[HBO] The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst

This X1000. Also, don't underestimate just how amazingly good Dick DeGuerin in in front of a jury. There's a reason he's on the short list for best criminal defense attorney in America.

 

Dude, I went on bigger forums to see what people are saying about this and some people have said they still would have trouble convicting him in court, going by what they saw on the documentary. umm what?!?

 

This is essentially what I've been able to gather in relation to speculation on how Durst's defense team will be able to spin the evidence that has been generated in the form of the letter and the audio.

In terms of the handwriting, that's going to be harder to explain away than the audio but not impossible. Maybe Robert went to Susan's house, saw the body, fled because he knew the police would implicate him, but sent the letter because he didn't want her body decomposing for days on end. It's a stretch but does cast doubt considering the handwriting is still circumstantial evidence when it comes down to it. They'll also certainly bring in their own handwriting expert to testify that results are inconclusive.

Why did Durst then lie about writing the cadaver note all these years if that is the defense strategy? Will be interesting to see what would be said on that matter as Durst himself said in The Jinx that "only the killer could've written it." Paraphrasing his quote from one of the previous episodes but it was along those lines.

An even more far-fetched theory that I was thinking about was the notion of Susan's son-in-law just now finding this first letter/envelope after 15 years. He didn't go through his mother-in-law's belongings previously? Maybe the mob paid him off to get access to Durst's handwriting in order to recreate it for the purposes of the cadaver note. Again, really stretching plausibility here with this theory, but it's at least worth considering.

As far as the audio is concerned, if it ends up being admissible in court, DeGuerin and team will argue that these ramblings were merely the musings of an old man to himself in the bathroom and by no means an admission of guilt. Durst has long been known to mutter to himself. It could also be argued that Durst's rambling was merely him speculating on how he thought he would be viewed once this interview reached airwaves. Durst thinking about people watching and thinking out loud, "[Viewer would say] What the hell did I do? Killed them all, of course."

The biggest question is whether or not the LAPD has physical evidence they are holding back until discovery with Durst's legal team that will really make a solid case.

Also, choosing a jury from the potential pool in Los Angeles will be mighty difficult given all the news and the fact that the interview and subsequent bathroom audio is everywhere now. Totally different world from 2003 in Galveston in terms of finding impartial jurors. That may be what ends up doing Durst in for good this time around.

 

That's what happens when you're a part of the billionaires club, and have impressionable police officers you can bribe. That's most likely what happened, in my opinion.

The family knew all along. In fact, I could imagine there are maybe one or two other people, besides Durst, that know what happened to his wife, and they are probably family members. As I said before, it's probably why he wanted to kill his brother so bad, and it's most likely why the company distanced themselves from Bob as soon as he was arrested.

 

The defense lawyers admitted that they fabricated or embellished their story about this terrible DA (I forgot her name...she has a Fox News show now...Pirro?) only trying to harm Durst to advance her own political goals. They made up a story and the Galveston jury ate it up. He hid the evidence and the jury overlooked that fact. This is not a story of some great criminal mastermind; he's actually quite mistake prone. It's fascinating in the sense that how someone can be mistake prone and still get away with it due to all his money. It's the classic case of how much money matters in criminal defense. The attorneys admitted to this in the documentary. It shows the difference in quality of attorneys in both sides. It shows how absurd money can make the justice system look.

As for the family, I don't blame them that much. I mean, you have a super wealthy dude in his father...he's approached by his oldest son about the missing wife. The private investigator concludes that something is wrong with the son. Maybe you have this scenario where Robert admits to his younger brother and dad that he did it (it does seem like his current wife knows the truth bc they imply murder at times in their conversations). Or maybe he's lying to the dad and little brother, but they both don't believe him. Whatever the case, Robert is still their blood. I rarely see people who turn in their son in this situation. It's dark and unfortunate, but if the most morally reprehensible things that Douglass Durst did in his life is stay quiet while suspecting or knowing that his big brother killed his wife, I can understand that. I don't agree with it. Neither does his own nephew...but you got all this money and all this future...I mean it helped him secure his fortune, because after that incident, the father was in no way going to give the family empire to Robert. All that stemmed from the killing and Robert's general anger issues. Maybe it's self serving now...but maybe it was self serving then. It's a really tough spot to be in for Douglass and his father, even if they didn't have all that money and image to protect.

