‘The Jinx’ Finally Explains Mystery of Robert Durst Arrest One Day Before TV Confession

For anybody who wanted a refresher on The Jinx, the follow-up sequence to the 2015 true-crime phenomenon that led to the arrest of Robert Durst did simply that with its first episode. Besides it delved deeper — a lot deeper — when it took the viewers behind the homicide case towards Durst to point out how and why the investigation and Durst’s subsequent arrest lined up with the jaw-dropping ultimate episode, which might air audio of Durst now-famously confessing from inside a rest room, “Killed them all, of course.”

The Jinx launched as a six-part miniseries in February 2015. Durst was a New York actual property inheritor who had been suspected of three murders, however by no means convicted: his first spouse, Kathleen McCormack Durst, who disappeared in 1982; his shut pal Susan Berman, who was shot useless execution-style in December 2000; and his neighbor Morris Black, whom he dismembered however was acquitted of murdering, claiming self-defense, in 2001. Director Andrew Jarecki — who Durst approached after seeing Jarecki’s movie All Good Issues, which was primarily based on Durst’s life — interviewed Durst for 21 hours for The Jinx.

The ultimate season one episode featured Jarecki confronting Durst with a smoking gun, when Durst couldn’t distinguish between his personal handwritten letter and the notorious cadaver word that was believed to have been despatched by Berman’s assassin. Durst, who was nonetheless mic’d, excused himself to the toilet, which is the place he would go on to say, “There it is, you’re caught. … Killed them all, of course.”

That piece of handwriting proof was first launched to the viewers within the fifth episode of season one and, as The Jinx — Half Two‘s first episode explains, Durst went on the run after he watched that episode air one week previous to the finale. He was in the end apprehended in New Orleans and was arrested the day earlier than his lavatory confession was made public the following day. The Jinx turned an on the spot true-crime unicorn: an HBO docuseries simply led to an arrest in a chilly case — how did that occur?

As Half Two makes clear with a title card, The Jinx filmmakers first handed over proof in 2013, which might result in L.A. District Legal professional John Lewin reopening the chilly case investigation into Berman’s homicide. Jarecki and govt producer Zac Stuart-Pontier lately defined of their Official Jinx Podcast for HBO how when, two years after they filmed it, they uncovered Durst’s audio confession of their enhancing course of and handed it over for the investigation.

What Jarecki and Stuart-Pontier element under is that, as soon as they handed over that ultimate piece of proof — earlier than The Jinx even premiered — they turned witnesses and had been suggested to not converse with the press as a way to preserve their credibility within the case. Now, 9 years later — over which period Durst was convicted for the first-degree homicide of Berman and later indicted on the cost of second-degree homicide in first spouse Kathie’s killing, earlier than his loss of life in 2022 — they’re prepared to speak.

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I’m in a Jinx rabbit gap after revisiting the timeline of Robert Durst’s arrest and the Half One finale (which aired in March 15, 2015) now that I’ve seen all of it put into perspective with the behind-the-scenes revelations within the first episode of The Jinx — Half Two.

ANDREW JARECKI How would you are feeling about [a rabbit hole for] 21 years?

Effectively, how does it really feel to launch the second half of this Robert Durst story after 21 years?

JARECKI It’s actually weird and shocking that we’ve been at it for this lengthy. It was not one thing that we’ve deliberate, however it actually has been an unimaginable reward to have the ability to go this deeply right into a story. Not solely does the story preserve shifting — and are there so many huge human questions that it calls into play — however this complete Half Two is actually about one thing totally different for us. Clearly, Bob is centered in it. However Zac [Stuart-Pontier] and I used to say, “How do you kill three people over 30 years and get away with it? It takes a village.” So, who’re these individuals? Who is that this constellation of individuals, in case you pull the digital camera again, who had been there serving to Bob alongside the best way? Regular, odd, first rate individuals who see themselves as common residents are all of a sudden getting drawn into homicide. And never one homicide, generally three murders. That’s such an attention-grabbing evolution, as a result of it was simple to say that Bob was this lone wolf, and these unhealthy issues occurred and he obtained in bother for it. However the actuality was that he had this cadre of individuals who, for varied causes and who got here in at totally different occasions in his life in numerous methods, had been in a position to take part. And with out these individuals, I don’t assume he would have been in a position to do what he did.

