Talk:Robert Durst/Archives/2015

Regarding additional information
Regarding additional information about the trial, and other legal issues - I see no reason why this info should not be included. All of it is a matter of public record, based on stories in the NY Times, other legitimate sources, and the recent HBO series 'The Jinx', which has the actual court video of the trial. Please do your homework on these issues before undoing others work. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.60.66.69 (talk) 06:24, 3 March 2015 (UTC)
 * Much of the information you've added is unsourced. Much of the other information you've added is sourced, but the source does not support the material. This article is about a WP:BLP and is held to a much higher level of scrutiny than other articles. I've reverted your changes and warned you on your Talk page. I suggest you stop, or you risk being blocked, whether it's by me or by someone else. I am speaking to you in my capacity as an administrator, not as an editor.--Bbb23 (talk) 08:40, 3 March 2015 (UTC)
 * All, and I mean 100%, of the information I added to his page was taken directly from legitimate media sources, primarily from The New York Times, and Durst's own comments recorded on video tape during his trial in Galveston, TX in 2003, as seen on HBO on March 1, 2015.
 * Please specifically identify what you feel does not fall into these categories and I gladly will show you the specific source(s).
 * As for the content being too specific, by which I suppose you mean the additions I made were too lengthy, I disagree. The trial was complicated. I tried to condense the salient facts as much as possible. Being a published, compensated professional writer, I have experience in this area. Please explain how you would reduce the number of words used without omitting relevant events that occurred. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.60.66.69 (talk) 05:48, 4 March 2015 (UTC)
 * I don't have time tonight to go through all of the material you added, but I'll give you two examples. First, you added the following: "He hired defense attorneys Dick DeGuerin, Michael Ramsey, and Chip Lewis, who advised him to plead self-defense. Durst told the court he initially came to Galveston due to the resulting publicity from Westchester County district attorney Jeanine Pirro (currently a commentator on Fox News Channel) reopening the investigation in 2000 of the unsolved disappearance of Durst's first wife in 1982. The defense repeatedly told the court that Pirro had reopened the case solely for political purposes." You cited this article as the source. Ramsey and Lewis are not mentioned in the article. Self-defense is not mentioned in the article. The only indication of a plea, let alone his lawyers advising him to plead self-defense, is at the end where it says that he pled not guilty. The article does not say that Pirro works for Fox News.
 * Second, right after that, you added: "Durst told the court in order to avoid being detected he rented an apartment disguised as a woman using a false name who claimed ‘she’ was mute so he would not have to speak. After he became acquainted with Black, Durst said he told him the truth about his identity. Durst also said they became friends and often spent time together. When Black was given an eviction notice by the landlord he became quite upset at the prospect of having to move and while in Durst’s apartment he took one of Durst’s handguns and fired a shot at the eviction notice. Durst told Black to leave and not to come back again. A few days later Durst came home to find Black inside of his apartment watching TV and holding a handgun of Durst’s. Durst told him to leave and Black refused. Durst approached Black and tried to disarm him when the handgun discharged, hitting Black in the head and killing him." You cited to nothing for all that material.--Bbb23 (talk) 06:28, 4 March 2015 (UTC)

Thank you very much for your thoughtful reply.

1) In your example regarding the lawyers Durst hired for his TX murder trial, please see the bottom of the page on 'The Jinx - The Life And Deaths Of Robert Durst' program website here http://www.thejinxhbo.com/whos-who/ where Ramsey and Lewis are also identified as part of the Durst defense team in addition to DeGuerin. Please see this New York Times article from 2003 regarding the Durst plea of self defense, which is already part of the existing Wiki page on Durst in the first sentence of the Trial section. The article also refers to Durst lawyers Dick DeGuerin, Mike Ramsey and Chip Lewis - http://www.nytimes.com/2003/11/12/nyregion/new-york-city-real-estate-heir-is-acquitted-of-murder-in-texas.html Please see the Wiki page for Pirro http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeanine_Pirro where she is identified as a Fox News Channel commentator with her own program; Justice with Judge Jeanine.

