--- title: The Jinx, HBO and Robert Durst: How TIME Originally Covered the Case description: The subject of the HBO documentary show has been arrested, but it's not the first time that's happened canonical: https://time.com/3745769/robert-durst-2003/ author: Lily Rothman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-03-16T14:49:27.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T05:10:58.188Z article:section: History og:title: The Jinx, HBO and Robert Durst: How TIME Originally Covered the Case og:description: The subject of the HBO documentary show has been arrested again og:url: https://time.com/3745769/robert-durst-2003/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc3ac97a1dd50de9b/698783ab0b72e368ef6de2cc/durst.jpeg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Robert Durst og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The Jinx, HBO and Robert Durst: How TIME Originally Covered the Case twitter:description: The subject of the HBO documentary show has been arrested again twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc3ac97a1dd50de9b/698783ab0b72e368ef6de2cc/durst.jpeg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # How Robert Durst Was Acquitted of Murder Years Before _The Jinx_  by [Lily Rothman](https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/)  ## Lily Rothman Rothman is managing editor at TIME. Mar 16, 2015 2:49 PM UTC  Robert Durst (C) in court on Nov. 10, 2003, at the Galveston County Courthouse in Galveston, Tex. Robert Durst (C) in court on Nov. 10, 2003, at the Galveston County Courthouse in Galveston, Tex.James Nielsen—Getty Images  by [Lily Rothman](https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/)  ## Lily Rothman Rothman is managing editor at TIME. Mar 16, 2015 2:49 PM UTC It may seem like the Robert Durst story is finally coming to an end: The real-estate heir and subject of HBO’s _The Jinx_ was [arrested](http://time.com/3745254/robert-durst-arrested-new-orleans-hbo/) in New Orleans over the weekend and, in the Sunday-night finale of the documentary show, he [appeared to have confessed](http://time.com/3745422/the-jinx-robert-durst-hbo-finale/) on tape to multiple murders. But if Durst’s history teaches anything, it’s that confession and arrest won’t necessarily lead to conviction. In 2003, Durst stood trial for one of the deaths with which his name has been connected over the years. He was then, as the heir to New York City real-estate wealth, worth an estimated $250 million but was dogged by a troubled past that could be traced all the way back to witnessing his mother’s death when he was only 7. His wife, Kathleen McCormack, disappeared about a decade into their marriage. Then, [as TIME recounted](http://time.com/vault/issue/2003-11-24/page/37/) in a 2003 issue, “\[In 2000\], Durst’s friend Susan Berman was shot in the head in her home just days before she was to be interviewed by investigators seeking information about Kathleen’s disappearance.” Durst’s name was often discussed in connection with both cases, but he was not arrested for either. That changed in 2001\. After Berman’s death, Durst moved to Galveston, Tex., where he lived as “a mute woman named Dorothy Ciner,” and befriended an older neighbor named Morris Black. In 2001, “Durst returned to his rental to find Black there watching television. A scuffle ensued, Durst’s pistol went off, and Black is believed to have died of head trauma,” as TIME put it in 2003\. Durst ended up in court, where he admitted to taking Black’s body apart and said he had forgotten much of the episode except for the huge amount of blood involved. But, despite the admission, he was acquitted. Here’s how that happened: --- > “” --- **_Read the rest of the 2003 story here in the TIME Vault:_** [A Real Head Case](http://time.com/vault/issue/2003-11-24/page/37/) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3745769/robert-durst-2003/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3745769/robert-durst-2003/"},"headline":"How Robert Durst Was Acquitted of Murder Years Before The Jinx","datePublished":"2015-03-16T14:49:27.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T05:10:58.188Z","description":"The subject of the HBO documentary show has been arrested, but it's not the first time that's happened","url":"https://time.com/3745769/robert-durst-2003/","keywords":["Crime","Television"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc3ac97a1dd50de9b/698783ab0b72e368ef6de2cc/durst.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Lily Rothman","jobTitle":"Rothman is managing editor at TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/"}],"articleSection":"History","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc3ac97a1dd50de9b/698783ab0b72e368ef6de2cc/durst.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Robert Durst","caption":"Deliberations Resume In Durst Trial","creditText":"James Nielsen—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/history/","name":"History"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3745769/robert-durst-2003/","name":"How Robert Durst Was Acquitted of Murder Years Before The Jinx"}}]}] ```