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Juror removed from Durst murder trial as pandemic delay ends
Earlier DU thread: Judge to Durst jurors after delay: 'Where did we leave off?'
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Source: Associated Press
Juror removed from Durst murder trial as pandemic delay ends
By BRIAN MELLEY
May 18, 2021
INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — A juror who read about the murder trial of multimillionaire Robert Durst during an unprecedented 14-month hiatus tied to the coronavirus pandemic was removed Tuesday as lawyers prepared to present a new round of opening statements.
Judge Mark Windham said he was removing the juror after she violated a court order not to read about the case during the lengthy break. Windham said the juror “took umbrage” that defense attorneys sought a mistrial because they felt the jurors wouldn’t be able to remember what they had heard over six days before the case was halted in March 2020.
Windham acknowledged the hiatus when he welcomed back jurors Monday and joked, “Where did we leave off?”
Whatever jurors may have forgotten about Durst — from the cloud of suspicion that has dogged him for decades to his claims of being trailed by bad luck — they will be reminded in a new round of opening arguments.
Durst, 78, an heir to a New York commercial real estate empire, is charged with first-degree murder in the slaying of his best friend, Susan Berman. She was shot in the back of the head at her Los Angeles home in December 2000.
-snip-
By BRIAN MELLEY
May 18, 2021
INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — A juror who read about the murder trial of multimillionaire Robert Durst during an unprecedented 14-month hiatus tied to the coronavirus pandemic was removed Tuesday as lawyers prepared to present a new round of opening statements.
Judge Mark Windham said he was removing the juror after she violated a court order not to read about the case during the lengthy break. Windham said the juror “took umbrage” that defense attorneys sought a mistrial because they felt the jurors wouldn’t be able to remember what they had heard over six days before the case was halted in March 2020.
Windham acknowledged the hiatus when he welcomed back jurors Monday and joked, “Where did we leave off?”
Whatever jurors may have forgotten about Durst — from the cloud of suspicion that has dogged him for decades to his claims of being trailed by bad luck — they will be reminded in a new round of opening arguments.
Durst, 78, an heir to a New York commercial real estate empire, is charged with first-degree murder in the slaying of his best friend, Susan Berman. She was shot in the back of the head at her Los Angeles home in December 2000.
-snip-
Read more: https://apnews.com/article/us-news-ap-top-news-new-york-robert-durst-trials-4367040e64e26179d47f0cbf3e6b7df5
In this still image taken from the Law&Crime Network court video, real estate heir Robert Durst watches as Deputy District Attorney John Lewin, presents a new round of opening statements in the murder case against Durst after a 14-month recess due to the coronavirus pandemic in Los Angeles County Superior Court in Inglewood, Calif., on Tuesday, May 18, 2021. Durst, 78, an heir to a New York commercial real estate empire, is charged with first-degree murder in the slaying of his best friend, Susan Berman. (Law&Crime Network via AP, Pool)