2) The New York Times article linked above covers the majority of info in this section. The exception of the eviction notice and additional details are found in this article in Texas Monthly - http://www.texasmonthly.com/content/verdict This info is found in even greater detail in the 3rd chapter of the HBO series 'The Jinx - The Life And Deaths Of Robert Durst'. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.60.66.69 (talk) 05:15, 7 March 2015 (UTC)

Twice acquitted?
How could he have been acquitted twice, when there was only one trial?101.98.210.38 (talk) 07:52, 11 March 2015 (UTC)
 * Good point. I looked back at the history and the lead was changed with that material added on July 31, 2014. The state of the article then was similar to now, meaning there was no indication he was ever tried twice. Thanks for noticing.--Bbb23 (talk) 11:52, 11 March 2015 (UTC)

Susan Berman--"aspiring writer"?
She was a reporter for the San Francisco Examiner, published three novels and two non-fiction crime books, and a memoir, "Easy Street" about growing up in a Mafia family. Her career spanned 19 years, with television writing credits. When, in the opinion of the author, does one move from "aspiring writer" to "writer"? On this basis, I have stricken the offending adjective. 173.228.0.182 (talk) — Preceding undated comment added 18:25, 15 March 2015 (UTC)

Update recent events
This week has been relevant news about Durst involvement in three murders, for which he has been arrested. I consider essential that someone incorporate recent information — Preceding unsigned comment added by Razmujin (talk • contribs) 16:25, 16 March 2015 (UTC)
 * If you look at the history for this article, you'll see that there have been and continue to be numerous updates as reliable sources report on these developments.  Dwpaul  Talk   16:44, 16 March 2015 (UTC)
 * Also please note that, contrary to your assertion, Mr. Durst's most recent (March 14, 2015) arrest is because he is a suspect in the death of Susan Berman; he has not been arrested for "involvement in three murders" (he was already acquitted of one and has never been charged in the disappearance of his first wife).  Dwpaul  Talk   16:56, 16 March 2015 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 16 March 2015
To edit this paragraph:

The media have reported his financial status variously as "wealthy", "millionaire",[18] "multimillionaire"[29] and "billionaire".[20] He reportedly sold two properties in 2014 for $21.15 million after purchasing them in 2011 for $8.65 million.[30] He also has access to a $43 million dollar trust fund created by the family.[30]

And to add: He cut ties from his family completely in 2006 for a settlement of $65,000,000. Thanks to settlement and properties sold, his actual net worth is just under $100,000,000, according to the Squander. I ask you to make to this change to add more substantiated information to this section.

Nikkigrmn (talk) 17:53, 16 March 2015 (UTC)
 * The Squander is not recognized as a reliable source. Can you provide a better ref?  Dwpaul   Talk   17:58, 16 March 2015 (UTC)
 * ✅ I found one here. I did not include an estimate of his net worth after the settlement or now, as the former appears to be unsourced (and his net worth may well have changed since 2006).  Dwpaul  Talk   18:28, 16 March 2015 (UTC)

This New York Times article confirms the $65 million Durst received from his family trust settlement: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/07/nyregion/07durst.html?adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1426530227-sCFkAZMG+MreoCM5UYu16Q Here are three articles confirming the real estate transactions in 2014, two from real estate journals and one from the New York Post: http://rew-online.com/2014/07/11/robert-durst-makes-big-profit-with-brooklyn-deals/ http://therealdeal.com/blog/2014/07/14/robert-durst-cashes-in-on-brooklyn-investments/ http://nypost.com/2014/07/14/ex-con-robert-durst-made-a-killing-flipping-nyc-real-estate/ — Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.60.66.69 (talk) 18:34, 16 March 2015 (UTC)


 * The NYT article is the one I linked above and cited in the article. I suspect the ref on the preceding sentence that claims he still has access to a $43 million trust fund is in error, because it appears from the ref just added that he surrendered that access as part of the 2006 settlement.  But I have not removed it, since it is still unclear whether that is the case.  Dwpaul   Talk   18:37, 16 March 2015 (UTC)

