--- description: A Los Angeles judge ruled that real estate heir Robert Durst must stand trial for the 2000 murder of his longtime friend, Susan Berman title: Robert Durst of HBO's 'The Jinx' to Stand Trial for Murder image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt10c9108aa8ca4468/69893d88656a3f3e6abd5ced/gettyimages-630362386.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Courts](/tag/courts/) ## Courts Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Robert Durst, Subject of HBO's 'The Jinx,' Has Been Ordered to Stand Trial for Murder by [Casey Quackenbush](/author/casey-quackenbush/) ## Casey Quackenbush Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 26, 2018 6:19 AM CUT  Real Estate Heir Robert Durst appears in the Airport Branch of the Los Angeles County Superior Court during a preliminary hearing in Los Angeles, Calif. on Dec. 21, 2016. Real Estate Heir Robert Durst appears in the Airport Branch of the Los Angeles County Superior Court during a preliminary hearing in Los Angeles, Calif. on Dec. 21, 2016.Jae C. Hong—Pool/Getty Images by [Casey Quackenbush](/author/casey-quackenbush/) ## Casey Quackenbush Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 26, 2018 6:19 AM CUT A Los Angeles judge ruled Thursday that millionaire real estate heir Robert Durst, the eccentric subject of the HBO documentary series _The Jinx_, [must stand trial](https://www.reuters.com/article/us-people-durst/judge-orders-durst-of-the-jinx-to-stand-trial-in-murder-case-idUSKCN1MZ36S "undefined") for the murder of his longtime friend Susan Berman in 2000. Durst, now 75 years old, was arrested in 2015 and has pleaded innocent to the charge of murdering Berman with a gun and killing a witness. He will have an opportunity to re-enter his plea on Nov. 8, Reuters reports. Judge Mark Windham ordered Durst to be held without bail until his arraignment. The judge said Durst had incriminated himself in statements, such as remarks he made during production of _The Jinx._ Prosecutors say Durst killed Berman because she could implicate him in the death of his wife, who disappeared in New York City in 1982. But Durst’s attorneys say without fingerprints or DNA evidence connecting him to Berman’s death, there is insufficient evidence to call for a trial. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of life in prison. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5435645/robert-durst-jinx-murder-trial/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5435645/robert-durst-jinx-murder-trial/"},"headline":"Robert Durst, Subject of HBO's 'The Jinx,' Has Been Ordered to Stand Trial for Murder","datePublished":"2018-10-26T06:19:32.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T21:50:57.566Z","description":"Prosecutors say he killed his friend Susan Berman because she could implicate him in his wife's 1982 disappearance","url":"https://time.com/5435645/robert-durst-jinx-murder-trial/","keywords":["Courts","onetime","overnight"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt10c9108aa8ca4468/69893d88656a3f3e6abd5ced/gettyimages-630362386.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Casey Quackenbush","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/casey-quackenbush/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt10c9108aa8ca4468/69893d88656a3f3e6abd5ced/gettyimages-630362386.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Imprisoned Real Estate Heir Robert Durst Appears In Court For Hearing In Murder Case","caption":"Imprisoned Real Estate Heir Robert Durst Appears In Court For Hearing In Murder Case","creditText":"Jae C. Hong—Pool/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/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/courts/","name":"Courts"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5435645/robert-durst-jinx-murder-trial/","name":"Robert Durst, Subject of HBO's 'The Jinx,' Has Been Ordered to Stand Trial for Murder"}}]}] ```