Robert Durst pleads guilty to gun charge, clears way for L.A. murder case

New York real estate heir Robert Durst has pleaded guilty to a gun charge in Louisiana, clearing the way his transfer to Los Angeles to face a murder charge in connection with the death of his writer friend Susan Berman.

Durst, 72, entered his plea Wednesday in a New Orleans Federal Court as part of a deal, his attorney’s office confirmed. Durst was facing a federal gun charge related to the discovery of a loaded revolver by FBI agents in his New Orleans hotel room.

The agreement seals Durst’s extradition from New Orleans to Los Angeles. He is expected to return to California by Aug. 18 for his arraignment on the murder charge, said Jane Robison, a spokeswoman of the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office.

“We anticipated this,” she said. “We were expecting this.”

Durst drew national attention this year as the subject of the HBO docudrama “The Jinx.”

The series explored the mysterious disappearance of Durst’s wife, Kathy, in 1982, as well as the 2000 killing of Berman, who was found shot in her Benedict Canyon home. In the final episode, Durst is caught muttering what sounded like a confession to the killings into a microphone off-camera.

Durst left his final interview to use the bathroom, appearing not to notice that his microphone was still recording as he muttered to himself, “What the hell did I do? Killed them all, of course.”

“There it is, you’re caught,” he said at another moment. “What a disaster.”

Before the series ended last spring, Durst disappeared from his Houston condo, a manhunt ensued and he was caught in New Orleans on March 14. Los Angeles County officials charged him with murder in connection with Berman’s death and attempted to extradite him to California.

Durst has insisted he had nothing to do with Berman’s fatal shooting.