Robert Durst will return to L.A. to face murder charge in the summer

New York real estate heir Robert Durst will return to Los Angeles to face a murder charge by next summer in connection with the killing of his writer friend Susan Berman, prosecutors announced Tuesday.

The Los Angeles County district attorney’s office said in a statement that it had reached a deal with Durst’s attorneys to have him extradited from New Orleans by Aug. 18.

The agreement, made publicly by the district attorney’s office, is dependent on Durst reaching a separate plea deal in a federal weapons case he is facing in Louisiana and his sentencing to a federal prison in that case.

Durst’s Houston-based attorney, Dick DeGuerin, said the extradition deal had been in the works for a while.

“Once we get our case resolved in New Orleans, then we will work on getting him, Bob, to California where he can be brought to trial,” DeGuerin told The Times.

“We’re hoping to get it resolved and get him there as soon as possible,” DeGuerin said, noting that Durst would be held pending arraignment if he arrives in California before Aug. 18.

“There’s a lot of moving parts. He has to be designated by the federal government to a prison in California,” where he would be held until he is transferred to another detention facility during trial, DeGuerin said.

DeGuerin said he talked to Durst, 72, about the deal to get him extradited to face the murder charge in Los Angeles.

“He recognizes that that’s the main case, that’s everything,” DeGuerin said of his client. “He’s been amenable to being extradited since Day One.”

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

“Bob Durst didn’t kill Susan Berman and doesn’t know who did,” DeGuerin said. “He’s ready to get to California and prove his innocence.”

The heir to a real estate empire 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 remained in prison in Louisiana facing a federal gun charge related to the discovery of a loaded revolver by FBI agents in his New Orleans hotel room. He has a change-of-plea hearing in federal court scheduled for Feb. 3.