Robert Durst - 3/15/15 Interview with LA Co. Deputy DA John Lewin

February 28, 2016
For those of you living in a cave, eccentric real estate heir Robert Durst (of The Jinx fame) was arrested in Louisiana on March 14, 2015. His arrest was initiated by a murder warrant out of Los Angeles. Durst was charged with first degree murder in the death of his long-time friend, Susan Berman. Berman was found shot in the back of the head in her Benedict Canyon home on December 24, 2000.

While in the Louisiana jail facility, the day following his arrest, Durst agreed to an interview with LA County Deputy DA John Lewin. Durst spoke with Lewin for about two hours and forty-five minutes. The interview was video and audio recorded.

The video and audio files were released to the public by the LA Co. District Attorney's office on December 16, 2016, via a motion filed with the court. That motion also includes a complete transcript of the recording.

T&T has uploaded the video to YouTube.

The video consists of two parts, a video file and an audio file. The video was made through a closed circuit camera in the interview room at the Louisiana jail. It did not contain any audio. The audio recording was a separate file, made by the LAPD Robbery Homicide Division.

T&T merged the audio and video recordings, which were slightly different lengths. Although the audio and video were in sync at the start of the recording, towards the end they are out of sync. Because of the wide viewing angle of the video, the participant's faces are not clearly visible.

Cameron Brown Appeal Update - Case Fully Briefed

4-year-old Lauren Sarene Key, murdered by her biological father

Cameron John Brown on 11/8/2000.

UPDATE 9/11/17:
Since my last report there have been several updates reflected on the case docket. On April 26, 2017, a petition for review by the California Supreme Court was denied. On July 22, 2017, a notice was sent that oral arguments were scheduled for August 24. On July 27, the appellant (defendant) filed a waiver for oral argument and the state filed their waiver on July 31. On August 24, the arguments were waived and the case submitted. It's now a wait to hear the courts decision.

February 27, 2017
The website for the California Courts, Appellate Court Case Information indicates that Cameron Brown's appeal for his first degree murder conviction in the death of his 4-year-old daughter Lauren is fully briefed. Below is a screenshot of the last actions appearing on the docket for Brown's appeal.

California Courts, Appellate Courts Case Information,

Cameron Brown appeal docket.

Cameron Brown was convicted of first degree murder in the death of his 4-year-old biological daughter, Lauren on May 13, 2015. He was sentenced to life without parole on September 18, 2015. His appeal was filed the same day. California's Department of Corrections & Rehabilitation indicates that Brown is currently being held at California's Substance Abuse Treatment Facility at Corcoran State Prison, in Corcoran, CA.

Full T&T coverage of Brown's second and third trial can be found here.

With the case fully briefed, it's now a waiting game for oral arguments to be scheduled. That could easily take a year or more. To give you an example, the Stephanie Lazarus appeal was fully briefed on December 13, 2013. Oral arguments were not scheduled until June 11, 2015, eighteen months later. The Appellate Court published their decision on July 13, 2015.

Sherri Rae Rasmussen 2/7/1957 - 2/24/1986

Sherri at home, December 1985.

This entry was first published on February 24, 2016. Republished on the anniversary of Sherri's death. Sherri was murdered 31 years ago today. Sprocket.
GUEST ENTRY by AUTHOR MATTHEW McGOUGH!

Matthew McGough is writing a book about Sherri's life and murder.

Sherri Rasmussen was an exceptional person.

Over the last several years I have interviewed many of Sherri’s family members, friends, and colleagues. Thirty years after Sherri’s tragic death, her absence continues to reverberate in their lives.

Sherri’s life was remarkable for how much she accomplished in her twenty-nine years, and for how humble she was. Sherri was a high achiever from the time she was a little girl. Sherri graduated from high school at age sixteen, college at twenty, and became a nurse the same year. At twenty-three, she earned her master’s degree in nursing from UCLA.

