Who Was Susan Berman and What Happened to Her?

Published on 19 June 2023 at 16:33

.the-sun.com/news/3487343/who-was-susan-berman-and-what-happened-to-her/

Author: Adrian Zorzut

JANUARY 10 2022- Susan Berman was brutally murdered in her LA apartment in December 2000

 

The man convicted of her murder, Robert Durst, died in custody on January 10, 2022

 

Susan was the daughter of Davie Berman, a Jewish-American organized crime figure who operated for notorious gangster Meyer Lanksy and the Genovese crime family in Minneapolis and Las Vegas

 

In 1981, she wrote East Street, which depicted her life as a mobster's daughter and was paid $350,000 for movie rights, though no film was ever made

 

Susan maintains her dad- who replaced murderous gangster Bugsy Siegel at the Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas- died under mysterious circumstances during an operation, though indications suggested he died of a heart attack. She was just 12 at the time. 

 

Later in life, she took up a career in journalism and wrote for a range of newspapers, including the San Francisco Examiner

 

In 1984, she married Christopher (Mister) Margulies and was walked down the aisle by long-time friend Robert Durst. Marguiles died of a heroin overdose in 1986

 

Susan met Durst- who is suspected of killing his first wife Kathleen McCormack in 1982- while studying at UCLA in the late 1960s and the two kicked it off as friends. 

 

Susan was found in her LA apartment on Christmas Eve in 2000 and was believed to have died a day earlier

 

Cops never found the murderer and suspected her long-time friend and real estate tycoon friend Robert Durst of foul play after he admitted to being one of the last people to see her before she died

 

In March 2015, Durst was then arrested in New Orleans and charged with first-degree murder in connection with Susan's death

 

At the time Durst vehemently denied allegations he murdered Susan but admitted visiting her flat and finding her body and leaving the "cadaver" note for police

 

On September 17, 2021, Durst, 78, was then convicted of first-degree murder for shooting Berman after taking the stand and admitting he wrote the damning anonymous "confession" about her death

 

Durst was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Susan Berman on October 14, 2021

The 78-year-old told a LA courtroom on August 2021 that he entered Susan's house that Christmas Eve with a key she had mailed to him and found her dead bleeding on the floor

 

He said: "I did a double take. I saw Susan lying on the floor." 

 

"I shouted "Susan!" a couple of times, then I quickly

ran to the bedroom where she was. Her eyes were closed."

 

Durst said he checked Susan's pulse and lifted her off the floor before running to another room to call 911 but found the phone line wasn't working

 

He then left and tried to contact authorities from a payphone on Sunset Boulevard, which is about two miles away. 

 

When an operator answered, Durst said he started to have reservations

 

He said: "I decided I did not want to give them my name."

 

"I was aware that my voice is very recognizable even without a name." 

 

He said he instead opted to write what has come to be known as the cadaver note- a scrap of paper with Susan's address and the word "cadaver" that was mailed to the Beverly Hills Police Department

 

Under questioning, Durst admitted he had lied about authoring the note over the years, including during an interview for the HBO documentary The Jinx

 

He said on Monday, August 16: "It's a very difficult thing to believe"

 

"I mean, I have difficulty believing it myself, that I would write the letter if I had not killed Susan Berman."

 

This all came to a head during the filming of The Jinx when he was confronted about the misspelling of the world "Beverly"- which appeared in the "cadaver" note and in his previous letters he wrote to Susan. 

 

Unaware he was still being recorded, he muttered the phrase "killed them all, of course," which many have taken as a confession. 

 

Robert Durst died on January 10, 2022

 

His lawyer wrote in a statement: "Mr. Durst passed away early this morning while in the custody of the California Department of Corrections."

 

"We understand that his death was due to natural causes associated with the litany of medical issues."

 

On October 16, 2021, Robert Durst's attorney confirmed he was Covid-19 positive, and in the hospital on a ventilator. 

 

 

Article Source: .the-sun.com/news/3487343/who-was-susan-berman-and-what-happened-to-her/

Author: Adrian Zorzut

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