Zac and I are getting very contemplative now. We’re seeing the top of this in sight and we’re getting just a little nostalgic, and I used to be saying to him, “What are the biggest differences between Part One and Part Two?” And Zac mentioned, “Part One was retrospective where these were terrible events that happened in the past. Part Two is happening while you are watching it. It’s action that’s happening in the present.” And the second factor is that, loads of individuals in Half One needed to take part. Bob Durst volunteered to be interviewed. And loads of his mates needed to be there and help him and say good issues about him, and different individuals needed to make their factors and say how annoyed they had been by him. Individuals actually had a need to be in it. And folks don’t need to be in Half Two.

Your cameras by no means stopped rolling. So that you had a time interval the place you had captured footage earlier than The Jinx exploded to grow to be a true-crime phenomenon.

ZAC STUART-PONTIER When making Half One, we had been by no means actually positive the place Half One was going to finish. Andrew was already in contact with [L.A. County Deputy District Attorney] John Lewin. We had been filming some of that as that relationship was progressing, like talking for the primary time. And there was some speak about together with some of that in Half One. Clearly, that didn’t occur. We ended Half One with Bob within the lavatory [making his confession]. However whereas we had been making Half Two, a lot of what we filmed for Half One was related on this new and thrilling approach. That was one of my favourite issues about making this season. There was this going again over of all of the stuff when making Half One that was all of a sudden extraordinarily related once more.

I can’t recall how quickly after The Jinx finale launched that you simply made it public that you simply had truly found Durst’s lavatory audio confession two years after you filmed it. Are you able to return to whenever you first made that recognized?

JARECKI Once we first talked about it? It was truncated. As a result of on the time, when individuals had been asking, “when did you give this evidence to the police?”, I feel individuals had been assuming that there was some plot the place we had sat on the proof as a way to make this present a much bigger deal. However individuals didn’t perceive that we had reached out to the police a pair of years earlier than the present got here out. [Note: Part Two notes that they first handed over evidence in 2013.] It’s simply that the common individual thinks, “Well, if you have evidence of a murder, of course the police will go out and arrest the guy.” And we thought that, too.

After which once we met with John Lewin [who appears in Part Two], he mentioned, “Just to let you know, these [cold] cases usually take me five years.” We’re like, “This guy has definitely murdered three people already. It’s very possible he’ll do it again. It’s possible I’ll be one of them.” And he mentioned, “Well, the worst thing you can do, if you are a district attorney’s office, is bring a prosecution before you’re ready, because especially if this guy has hundreds of millions of dollars, he’s going to throw a lot of money at it and you don’t want to end up…”, what’s that expression, you don’t need to wound a prince? [Lewin continued], “If you’re going to do it, you gotta take him down.”

So, we realized loads from that. However then on the time, when the present got here out, one of the explanations individuals didn’t perceive that’s as a result of that very same DA had mentioned to us, “Don’t talk to the press.” I had proven [ABC News anchor] George Stephanopoulos the final two episodes early, simply because we’re mates and I knew I might belief him. We had been very fearful that if individuals within the press came upon it could leak, after which Bob would flee. And equally, I had executed the identical factor with Charlie Bagli on the New York Instances [who appears in Part Two], as a result of I felt that we might not have the ability to speak about this, so someone needed to have the essential details proper. After which proper after that — as a result of we didn’t know Bob was going to get arrested — [Lewin] mentioned, “By the way, now that Bob’s been arrested, we’re bringing this case and you guys are going to be witnesses. So, don’t talk to the press.”