Despite being younger than many of her nursing colleagues, first at UCLA Medical Center and later at Glendale Adventist Medical Center, Sherri’s personal nature commanded trust and respect. Those who worked with Sherri remember her as an extremely competent nurse, always calm under pressure, and a natural leader. Sherri cared deeply about her patients and about the profession of nursing, to which she dedicated her adult life.

Sherri loved her family and friends and was beloved by them. Many people have told me about the profound impact Sherri had on their lives, how she encouraged them to do their best, and how her example continues to inspire them, even all these years later.

Jackie Robinson once said, “A life is not important, except in the impact it has on other lives.” By this measure, it makes perfect sense that Sherri is remembered so fondly by so many.

Robert Durst Pretrial Hearing 3

UPDATE 1:00 pm
February 17, 2016
Today will be my fourth day at the Airport Courthouse, attending a pretrial hearing in the Robert Durst murder case.

There was a preconceived notion that the hearing would only last three days.  I'm not placing any bets that by 4:30 pm today direct and cross examination of the "secret witness" will be completed. The hearings are to question witnesses the prosecution plans to call at trial just in case these witnesses might not be available by the time the trial takes place. This is conditional testimony and that questioning comes with wider latitudes. There has been testimony that in a regular trial would be considered hearsay, and has not been offered for the truth of the matter. If the witnesses are available for trial, then this conditional testimony is moot. However, if for some reason these witnesses are unavailable, some of this testimony taken today will be admitted at trial. The DA has also taken the step of video taping the witnesses.

I am days behind in posting my detail notes on the last few days of the hearing. Having a recovering husband means my writing time at home is limited.  Until I get those notes published, I will give a short synopsis on what each witness has testified to so far.

On Tuesday the first witness was Dr. Kuperman. He testified about his duties at Albert Einstein Medical College, what the curriculum, assignments and responsibilities were for med students during each year back in late 1978-1982.

Dr. Kuperman stated that he remembered Kathy Durst, the defendant's first wife, how attractive she was, that she was bright and a "sharp dresser" and that in four years he had two conversations with her. He testified the total time he had spoken to her in those four years was about 15 minutes.

Kathy disappeared February 1, 1982, months away from graduating. Dr. Kuperman stated that based on her school records, he saw no reason that she wouldn't have graduated. Dr. Kuperman also testified that he had never spoken to her on the phone before he received a phone call from a female voice on February 1, 1982 who identified themselves as Kathy Durst. Today, Dr. Kuperman cannot be certain that the voice he heard on the phone was Kathy Durst.

On Wednesday, Susan Giordano, a close personal friend of the defendant, testified that Durst was her best friend. She said she loved Durst and that their relationship was strictly platonic. She also testified that she did not give police permission to remove over 60 boxes of Durst's personal effects that were stored in her basement.

On Wednesday afternoon and all day Thursday, the prosecution's "secret witness" Nathan "Nick" Chavin took the stand. He testified that he met the defendant, a long-time close friend over 30 years ago through their mutual friend, victim Susan Berman.

Chavin testified that in December 2014, he had dinner with the defendant. After the dinner when they were walking away from the restaurant, Chavin and Durst had a talk about the murder of Susan Berman. Chavin testified, "Bob said I had to. It was either her or me. I had no choice." Chavin then asked about Kathy but "... he continued to walk away."

Chavin's direct testimony continues today.

1:00 PM
Defense cross examination of Nathan Chavin by lead counsel Dick DeGuerin began around 10:40 am and continued to the lunch break. At one point, DeGuerin raided his voice and appeared to be yelling at the witness. The prosecution objected to this.

Chavin was confronted via transcripts with conflicting statements he made in his various interviews with the prosecution team, about what he said the defendant told him regarding Berman's murder at their dinner meeting in 2014.

Right before the lunch break was called, DeGuerin informed the court that when they resume, they will be playing the entire 60 minute audio of a July 24, 2015 interview Chavin had with prosecutors.