According to Forbes Magazine, The Durst family fortune is worth $4.4 Billion. According to the NYT article linked above regarding the $65 Million settlement, Robert Durst is no longer connected to the family fortune in any way. http://www.forbes.com/profile/durst/ — Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.60.66.69 (talk) 18:41, 16 March 2015 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 17 March 2015
Los Angeles prosecutors on Monday charged New York Robert Durst with murder in the 2000 death of his friend, Susan Berman. http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/03/16/durst-hbo-murder-hearing/24837005/

AdrielC877 (talk) 00:38, 17 March 2015 (UTC)
 * Pictogram voting wait.svg Already done The article already mentions that. Stickee (talk) 00:51, 17 March 2015 (UTC)

Lives in Houston, has 3 condos in a building

 * http://www.tmz.com/2015/03/17/robert-durst-cops-raid-houston-home-murder-the-jinx/


 * http://blog.chron.com/primeproperty/2015/03/robert-dursts-mini-houston-real-estate-empire/#31347101=0


 * http://www.khou.com/story/news/2015/03/16/dursts-neighbors-react-to-latest-arrest/24876095/

This can be added to the "Personal life" section that mentions he owns a townhouse in Harlem. The Category:People from Houston can be added. 12.180.133.18 (talk) 02:41, 18 March 2015 (UTC)

Early life
My log in isn't working at the moment - but as I started reading this section I see an error. The sentence that is referenced with footnote 4 is incorrect. Robert Durst's brother Douglas is not interviewed in The Jinx. He refused, but was interviewed by the New York Times, and it is in that interview that he disputes that Bob saw their mother fall or jump from the roof as a child. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/02/nyregion/series-on-troubled-scion-of-durst-real-estate-family-has-critic-his-brother.html — Preceding unsigned comment added by ‎ 207.237.27.132 (talk) 21:30, 18 March 2015 (UTC

Relationship to Susan Berman
Robert Durst met Susan Berman while both attended UCLA between Durst's move to LA in the fall of 1965, and when Durst dropped out and returned to New York in 1969. They became close friends and Berman often referred to Durst as 'her brother'. Berman has many times been called Durst's closest confidante. When Berman got married in 1970 to Mister Margulies, Durst walked her down the aisle and gave her away.

http://www.latimes.com/books/jacketcopy/la-et-jc-the-literary-life-and-death-of-susan-berman-robert-durst-victim-20150316-story.html#page=1

http://www.vanityfair.com/magazine/2015/03/robert-durst-murders-wife-susie-berman

http://www.biography.com/people/robert-durst

http://laist.com/2015/03/16/susan_berman_robert_durst.php — Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.60.66.69 (talk) 03:49, 20 March 2015 (UTC)

Warrant
LAPD didn't "issue a warrant" for Durst, they obtained a warrant from a judge, magistrate, justice of the peace, or the like. Please restore earlier revision to that effect. 208.253.114.165 (talk) 13:40, 22 March 2015 (UTC)

Excuse me, that revision was and still is in 'the Jinx' article. Still, its appropriate here. 208.253.114.165 (talk) 13:41, 22 March 2015 (UTC)

Possible Addition to Popular Culture section - appropriate?
At a concert by They Might Be Giants on Sunday, April 19, 2015, one of the primary members of the group pretended to answer a call to their "Dial-A-Song" hotline from Robert Durst in prison in New Orleans. He claimed that their music was being played as a form of torture and that he had 2 proposals for them to choose from. 1. Stop making music or 2. He gets to be Triangle Man. Later in the concert another "call" came through from the prison but they denied the charges. Jlygrnmigt (talk) 13:49, 21 April 2015 (UTC)
 * When it comes to "In popular culture", I'm not sure Wikipedia has a codified standard&mdash;though I think the category needs to be supported by reliable sources (footnotes) and what's said at a public performance probably doesn't count unless it gets wider media coverage. Lots of people are telling Durst jokes these days (like the hilarious Billy Eichner). But the notability standard itself seems subjective. FWIW, Durst was briefly impersonated by Kate McKinnon on Saturday Night Live a week after his arrest, but that has twice been removed from the category by other Wikipedia editors. A case of "Hey Gurl, you're no Ryan Gosling," maybe... &mdash;Vesuvius Dogg (talk) 23:02, 21 April 2015 (UTC)