 

This was the most intriguing and crazy six hours of television since watching Black Mirror on Netflix.

 

Finally got all caught up and I'm officially spooked. Durst is one creepy SOB.

Spoiler

 

What a crazy documentary. Loved every part of it, and of course the ending was ****ing shocking.

I just finished the 6th part, so I had already known and figured there would be something in this episode that was probably why he got arrested a few days ago.

Never seen anything like this, something that has been filmed as a documentary and now it's happening in real life where he's actually gotten re-arrested. I really hope they get him for the murders this time.

 

He'll never leave jail this time...

And this could get more interesting still: http://jezebel.com/robert-durst-eyed-in-1997-disappearance-of-two-teen-gir-1692298794

 

Just read an article that in New Orleans, he had $40,000, mar1juana, a rubber mask to cover his entire face and neck, a loaded revolver, fake ids, real ids, and a real passport. Uhhh....yeah....

Also the same article says they are reopening cold cases where he's lived in the past with him in mind. That covers several states. Texas, California, New York, Vermont or New Hampshire off the top of my head.

Sorry, no link.

 

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Burping is the new blinking. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TheJinx?src=hash">#TheJinx</a></p>&mdash; Rich Juzwiak (@RichJuz) <a href="https://twitter.com/RichJuz/status/577266662967283712">March 16, 2015</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

is it me or does he look like Dustin Hoffman/Al Pacino in the 80's/90s.

 

A friend from the Woodlands area, had patient yesterday who lives near or in the same building as Durst did in Houston, shared a story about him getting miffed at a CVS clerk near where they lived, and proceeded to pee all over the candy in front of everyone.

then i found this
http://www.khou.com/story/news/crime/2014/12/16/robert-durst-fined-500-after-allegedly-urinating-on-candy-at-cvs/20484435/

related - http://www.coloradonewsday.com/news/regional/93856-robert-durst-s-brother-reveals-he-was-sacked-from-firm-for-urinating-in-waste-paper-basket.html

 

In film school, they showed us "The Thin Blue Line" (you can see the influence on Jinx). Now they'll teach "Jinx." Masterful storytelling/journalism.

There's this incredible irony that this one compassionate act, his sending that letter so his friend wouldn't decompose away for days, is what may eventually convict this psychopath.

 

Unfortunately I don't think the letter will be the smoking gun because there was no official chain of custody for it. Durst's lawyers will probably get the court to make it inadmissible (the letter to his friend, not the police).

However, now that an actual investigation will surely take place I'm certain investigators can find plenty of handwriting samples from him to match it to. People blame Galveston county for him getting away with it, but at least they performed an actual investigation. New Hampshire, New York and the LAPD and DAs in those areas really screwed the pooch.

 

Finally got around to watching this series.

It was absolutely beautifully done, for sure.

Honestly, though, I don't see how that final audio wasn't Durst going through what the public will think of him. I mean the guy said "arrest him." He's not admitting to anything. That's what I think of it.

With that being said, it's very hard for me to imagine a situation where he didn't kill them. All of the pieces fit so well.

It's going to be impossible to find jurors that don't already go in with preconceived notions. If you watched the documentary, you think he did it.

 

I thought the same thing, even asking my wife if it was a confession, or him just saying what people would think. The defense could easily argue that in court, if it is even admissible.


Still,it seems there's a massive amount of circumstantial evidence to build a case around.

 

That was kind of my impression at first, especially since in his previous interview he seemed to kind of mumble to himself during a break.

Still think he's guilty though.

 

I can't believe the jury bought that defense......

I never killed my wife but since everyone thinks I did, when I "accidentally" killed the other guy, instead of calling the police bc surely they would think I was guilty even though I was not, I chopped everything up and dumped it in the bay, because this was my only logical solution. Oh and I do not know where the head is even though it is a really important piece of evidence, sorry.

SMH wow