3 books found in Robert Durst's apartment: What do they tell us about his case?

Are three books found in Durst's apartment evidence of his preoccupation with the murders of his wife, friend, and neighbor – or are they simply background reading for HBO's "The Jinx"?

|
Gerald Herbert/AP
Robert Durst is escorted into Orleans Parish Prison after his arraignment in Orleans Parish Criminal District Court in New Orleans.

If you are what you read, then the crime-related books found inside the Houston apartment of real estate millionaire Robert Durst, who was arrested and charged Sunday for the murder of his friend in 2000, may be revelatory.

According to reports, police found three books in the Houston apartment of the 71-year-old who made headlines when an HBO miniseries about his life, "The Jinx," appeared to inadvertently reopen investigations into three related deaths. Among them: One copy of "Without a Trace" by Marion Collins, and two copies of another one, "A Deadly Secret" by Matt Birkbeck, both of which detail Durst's life and the mysterious connection between the deaths of three people tied to him.

The books may be used as evidence in the case of Durst, who was arrested on Sunday in New Orleans and charged for the 2000 murder of his friend Susan Berman, who was found dead in her apartment in Los Angeles.

Durst was also "a person of interest" in the disappearance and search for Kathie Durst, his first wife, who went missing in 1982 and was declared dead in 2001 even though her body was never found.

Durst was previously acquitted of killing his neighbor Morris Black in Galveston, Texas in 2001, even though he admitted to dismembering his body and dumping the parts in garbage bags in Galveston Bay. Durst said he shot Black in self-defense.

The books found in Durst's apartment chronicle his life and specifically the three deaths related to him. What's not yet clear is what they reveal about his case and his involvement, if any, in the deaths of his first wife, friend, and neighbor. 

The books may indicate Durst's preoccupation with these deaths – or they may simply be background reading for his role in HBO's "The Jinx," a mini-series about his life and the mystery surrounding the three deaths linked to him, for which he cooperated.

But that's not all authorities found in Durst's apartment.

When Durst was arrested in New Orleans Sunday, FBI agents also found nearly $43,000 in cash, a full-face rubber mask, a fake Texas ID card under the name "Everette Ward," a real passport, a gun, and marijuana.

The makings, we think, for another book – or dozen – about the Durst case.

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
What is the Monitor difference? Tackling the tough headlines – with humanity. Listening to sources – with respect. Seeing the story that others are missing by reporting what so often gets overlooked: the values that connect us. That’s Monitor reporting – news that changes how you see the world.

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

QR Code to 3 books found in Robert Durst's apartment: What do they tell us about his case?
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/Books/chapter-and-verse/2015/0319/3-books-found-in-Robert-Durst-s-apartment-What-do-they-tell-us-about-his-case
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe