"The Jinx" director Andrew Jarecki (left) and Robert Durst (HBO)
Robert Durst’s arrest in New Orleans the night before Sunday’s finale of HBO docuseries “The Jinx” marked the end of a long journey for director Andrew Jarecki.
“We were obviously glad that they made the arrest. We were concerned that Bob was floating around, and we knew that Bob had been upset about Episode 5,” Jarecki told the New York Times Monday.
Durst, 71, seemingly confessed to three murders during the finale. “There it is. You’re caught,” he said. “What the hell did I do? Killed them all, of course.” He was not on camera when he made the startling admission, and Jarecki said Durst left his microphone on and was talking to himself in the bathroom.
The real estate heir was arrested Saturday on charges stemming from an investigation into the murder of his friend Susan Berman in Los Angeles in 2000. He had previously denied involvement in Berman’s death, as well as the 1982 disappearance of his wife, Kathleen.
During a phone conversation between Jarecki and co-writer/cinematographer Marc Smerling with the Times, the filmmakers explained that the bathroom confession came after a formal interview in April 2012 but the audio was not discovered until June 12, 2014. “That didn’t get loaded for quite a while. We hired some new assistants and they were going through some old material,” said Jarecki.
“We had reached out to law enforcement to try and get color about when they planned to arrest him. Because as civilians, one always assumes that law enforcement is going to move more quickly than they naturally do,” he said, explaining that they had also hired security. “For the first many months we were working on the film, we never felt that sense of being in jeopardy. But once that evidence was out there, and Bob knew that it was on national television, it raised a level of concern. So personally we were relieved that he was arrested when he was.”
As for what prompted Durst to finally come clean, “Marc and I both felt that confession in the washroom was really something that came bubbling out of him,” Jarecki said. “When you listen to it, it’s chilling because it feels like you’re channeling something from very deep inside a person, and that while he could argue that he was sorry that he did it, the truth is he seemed to be compelled to confess. And I think the confession on some level must be a relief to him.”
The filmmakers have not reached out to Durst since they discovered the audio but said that he was surprised when they asked about the letter to Berman in the second interview. He even called them to ask if they thought the letter was a big deal.
“I imagine after seeing that letter, it would be very difficult — I think it would almost be impossible to get him to sit down for a third time,” said Smerling.
For now, they don’t know if the audio will be used as evidence in the upcoming case. “Bob agreed that we could use any recording of him in any way we deemed appropriate,”Jarecki said. “He was well aware that he was miked all the time.”
Smerling went on to say: “Another hugely important piece of evidence was the original interview. It’s comprehensive. You’re seeing a small part of it. Bob admits to lying about his alibi after Kathie [his wife] disappeared. His whole demeanor is evidence, in my opinion.”
While they didn’t set out with the goal of getting justice, Jarecki said it “went from being more of a movie to being a bit more of a mission when we started to realize how open Bob was being.”
With an upcoming trial in Los Angeles, they are still in “filmmaking mode” and are “keeping their ear to the ground” in the hope of finding out what happened to Kathie.
Durst has denied killing Berman, but police have long believed he had a motive, allegedly wanting to silence her about Kathleen’s disappearance, another alleged crime he has long been suspected of but never been charged.
He was also charged in the 2001 shooting death and dismemberment of a neighbor in Galveston, Texas, but he claimed self-defense and was later acquitted.
Hollywood's Most Outrageous Lawsuits (Photos)
Between Lindsay Lohan firing back at Fox News, Mariah Carey allegedly short changing her domestic help, and Sly Stone winning millions after suing his ex-manager -- stars often turn to the courts to address their squabbles and strife.
Lindsay Lohan filed suit against Fox News and Sean Hannity on Feb. 2, 2015, after a news correspondent accused Lohan's mom of snorting cocaine with her troubled daughter. It didn't take long for Fox to fire back. “We will defend this case to the fullest,” the network told TheWrap the next day.
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A former nanny for Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon filed a lawsuit on Jan. 28, 2015, alleging she was fired after showing the couple's kids too much affection and did not receive overtime pay despite working 100 hours per week.
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Legendary funk artist Sly Stone won $5 million on Jan. 27, 2015, after suing his former manager and entertainment attorney for misappropriating royalties owed him for more than 20 years.
Former “Real Housewives of Orange County” executive producers Patrick Moses and Kevin Kaufman filed a suit against Bravo in Nov. 2014, claiming they were deceitfully ousted from the show and bilked out of millions of dollars after helping to create the show and the franchise.
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Jessie Nizewitz, a contestant on VH1’s “Dating Naked,” filed suit in New York in Aug. 2014, seeking $10 million in damages for emotional distress, humiliation and embarrassment after the show allegedly failed to properly blur her genitals.
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Octavia Spencer was awarded $940,000 in Dec. 2014 after claiming a weight loss company, Sensa Products Inc., wrongfully fired her from an endorsement deal and still owed her money.
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Former Tinder executive Whitney Wolfe filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against her former company June 2014, alleging she was repeatedly called a "whore" by CMO Justin Mateen and was stripped of her co-founder title simply for being a woman.
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Former TMZ producer Jarrett Gaeta slapped his former employer with a lawsuit in June 2014, claiming he was wrongly terminated. Gaeta was let go after a subordinate accused him of "racist behavior," including defending blackface and sending pictures of watermelons to African-American employees.
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CNN America was sued in Aug. 2014 by a pair of plaintiffs who claim that correspondent Arwa Damon bit one of them and threatened both during a drunken altercation at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad.
"Boardwalk Empire" actress Paz de la Huerta sued Lionsgate in Aug. 2014 claiming she was run over by an ambulance while filming "Nurse 3D." Lionsgate filed a motion to dismiss, which De La Huerta opposed on Jan. 23, 2015. Lionsgate then opposed her opposition on Jan. 30, 2015, in a seemingly neverending loop of opposing motions.
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Rapper Rakim Mayers, aka A$AP Rocky, was sued in civil court in June 2014 for allegedly assaulting a woman while making his way through a crowd during the 2013 Made in America Festival.
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Nicki Minaj’s former hairstylist and wig designer filed a $30 million lawsuit against the rapper in 2014 for allegedly stealing his wig designs and costing him a potential reality show. A judge later dismissed the case for lack of sufficient evidence.
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Kim Kardashian and Kanye West filed suit against YouTube founder Chad Hurley on Oct. 31, 2013, claiming he posted a video of the couple’s surprise engagement to his website without permission. The process was delayed when Hurley’s reps filed an anti-SLAPP motion in an attempt to have the case dismissed.
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Jahmel Binion filed a lawsuit against Shaquille O’Neal in July 2014 when O’Neal posted a photo to his Instagram account mocking Binion, who suffers from a rare condition that causes facial abnormalities, sparse hair and missing teeth. Binion claimed defamation, emotional distress and invasion of privacy in the $25,000 lawsuit, and after pressure from the public O’Neal apologized.
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In 2014 singer Chris Brown was mentioned in a lawsuit filed by the cousin of artist Frank Ocean. The defendant claimed Brown and an associate allegedly kicked and punched him when he confronted them about parking in a spot designated for Ocean at a Los Angeles recording studio. Ocean, who was also injured, later said he wouldn't seek criminal or civil penalties.
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From embezzlement to slander, there’s no shortage of celebrity court action
Between Lindsay Lohan firing back at Fox News, Mariah Carey allegedly short changing her domestic help, and Sly Stone winning millions after suing his ex-manager -- stars often turn to the courts to address their squabbles and strife.