(Laughs) So, then we had been type of caught in that center floor the place we actually didn’t need to harm our credibility as witnesses. We didn’t need to mess up their case. However, of course it was going to be complicated to individuals. No person was going to know. No person was going to know that it took us two years to search out the toilet audio. It’s comprehensible why individuals would say, “Well that sounds crazy.”

And that loo audio confession was relitigated in court docket throughout Durst’s trial. An element of the protection’s case was the accusation that that scene was edited. Are you able to tackle that, and what was it wish to have these accusations thrown through the trial?

JARECKI Two various things. First, they had been saying that we will need to have been in cahoots with the police, as a result of — if that had been the case — then they might have the ability to say that we had been brokers of legislation enforcement. And if we had been brokers of legislation enforcement, then what Bob mentioned to us ought to be thrown out, as a result of we didn’t mirandize him; we didn’t say, “By the way, we’re kind of working with the police and we’re an extension of the police.” And that’s one of the the reason why we didn’t attain out to the police till we had completed that second interview [the one that ended the Part One finale].

We had been speaking to legal professionals and asking what one of the simplest ways was to offer the proof that the police will want. They usually mentioned, “Don’t go to the police until you confront him with the evidence, because there’s only one shot at doing that and if you go to the police first, it will seem like they are giving you the questions or they’re asking you to do things that will help with the prosecution,” so we needed to separate ourselves there.

STUART-PONTIER And that’s what the protection did attempt to do. They did attempt to make that argument, and that was litigated. And all of the legal professionals weighed in and so they mentioned, “No, you guys weren’t agents of law.” So the individuals who had been advising us that that was going to grow to be a difficulty had been completely proper. That was the proper recommendation to present us.

JARECKI After which the second half was one thing that I feel individuals didn’t perceive — and even Charlie Bagli on the N.Y. Instances didn’t perceive. They thought, “Well, the prosecution is going to be based on the The Jinx. We know that the bathroom audio is seven minutes long. All you showed in the film is 20 or 30 seconds of it, so clearly they are bringing this prosecution based on a film.” However what they didn’t perceive is that we had given the whole seven minutes instantly to the district legal professional as quickly as we discovered it [two years after filming it and before The Jinx premiered].

So, it wasn’t ever primarily based on [what we showed]. We had been by no means going to have the ability to play seven minutes of lavatory audio within the movie, however we knew that was what we needed to do for the prosecution. And [the court] would have by no means tolerated it. They couldn’t have used the toilet audio [from the film] in court docket after which mentioned to the jury, “Well, we’re not going to play you the whole bathroom audio.” As a result of, what if there was one thing within the lavatory audio the place he mentioned, “Oh, I was just kidding about that part where I said, ‘Killed them all, of course.’” So, they would wish to have the ability to play that complete factor for the jury.

But it surely was additionally one thing the place Bob’s protection was attempting to say that it was all within the enhancing: “They made Bob seem guilty.” However you recognize, the man [Durst] walks into the toilet and says, “There it is, you’re caught.” After which he says, “Killed them all, of course.” They knew that the one argument they might make was that by some means this was all an enormous Hollywood manufacturing. They even tried to make the argument that by some means HBO had labored with the Los Angeles District Legal professional’s workplace to plan the arrest to make the present extra dramatic?

The timing to everybody not within the know appeared fairly outstanding — that he was arrested the day earlier than the finale when seemingly nobody besides you guys knew what was even on the tape. This primary episode now peels again on the timeline you’re getting at right here.

STUART-PONTIER Proper. It’s not true that nobody however us knew what was on the audio. The police knew. The police knew what was in The Jinx, as a result of we confirmed them — as a result of we had been attempting to be forthcoming with them. And therein is the reply to the thriller of why he was arrested on the eve of the finale, as a result of the police knew he was about to look at himself confess onscreen and so they knew he was already on the run. We didn’t know any of that.

