Robert Durst: US tycoon arrested after saying he 'killed them all'

Robert Durst, a wealthy US real estate magnate, appears to have made a startling confession to multiple murders after saying he "killed them all" during a break in filming for a six-part HBO documentary about him.

Durst, the son of one of New York's most prominent real estate families, came to fame as a suspect in three murders, including the disappearance of his wife and the death of his closest friend.

In the final episode of a documentary being made about him, The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst, the multimillionaire was caught whispering to himself "What the hell did I do? Killed them all, of course."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

The apparent confession was captured by a microphone Durst was wearing when he went to the bathroom during a break in filming, the New York Times reports. Los Angeles police issued a warrant for Durst's arrest, and he was picked up on Saturday in New Orleans and charged with first-degree murder.

Durst, 71, is now suspected of being involved in the disappearance of his first wife Kathie, which US prosecutors believe may be connected to the death of one of his oldest friends, Susan Berman, who was shot dead in her home in 2000, The Guardian reports.

This is not the first time Durst has been in trouble with the law. He was also tried for a murder in Galveston, Texas in 2003, but was acquitted after successfully arguing that the shooting was an act of self-defence.

Durst's startlingly unguarded words came after the makers of the HBO documentary presented a note written by Durst to Berman and asked if he agreed that the handwriting looked similar to an anonymous note that had been sent by Berman's killers to police one day after the murder. Both were written in capital letters.

Durst initially replied: "The writing looks similar and the spelling is the same so I can see the conclusion the police would draw". However, he later said that he thought that the similarity was purely coincidental. "Block letters are block letters. How else do you write block letters other than that?"

Later though he went to the bathroom and was caught on microphone saying "There it is. You're caught." After a noise that sounds like weeping there is a retching sound, the Guardian reports. The tycoon then said: "What the hell did I do? Killed them all, of course."

It is unclear whether the recording can be used as evidence in court, the New York Times says.