Durst Trial To Resume After Long Delay; Will Jury Be Ready?
Last edited Mon May 17, 2021, 03:15 PM - Edit history (1)
Source: Associated Press
By Brian Melley, 10 mins. ago. LOS ANGELES (AP) — It took nearly 15 years for police to arrest New York real estate heir Robert Durst in the killing of his best friend and another five to bring him to trial. After just two days of testimony, jurors were sent home when the coronavirus closed courthouses.
On Monday, more than 14 months later, the jury is returning to Los Angeles County Superior Court to see if they can complete their assignment. If so, it could be a first for the U.S. legal system.
The length of the stoppage is unprecedented and it’s the highest-profile U.S. case postponed because of the pandemic, Durst’s lawyers say. They have repeatedly — and unsuccessfully — sought a mistrial because they argued the delay harmed his chance of a fair trial.
Durst, 78, has pleaded not guilty to murdering his friend Susan Berman, who was shot in the back of the head in her LA home in December 2000. Prosecutors say he silenced Berman before she could tell police she helped him cover up the killing of his wife, Kathie, in New York in 1982...
Read more: https://apnews.com/article/ca-state-wire-shootings-health-coronavirus-pandemic-trials-2f0be920ad4e0981626955d8cb862194
- March 10, 2020, file photo: Real estate heir Robert Durst looks over during his murder trial in Los Angeles. 14 months after the murder trial of NY real estate heir Durst was put on hold because of the coronavirus pandemic, jurors are returning to court to see if they can finish the assignment they were given. An LA judge will question jurors Mon., May 17, 2021, to find out if they can continue to serve in the case that is expected to last 4 to 5 months.
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- 'Robert Durst, Make Up Tips From Drag Performer,' (Durst Was 'The Ugliest Drag Queen In Galveston, TX'), ABC New, 2015,
https://abcnews.go.com/US/robert-durst-make-tips-drag-performer-texas/story
- Durst got tips to disguise himself from Claire Schuler, Texas drag performer.
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