Andrew knew that he was already on the run as a result of there was some speak about some private hazard that Andrew was in. So, he did know that for these 4 or 5 days that [Durst] was on the run. However this was not widespread information.

JARECKI It’s just a little bit of nuance, however I feel it’s price understanding. It wasn’t a coincidence that they arrested him, proper? It’s true that it occurred on this unimaginable, bizarre, lightning-strike factor the place the present is about to return out. But it surely’s not as a result of they had been in touch with HBO. Cops don’t name HBO. Tv individuals and legislation enforcement usually are not calling one another. However as a result of the cops knew that the present was popping out and so they knew what was in it, they’d deliberate to arrest him. They by no means advised us that.

We had been freaking out just a little, as a result of we didn’t perceive why they weren’t arresting him. And they’d say, “Well, we’re just not ready.” However truly, internally, there was just a little strife even on their facet that we didn’t perceive on the time; the district legal professional didn’t need him arrested. John Lewin didn’t need Bob arrested at that second as a result of John, who could be very cautious about his instances and who desires all the pieces to be excellent, mentioned, “If he gets arrested, he could ask for a speedy trial. And I’m not ready to try him because I haven’t been able to talk to all the witnesses. I’ve talked to all the witnesses I can talk to who are not close friends of Bob’s, but if I had called the close friends of Bob’s, then they would have tipped him off and then he would have been on the run. So, I need time.”

Within the meantime, you may have [LAPD homicide detective] George Shamlyan and the massive cop from LAPD who mentioned, “I don’t really care what the DA has to say. I know the show is coming out and Bob has already scouted Cuba” — he had already made a visit to Cuba, he’s shifting cash round, we all know this man is gonna attempt to flee to a jurisdiction that doesn’t have reciprocity or an extradition treaty — and due to this fact he mentioned, “I don’t really care what the DA does. We’re arresting him. We’re gonna look so stupid if we don’t arrest him and then he flies the coop.” So there was actually a battle between Lewin and the cops that we didn’t have any concept of till later.

However fortunately [Durst] was arrested; they had been proper. And ultimately, Lewin needed to suck it up and he was shut sufficient. Fortunately just a few different issues delayed Bob — the pot that he had with him and the gun [when he was arrested], and he ended up caught in New Orleans for some time and couldn’t go to trial. But it surely was loads of issues that occurred in a really brief interval of time and it made sense that individuals in TV world had been like, “This doesn’t make any sense to me.” And it took some time for us to actually perceive it, too. However we ended up attending to know these guys over time and studying about why they didn’t simply go arrest him.

And this primary episode explains how Durst, who was watching The Jinx in actual time when new episodes landed on Sundays, did go on the run as a result of of what he noticed in episode 5 (the episode that aired earlier than the finale confession). It was putting to see Durst, after he was arrested, inform the police he couldn’t reply himself why he spoke to you for The Jinx, and he additionally shares that he was excessive on methamphetamine for the interviews he did with you.

JARECKI “Shares”? Or “invents” the thought?

STUART-PONTIER “Claims” is the phrase I used to be pondering.

JARECKI He’s floating a take a look at balloon, proper? He doesn’t know John Lewin but. He doesn’t know that John Lewin doesn’t undergo bullshit. So he thought, “Let me try some stuff. Let me throw out, ‘Oh, I was on meth.’” After which John is like, “That thing you just told me, I think is bullshit.” After which Bob has to retreat and be like, “Alright I might have to keep negotiating with this guy,” and says, “Well, I’m not saying the answers I gave are wrong, I’m just saying that there was something going on with me.” And John is like, “Alright, let’s move on.”

Do both of you assume he was on any kind of substance in these 21 hours you had been talking with him for Half One?

JARECKI No.

STUART-PONTIER He likes to smoke weed. It’s not unimaginable that he took a success on his approach over. He’s a wake-and-bake type of man. So, is it doable that early on he was stoned? A bit. Possibly. However the man spends his complete life stoned, so I don’t know the way a lot that affected him. Past that, I feel we might have recognized. He was completely with it. He was getting up, he was shifting round. He was interacting with individuals. He’s a weirdo, however I don’t consider he was on medicine.

