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| Robert Durst returns to New Orleans court on weapons charges | Robert Durst returns to New Orleans court on weapons charges |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Robert Durst, the millionaire one-time real estate heir accused of killing his former spokeswoman Susan Berman, appeared in New Orleans magistrate court on Thursday on weapons charges. | |
| But the weapons case against Durst will now be delayed another week as none of the witnesses called by his defense - the two FBI agents and one state trooper involved in his arrest at a Marriott in downtown New Orleans last month - appeared in court. | |
| Durst sat pale in a yellow jumpsuit as Louisiana prosecutors attempted to argue that his lawyers had filed too many documents too close to his preliminary hearing, giving prosecutors too short a time to get permission from US attorneys to testify. Durst’s high profiled Texas lawyer Dick DeGuerrin argued that “it doesn’t take any time to prepare to tell the truth”.“What I’m afraid is going on is a case of ‘hide the ball’,” he said. “We want our day in court.”Judge Harry Cantrell agreed to set next Thursday as the date by which the US government must show why the FBI did not appear on Thursday - or else they will be in contempt of court. This is called a rule to show cause. | |
| The New Orleans preliminary hearing will have to be completed before Durst can face first-degree murder charges in Los Angeles. | |
| Durst was arrested at a Marriott hotel in the French Quarter of New Orleans last month after FBI agents found him with a gun and a stash of marijuana, along with a map, a latex mask and thousands of dollars in cash – leading to speculation that Durst had traveled to New Orleans from his home in Houston on his way to flee the US. | Durst was arrested at a Marriott hotel in the French Quarter of New Orleans last month after FBI agents found him with a gun and a stash of marijuana, along with a map, a latex mask and thousands of dollars in cash – leading to speculation that Durst had traveled to New Orleans from his home in Houston on his way to flee the US. |
| FBI agents were able to track Durst to the Marriott after he made two calls from a hotel phone to the voicemail of his tapped cellphone. According to prosecutors, when agents saw Durst in the lobby, they took him back to his hotel room to find his identification. | FBI agents were able to track Durst to the Marriott after he made two calls from a hotel phone to the voicemail of his tapped cellphone. According to prosecutors, when agents saw Durst in the lobby, they took him back to his hotel room to find his identification. |
| What happened next is a matter of dispute, and that timeline is what Louisiana prosecutors’ case hinges on. | What happened next is a matter of dispute, and that timeline is what Louisiana prosecutors’ case hinges on. |
| Durst’s lawyers, led by DeGuerin, say the FBI illegally searched Durst’s room and then attempted to cover up their blunder by calling the search an “inventory”. | |
| Related: Did Robert Durst's nemesis ignore clues before following his trail to California? | Related: Did Robert Durst's nemesis ignore clues before following his trail to California? |
| Those FBI agents were subpoenaed to court on Thursday. Also subpoenaed was former Westchester New York district attorney Jeanine Pirro, who has long been a critic of Durst. | |
| Pirro had investigated Durst in connection with the disappearance of his wife Kathleen. Because Pirro has spoken about Durst for so long on national television, defense attorneys will likely use her as a witness to suggest that she and others are out to smear Durst’s name regardless of the facts. | Pirro had investigated Durst in connection with the disappearance of his wife Kathleen. Because Pirro has spoken about Durst for so long on national television, defense attorneys will likely use her as a witness to suggest that she and others are out to smear Durst’s name regardless of the facts. |
| The defense attorneys filed a motion on Wednesday to dismiss the case, claiming there was no search warrant for Durst’s room, and that Durst was detained by the agents in his room for hours while they waited for a proper search warrant from the Los Angeles police department, who did not show up until hours later. | The defense attorneys filed a motion on Wednesday to dismiss the case, claiming there was no search warrant for Durst’s room, and that Durst was detained by the agents in his room for hours while they waited for a proper search warrant from the Los Angeles police department, who did not show up until hours later. |
| Durst was detained, but, his lawyers argue, it wasn’t until 16 March, two days after the search, that an arrest warrant was issued in connection with Durst’s handgun and marijuana. | Durst was detained, but, his lawyers argue, it wasn’t until 16 March, two days after the search, that an arrest warrant was issued in connection with Durst’s handgun and marijuana. |
| The motion filed by Durst’s lawyers on Wednesday also requests that the state subpoena video surveillance from the Marriott in order to more firmly establish a timeline of the FBI agents’ search. | The motion filed by Durst’s lawyers on Wednesday also requests that the state subpoena video surveillance from the Marriott in order to more firmly establish a timeline of the FBI agents’ search. |
| Related: Robert Durst: California murder extradition to wait for New Orleans case | Related: Robert Durst: California murder extradition to wait for New Orleans case |
| While California prosecutors say their case against Durst is strong, the court case in New Orleans could give them more time to gather evidence and possibly explore links to other murders and disappearances that Durst may have been involved in. | While California prosecutors say their case against Durst is strong, the court case in New Orleans could give them more time to gather evidence and possibly explore links to other murders and disappearances that Durst may have been involved in. |
| Durst has long faced accusations about the murder of his longtime friend and one-time spokeswoman Susan Berman at her home in Hollywood Hills in 2000. He was also tried in Texas over the murder of his next-door neighbor in Galveston, and found not guilty. And he has been a suspect in the disappearance of his wife from their home in the suburbs of New York City in 1982. There are also newly surfaced suspicions about Durst and other cases – including the disappearance of a woman in Vermont in 1971. | Durst has long faced accusations about the murder of his longtime friend and one-time spokeswoman Susan Berman at her home in Hollywood Hills in 2000. He was also tried in Texas over the murder of his next-door neighbor in Galveston, and found not guilty. And he has been a suspect in the disappearance of his wife from their home in the suburbs of New York City in 1982. There are also newly surfaced suspicions about Durst and other cases – including the disappearance of a woman in Vermont in 1971. |
| But it wasn’t until the day before HBO aired the finale of its documentary The Jinx, on 15 March, that the Los Angeles charges against Durst were filed. In that finale, Durst can be heard muttering off-camera what some have taken as a confession to the murders. | But it wasn’t until the day before HBO aired the finale of its documentary The Jinx, on 15 March, that the Los Angeles charges against Durst were filed. In that finale, Durst can be heard muttering off-camera what some have taken as a confession to the murders. |
| “What the hell did I do?” Durst said. “Killed them all, of course.” | “What the hell did I do?” Durst said. “Killed them all, of course.” |
| Because Durst has been convicted of other crimes in the past, the weapons charges in New Orleans could put the 71-year-old away for life. | Because Durst has been convicted of other crimes in the past, the weapons charges in New Orleans could put the 71-year-old away for life. |