Though this quote is a perfect ending for these directors in the extraordinary amount of work they put into this documentary, the order in which the information was presented appears to be altered to depict a more linear story. The way the documentary is organized presents that the Robert Durst was arrested on August 16th, 2013 and agreed to do the second interview after the fact because he needed help in his defense. However, the second interview between Durst and Jarecki actually took place in April of 2012, more than a year before Durst was taken into custody. Granted the show does vaguely hint to the fact that the interview was indeed before. It wasn't until early in 2013 that the filmmakers of The Jinx approached the authorities with what information they had retrieved. Jarecki had been conducting research on Durst since early 2006, which leaves approximately a sever year gap that the documentary filmmakers and the authorities were not on the same page. The last two episodes of the series are centered completely around Jarecki having another meeting with Durst, and we have figured out that some of the information they present from this meeting is not in chronological order or in the wrong context. Thus the question is asked again: are journalistic endeavors a reliable method to present current criminal wrongdoings?

In this case... Yes.

In the case of Andrew Jarecki and Robert Durst, being a filmmaker was an advantage for Jarecki because he does not have the same limitations put upon him that law enforcers do. In other words, Durst is far more likely to converse with a harmless filmmaker than the Las Angeles Police Department. On the other hand, Jarecki was sitting on a jackpot of information that, had it been in the hands of detectives, could have taken the cold blooded killer off of the streets years in advance. Which brings us back to the main argument again, would the detectives ever have gotten their hands on that information at all had it not been for Jarecki? No.

The Jinx is an incredible feat not just for Jarecki but for the industry as a whole. The show proves that there is still hope for healthy, non-biased journalism. Too often in today's society there are ulterior motives influencing journalists and news outlets. Whether it be politics, money, or success, people are constantly looking for ways to embellish the news. HBO has been doing incredible things with their new documentaries and news shows, such as Vice, a non-partisan global news source. The Jinx actively seeks out the truth throughout the entire show, which few sources can honestly admit. Jarecki even admits to becoming fond of Robert Durst while getting to know him but puts aside his personal feelings for the sake of the truth. I wish it was not such an incredible feat that this show presented the case in such a non-biased, fair way, but that is the world we live in. The Jinx will be a poster child for these sorts of shows, and will encourage many others to follow the format of presenting information as it is being discovered. To HBO and the filmmakers of The Jinx, I applaud you for sharing this story the way that it should be.


Sources:
http://www.npr.org/2015/03/16/393352930/does-success-of-hbos-the-jinx-herald-new-form-of-true-crime-tv
http://www.buzzfeed.com/kateaurthur/the-holes-in-the-jinx-might-go-deeper-than-we-thought#.wfnRQr5azZ
http://www.buzzfeed.com/annehelenpetersen/how-did-the-jinx-narratively-manipulate-its-viewers#.jnGvjXk62P
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RllMvWC7o_s
http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2015/03/16/the_jinx_a_complete_timeline_of_robert_durst_s_interactions_with_andrew.html
http://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/robert-dursts-grotesque-confession