Robert Durst hospitalised with COVID-19, his lawyer says

Rober Durst was sentenced on Thursday to life in prison without a chance of parole for the murder of his best friend more than two decades ago.

October 17, 2021 03:53 am | Updated 04:27 am IST - Los Angeles

Robert Durst is seen being sentenced to life without possibility of parole for the killing of Susan Berman, at Airport Courthouse, in Los Angeles, California, U.S. on October 14, 2021. Photo: Myung J. Chun/Pool via Reuters

Robert Durst is seen being sentenced to life without possibility of parole for the killing of Susan Berman, at Airport Courthouse, in Los Angeles, California, U.S. on October 14, 2021. Photo: Myung J. Chun/Pool via Reuters

New York real estate heir Robert Durst, who days ago was sentenced in a two-decade-old murder case, has been hospitalised after contracting COVID-19, his lawyer said on October 16, Defence Attorney Dick DeGuerin said he was notified that Durst was admitted after testing positive for the coronavirus. Mr. DeGuerin said he didn't know Durst's condition and was trying to find out more details.

Durst, 78, was sentenced on Thursday to life in prison without a chance of parole for the murder of his best friend more than two decades ago. Durst, who has numerous medical issues, sat in a wheelchair with a catatonic stare during much of the sentencing hearing.

“He was very, very sick in the courtroom,” Mr. DeGuerin said on October 16.

He was convicted in Los Angeles Superior Court last month of first-degree murder for shooting Susan Berman point-blank in the back of the head at her home in December 2000.

The killing had been a mystery that haunted family and friends for 15 years before Durst was arrested in 2015 following his unwise decision to participate in a documentary that unearthed new evidence and caught him in a stunning confession.

Mr. DeGuerin said on Thursday that Durst will appeal.

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