It's doubtful at this point this hearing will be concluded today. On Thursday we learned that Judge Windham has a trial that is scheduled to start on Tuesday. Monday, President's Day is a court holiday.

Correction, DeGuerin states the recording is from July 23, 2015.  

4:30 PM
Amazing we finished today. Next hearing is for motions on April 25.

More to come.....

Robert Durst Pretrial Hearing 2 & Mr. Sprocket Update

UPDATE 2/15 spelling of Det. Bengtson's name, further additions

UPDATE 12:00 AM added more notes from today's hearing
UPDATE 1:00 PM minor spelling corrections and (?) notations about name spellings
February 14, 2017
8:40 AM
Testimony from two prosecution witnesses is expected today in order to memorialize their statements for trial. For one witness, this is due to age. For a second witness the prosecution has shared with the court their concerns about the witnesses' safety. The identity of this witness has been kept from the public. I believe at the last hearing the court ordered the people to share the name with the defense team at the end of January.

At the last pretrial hearing, I live-blogged from the courtroom. The consequences of that meant that when I later went into edit, I did not have a back-up copy of my notes and I lost a good portion of my data. So for today's hearing my notes will be posted later. If there are breaks, I may post to Twitter during the hearing.

The courtroom is a nice modern courtroom but the number of seats in the gallery are very few. For the last hearing, most of the seats were taken up by the mainstream media.

Mr. Sprocket Update
It is unknown how long this hearing will take. It could take all day, which will definitely put a damper on Mr. Sprocket's plans for or day. For those of you wondering how Mr. Sprocket is doing, he's slowly recovering.

Last December, the day he was cleared to drive again we learned that he had a broken/ separated rib in his upper right chest, a common byproduct of open heart surgery. It explained why he still had so much pain in one localized spot. It also delayed his recovery and ability to exercise these past two months.

However, he's doing much better now. He's started exercising and working to build his strength back. Sadly, we learned yesterday that his job will not be waiting for him when he is able to return to work.

Last week, I mailed out 'Thank You' gifts to everyone who made a donation to T&T to help us out financially. We can't thank or friends and readers enough, or tell you how much your donation has helped us through this difficult time.

A note to new readers. T&T is 100% reader funded. T&T does not receive any financial backing other than what our readers donate. If you appreciate the public service that T&T provides, consider making a donation to cover T&T's court costs. Thank you.


8:54 AM
Robert Durst Defense Team
Dick DeGuerin arrives with Donald Re and the rest of his team. Donald Re defended German Nationalist Gerhard Becker on involuntary manslaughter in the death of firefighter Glenn Allan. Attorney David Chesnoff arrived in the cafeteria a little after I did.

9:29 AM
On the 8th floor. Several familiar faces among the media. Terri Keith from City News, Marisa Gerber with LA Times, Robert Dean & Andrew Blankstein from Dateline, People Magazine's Christine Pelesik, 48 Hours' Greg Fisher, Brian Melly from the Associated Press. There are other faces that I recognize but I cannot for the life of me place a name with the face. We have two sketch artists today. Bill Blais and Mona Edwards Shaffer.

The defense team also arrived on the 8th floor.

9:40 AM
Mary Hearn of the PIO is here. Her assistant just took role call for the press. But we are learning now that some at the bottom of the list might not get a seat.

10:00 AM
I have a seat! Some seats have been reserved for defense team support staff. They are directly in front of me. I am on the far left of the courtroom and an older, colorful gentleman has the end chair on my left. Greg Fisher is to my right.  Earlier, Bill Blais won the coin toss for sketch artist. Durst is not in the courtroom yet. The Judge is not on the bench yet. I hate this directed, you must sit here seating.

DDA Lewin chatting with Donald Re. I overhear Lewin say something about getting a waiver. It was real quick. There are about eight support staff, possibly more for the defense team. At least five or more for the prosecution. I cannot see over heads.

10:07 AM
More last minute people are being given the final empty seats. I will be switching to draft mode in a few minutes.

