Lengthy Extradition Proceedings Expected for Texas Murder Suspect

Prosecutors in Pennsylvania’s Northampton County said Monday they expect a lengthy extradition process to precede any trial for Robert Durst, the wealthy fugitive wanted on Texas murder charges who was captured in a grocery store.

Durst, 58, the son of a New York real estate magnate, has drawn the interest of detectives in two other investigations, including a murder case in Los Angeles.

But even as authorities prepared to return Durst to Galveston, Texas, for trial in the death of his 71-year-old neighbor, Morris Black, Los Angeles Police Department detectives played down the significance of the arrest to the ongoing investigation into the shooting death of Benedict Canyon writer Susan Berman last Christmas Eve.

As they have in the past, LAPD officials again declined Monday to name Durst as a suspect in the Berman slaying. Police said they have a renewed interest in him only as a result of Black’s slaying in September, not because new evidence connects him to Berman’s death.

‘One of Many’ People Being Investigated

Durst “is one of many” people police are investigating in the Berman case, said LAPD Det. Paul Coulter. “He has not been connected to it, nor has he been eliminated.”

Also, contrary to some reports, the LAPD says it did not participate in the effort to hunt and capture Durst, who fled after being released on bail in Texas. Durst was a fugitive for several weeks before police detained him Friday on suspicion of trying to steal a hoagie and other items in a grocery store in Bath, Pa.

LAPD detectives were in New York investigating Berman’s old acquaintances at the time of Durst’s capture and said they heard about it only after returning to Los Angeles.

On Friday, Pennsylvania authorities quickly determined their shoplifting suspect was the same Robert Durst wanted on a Texas warrant after jumping bail. Durst had been released on bond following his arrest in Galveston after Black’s dismembered body turned up in Galveston Bay on Sept. 30.

At the time of his flight, authorities in New York’s Westchester County had been seeking to interview Durst about the 1982 disappearance of his 29-year-old wife, Kathleen, a case they recently reopened. Durst has repeatedly denied any knowledge of her disappearance.

Westchester County Dist. Atty. Jeanine Pirro said Monday that investigators would still like to question Durst about his wife, but his attorneys have declined their request.

In the meantime, she said, New York state police have been re-interviewing witnesses in the missing-persons case, as well as a few new witnesses who came forward after Black’s murder.

Durst also was questioned by police after Berman, whose late father was a Las Vegas mob boss, was found shot to death in her home last year. Durst was not charged with any crime and not named as a suspect.

He appeared in a Pennsylvania state court Monday to hear the charges against him. But in accordance with the court system there, he entered no plea, said Northampton County Dist. Atty. John M. Morganelli.

A call to the office of Michael Kennedy, Durst’s lawyer in New York, was not returned.

No Decision Yet on Fighting Extradition

Morganelli said a defense lawyer told a judge Monday that Durst had not yet decided whether to fight extradition to Texas. Prosecutors were granted an extension allowing 90 days for the extradition proceedings to take place.

In the meantime, Durst is being held without bail at Northampton County Prison.

Coulter, the LAPD detective, called the Durst case “odd” but said he expects no immediate developments in the Berman investigation and predicted it will proceed slowly from this point.

“We were not on any big hunt for Robert Durst,” he said. “He was a fugitive on a Galveston case.”