Later, in recorded jail calls on this first episode, Durst finally ends up saying that doing The Jinx was the “dumbest thing” he ever did. Charlie Bagli tells the cameras that if Durst had stored his mouth shut, he in all probability would by no means have been caught  Why do you assume he spoke to you?

JARECKI I feel it was a quantity of various things, and a few of them had been extra pedestrian than others. One of them is that he doesn’t have loads to do. He’s loaded [with money]. He wanders the world and has varied locations that he would keep; he would go to Galveston or he would go to his place in Northern California; he had a spot in Florida for some time and a spot in New York. He was type of the idle wealthy, and I feel he obtained bored. And I feel he beloved the stimulation of being within the press. And that dovetails with one other factor, which is that he hates his brother a lot, and he hates his household a lot, that he would do something to torture them. He beloved the truth that [his brother] Douglas Durst, who’s the chairmen of The Durst Group — Bob was the eldest son and he was handed over as head of The Durst Group in favor of his youthful brother, who he couldn’t stand — and so his youthful brother would work extremely exhausting to construct some new constructing, and so they must beg the native press to write down just a little blurb about it. As a result of, it’s not that attention-grabbing when a constructing goes up in Manhattan. Then Bob would present up, stand in entrance of Zabar’s, somebody would snap a photograph of him and he would find yourself on the entrance web page of the New York Put up with a headline, “He’s Back!” He beloved the truth that he might draw the eye to himself. It was very enjoyable for him. The one factor worse than being talked about is just not being talked about.

I additionally assume that there have been some deeper causes. He actually felt that he was being handled unfairly. I feel in case you had requested him what he meant by that, he would say, “Well, I applied to get into this co-op, they wouldn’t let me in. I’ve never been convicted of murder. That’s not fair to me.” Though in his thoughts he knew he had killed these three individuals, he felt maligned. He felt by some means like he wasn’t being handled pretty, given the truth that, underneath the letter of the legislation, he wasn’t truly a assassin. You would say to him, “Well Bob, you can understand that if you are living in your nice Manhattan co-op, you might not want to step out to get the newspaper and look across and see a guy who dismembered somebody.” [Durst was acquitted for the 2001 murder of his neighbor Morris Black, whom Durst admitted to dismembering, claiming he killed Black in self-defense.] So, he by no means completely understood that. He felt that was a technicality, and that he was technically harmless.

After which the deepest factor of all is that I do consider that he had a compulsion to admit. Even when Bob had much less conscience than different individuals, I feel he knew that he had killed the individuals who beloved him. His first spouse [Kathleen McCormack Durst] was an unimaginable individual. She actually beloved him and thought she might make him higher. She noticed all the failings in him, and thought she might be the lacking piece and repair him. And I feel he missed that. I feel he all the time felt responsible that he had killed her. And that’s one of the the reason why the minute I completed exhibiting him the 2 items of handwriting and he can’t inform the distinction [in the Part One finale] and two minutes later he will get up and goes to the toilet, he doesn’t even get the door closed earlier than he says, “There it is, you’re caught.” I really feel like, through the interview, he was thisclose to only desirous to blurt it out. So I feel that was half of it additionally.

I’m interested in your correspondence with him for Half Two. I’ve seen the primary 4 episodes, however press didn’t obtain screeners for the ultimate two episodes. Do you converse to him instantly right here, are you able to say?

JARECKI I feel perhaps we’ll depart the final episodes to their very own gadgets.

The Jinx — Half Two releases new episodes 10 p.m. Sundays on HBO and Max. Learn Jarecki and Stuart-Pontier explaining how they stumbled on Durst’s lavatory confession two years after filming and test again in with THR as Half Two unfolds for extra from the filmmakers.