10:09 AM
Durst comes out. slowly walking, a back and forth gait.  Fine, Box stripe shirt glasses hanging on for his shirt gray pants. He slowly takes his seat. He turns around to look at the gallery.

[Judge Mark Windham takes the bench. The gallery is called to stand. The bailiff continues his announcement. The court asks the gallery to be seated.]

DeGuerin introduces people to the court. His wife, and I think his son. Stacey (sp?) Manilla.
David Chesnoff. Chip Lewis, Donald Re, (Kathie?) Bane (sp?).

People introduce themselves. Habib Balian, Evan Miller. For the people John Lewin, More people from the prosecution introduced. Lewin also tells the court that there are staff from the crime lab here and other investigative officers are here. George Shamlyan, Elizabeth Camacho, Richard Bengtson, (also miss a name). Another DDA states his name for the record.

Judge allows sketch artist only if image is not definitive.

12:45 PM
I raced down to the cafeteria to get some lunch. I then headed back upstairs to the 8th floor to sit on the floor and use the power outlet. In the entire cafeteria, there were only two power outlets and they were being used by people sitting at the tables next to them.

Before the first witness took the stand,  DeGuerin had an objection to a reporter, Charles Bagli with the New York Times being in the courtroom during testimony. DeGuerin tells the court, "We only found out the name of the witness two weeks ago. There is some. indication I can't say that is [a] credible witness, that's some indicate that Mr. Bagli and this witness are collaborating on a book about the case. ... I have not asked Mr. Bagli about that but there is that fact."

The court rules that Bagli can stay in the courtroom during the first witness testimony. He will wait to make a ruling on the secret witness. DDA Lewin argues to the court the unprecedented step of barring a member of the media from the courtroom. He adds,

"... in many cases you have reporters who have long standing interest in cases and I'm [not] aware, ... no authority as an offer of proof ... they're saying they have suspcion of conflicts .. I’m [confident] you have the authority out there, if you take that step  you [will] have a due process issue. ... I would just ask to a hearing prior to that so we can litigate it."

Judge Windham responds to counsel. "Thank you. That’s why I didn't rule on that.  Ofcourse  I’ll entertain any motion from any side and that motion ..."

The first witness is called, Dr. Albert Kuperman. DDA Balian presents the witness.

1. ALBERT KUPERMAN
Dr. Kuperman lives in New York City and is 85 years old.

Several basic themes are presented to the witness about memory and to let the DA know if he doesn't remember, or if his memory might be from something he read or a personal memory.

Dr. Kuperman gives an abbreviated CV. Before he retired, for 40 years he was the Associate Dean of Education at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. [Interview with Dr. Kuperman before he retired.] Dr. Kuperman has obtained his degree at Cornell Medical School of Sciences. He also has a Ph.D. in
pharmacology. He was responsible fore the management and development of the educational program for medical students. Under him were the heads, directors and various assistant deans.

DDA: The Albert Einstein medical school, how difficult is it for someone to become a med student there?
AK: In the 1980's we would get eight to ten thousand applications for a class of 176. They would screen out all but 1100 and interview 500 or 600 of those 1100 and then choose a class of 176.
DDA: You would take the brightest of the brightest?
AK: Yes.
DDA: If someone could not undergo the curriculum, they would not be there?
AK: Yes.



DDA Balian comments that he went to law school and it was a lot easier.

Dr. Kuperman states that the program is four years. The first year, 95% of the students time would be spent in various biomedical courses, lab and small group sessions as well. The other 5% clinical type teaching.  The first two years is the classroom like work that occurs in a large lecture hall. In the 3rd year, the clerkship rotations in every specialty, psychiatry, surgery, medicine, etc. And the fourth year, there are also a few clerk-ships, neurology being one, some internship in medicine and pediatrics and an ambulatory program. Dr. Kuperman also mentions there are various electives in clinic specialties or research or community based work programs. In the third and fourth year, there are rarely courses that take place in a classroom setting. The clerk-ships take place off campus, so the students get to work in the hospital with patients leaning their craft. They are a minimum of four weeks, maximum eight weeks.

The supervisory structure of these programs are explained. The student either passes or fails. There's no middle ground. The students are given responsibilities where they are located at month in a clerk- ship. The school places the student in a hospital and the doctors will train that student. The supervision is left to those doctors.

During the 1982, there were approximately 700 to 899 students at Albert Einstein Medical School. In his 40 year career, he was responsible for the education of almost 7,000 students.

DDA: Do you remember them all?
AK: No.
DDA: Do you remember some of them?
AK: yes.

Dr. Kuperman explains that most of his interaction was with students who were taking his pharmacology course. Occasionally, students would come to him to discuss special programs the school offered beyond the clerk ships, beyond the required courses. Occasionally he would interact with other students but mostly, issues with students were handled by the Dean of Students. The interaction between student and teacher was formal. In his role, he didn't have much time interacting with students.

The Dean of Students in 1982 was John Cook. His first name was really Jean but he liked to be called John. When Dr. Kuperman arrived Dr. Cook was already dean of students and he remained there until 1988. Dr. Cook's duties are explained. After medical school, a student has an MD degree but not licensed to practice. They must go through three years residency before they can practice. He explains the school matching program.  Dr. Cook was in charge of matching students to the hospital they would do their residency in.

I note that DeGuerin's blond wife, sitting in the row in front of me beside DeGuerin's son has a casual polished look about her.

DDA Balian shifts to asking Dr. Kuperman about a "particular student" that happened in the late 70's to early 80's. Dr. Kupperman is familiar with this particular case and had read media accounts over the years.

DDA: Have you watched the documentary The Jinx?
AK: No.

DeGuerin objects to the word "documentary" to describe Andrew Jarecki's film. The witness testifies he has not watched any film or video related to the Durst situation. He has not seen the movie, All Good Things but has read articles over the years. He acknowledges that it might be difficult to delineate what he has read from what he remembers. He remembers Kathleen Durst. He would see her around campus. He could not give an exact number of times he saw her on campus, but states, "I would say about a dozen times." He remembers what Kathy Durst looked like.

DDA: Was there ever any other med student at your school that ever disappeared that just suddenly disappeared?
AK: No.

Dr. Kuperman remembers he had a couple informal setting discussions with her. He remembers her as a very bright, attractive young woman who "... looked very good in terms of her dress. Things were different then. Students were very rebellious in dress. She was very smart looking is how I would describe it. And that's how I would describe it for the two informal meetings I had with her."

The interactions Dr. Kuperman had with Kathy were very quick, no more than five to ten minutes each.

DDA: What is the best amount of time you would estimate over the three or four years of [meeting her]?
AK: Fifteen minutes.
DDA: And have you previously said it was 10 minutes.
AK: I might have stated that, yeah.
DDA: Your best estimation, as you sit here today, what was the time as to the length of it?
AK: Probably 10 to fifteen minutes.
DDA: And how certain of you are that?
AK: Reasonably certain.
DDA: Did you think that perhaps that you had hours of interaction with Kathy?
AK: Definitley not.
DDA: How certain are you that your interactions with her were brief?
AK: I'm certain it was very brief.
DDA: Who knew Kathy Durst better, you or Jean Cook? ... Who had more contact with Kathy Durst?
Defense: Objection!
Court: Sustained.


And the changing questions about who had more contact with Kathy keep coming the defense keeps objecting and the court continues to sustain them.

DDA Balian asks to be heard on the issue. The court tells him he must lay a foundation. DDA Balian confers with DDA Lewin. The people switch to another line of questioning.

Dr. Kuperman testifies that regarding to Kathy's background, he knew that she was a nurse. He had no knowledge of her personal life or was aware of any family problems.

DDA: If someone were to say, if Dr. Cook were to say, if anyone talked to Kathy on a daily basis, it would be Dr. Kuperman?
AK: That would be incorrect.
DDA: If Dr. Cook were to say [Kathy Durst's] immediate contact was Dr. Kuperman...
AK: That would be incorrect.
DDA: If someone were to say that Kathy spoke directly with [you] were her [advisor] ...
AK: That would be incorrect.
Defense: Objection!
Court: Sustained.
DDA: If Dr. Cook were to say, very infrequently, a student were to work with you rather than Dr. Cook?
AK: That would be incorrect.
DDA: If Dr. Cook were to say, that Kathy dealt with you directly what would you say?
AK: [That's] incorrect.

More hypothetical questions along the same line of 'if Dr. Cook would say.' Dr. Kuperman testifies that he is "very certain" that he did not have more contact with Kathy than Dr. Cook. There are more objections by the defense.


More to come.....

Jerry Sandusky's son Jeffrey Charged with Child Sexual Abuse

UPDATE 2:20 PM - added more news links
February 13, 2017

Talking Points Memo is reporting:

One of Jerry Sandusky's adult sons faces multiple charges of sexual offenses involving children, more than five years after the former Penn State assistant coach was himself first arrested.
Court records filed Monday say 41-year-old Jeffrey S. Sandusky was charged with 14 counts, including criminal solicitation and corruption of minors.

Bail was set at $200,00. Read the entire article HERE.

ABC News Report
CNN Report
USA TODAY Report

Robert Durst Case - Motions Filed by the People

February 8, 2016

T&T recently obtained motions filed by the people in the Robert Durst Case. You can read the documents through the embedded links below. They have been added to the Robert Durst Quick Links Page. When I am able to obtain copies of the defense motions, I will upload them.

The next pretrial hearing at the Airport Courthouse is scheduled for February 14, 2017, 10am.

Note added 2/10/17 - I highly recommend reading the People's Supplemental Declaration. It has the complete transcript of DDA John Lewin's interview with the defendant. Great read.

3/16/15 Robert Durst Criminal Complaint

   Robert Durst Criminal Complaint by Betsy A. Ross on Scribd

12/5/16 People's Motion to Admit Special Master

   Robert Durst Case Motion to Admit Special Master by Betsy A. Ross on Scribd

12/16/16 People's Supplemental Declaration

   Robert Durst People's Motion Supplemental Declaration by Betsy A. Ross on Scribd

12/19/16 People's Special Master Reply

   Robert Durst People's Special Master Reply by Betsy A. Ross on Scribd

12/29/16 People's Opposition to Defense Motion

   Robert Durst Prosecutions Opposition to Def Motion by Betsy A. Ross on Scribd

1/5/17 People's Motion to Admit Defendant's Mirandized Statements

   Robert Durst People's Motion to Admit Defendant's Mirandized Statements by Betsy A. Ross on Scribd

1/17/17 People's Motion Collateral Estoppel

   Robert Durst People's Motion Collateral Estoppel.pdf by Betsy A. Ross on Scribd

Remembering Lana: 4/5/1962 - 2/3/2003

Lana's niche at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery

Photo courtesy Lana's friend, Cathy Byrd

Fourteen years ago today Lana Clarkson was murdered in the foyer of music producer Phil Spector's Alhambra, California home.

After two trials, Spector was convicted of second degree murder in her death on April 13, 2009. He was sentenced to 19 years to life about six weeks later. Spector's first trial in 2007 that ended in a mistrial, was the first case covered on Trials & Tribulations.

Today I'm remembering Lana Clarkson on the anniversary of her tragic murder. Beautiful, talented, funny, she was adored by her mother Donna, extended family and friends.

Lana is interned at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in the columbarium. During the first trial, Vanity Fair writer Dominick Dunne encouraged me to visit Lana's niche. I wrote about my visit in September 2007.

Lana's Website
Wikipedia on Lana
 Lana at iMDB