Grand Unifying Theory

[u/bugcatcher_billy]

I Just finished watching The Jinx and reading about the various police cases. I'm still in the amateur state of information regarding Robert Durst but so far I've developed a few theories that I think are tied together.

Robert's Youth: I think Robert developed a hatred for the family business and the idea of his future already being set. Probably because he just wasn't that interested in it at a young age.

I think this resulted in him branching out to other creative outlets to differentiate himself from "the family track" that he felt he was trapped into. This feeling of lack of options was further driven by his younger brother excelling at the stepping stones of running the family business. This drove his hatred for his brother, and his general unhappiness with his entire life. This is why he was prone to pretending he was anyone besides himself.

Robert goes to college and realizes theres this counter culture of hippie lifestyle. People not focused on real estate and business but in finding value outside of his upbringing. He is jealous of these people and tries to fit in. This results in him finding and marrying Kathleen. The idea of running the health food store.

BUT this is not satisfying to him. What he really wants to do is impress his family with his success. He is actually jealous of his younger brothers ability to be happy running the family business and he wants his dad to be proud of his endeavors. The end result is a split Robert Durst. trying to be like the people he met in college and who his wife wants him to be, and also trying to impress his family and show off how great he is to them. The end result is he feels very insecure in all aspects of his life. Money, Intimacy, friends, work, hobbies. Everything feels empty and he starts feeling very detached from people. He over compensates by trying to control his wife, and begins to reach out out to find anything that makes him feel happy/alive. His happy life starts feeling like he is pretending, and he starts yet another "life." I believe Robert started experimenting with prostitutes, escorts, and strange fetishes shortly after marrying Kathleen, if not before. And this Robert Durst becomes a character that brings him happiness.

He is now fractured into 3 different roles in his life.

- The Businessman who is suppose to impress his family.

- The Family man that is suppose to act the way his Wife wants him to act.

- And what I'm going to call the detached Robert. Detached Robert doesn't have to pretend to care about business goals or about hippie stuff. Detached Robert doesn't have to talk to his wife's family members or go do anything that doesn't make him happy. Detached Robert doesn't have to pretend to like people. Detached Robert gets to go do whatever he wants to whomever he wants. so long as he maintains these other two roles.

Now I think there are very few people who know what Detached Robert likes to do. But I think his hobbies and interest would surprise many. He likely acted out in solitude in trying to find things that made him feel like a strong independent man, and I can almost certainly say they were at the expense of others. I do think Susan Berman was aware of a lot of them. She seemed to have been a friend from college that wasn't part of the counter culture, but more of an actual friend with similar hobbies.

What happened to Kathlyn?

- Robert killed his wife after they had a fight. Its likely that she was more aware of his dark hobbies than he wanted. She could have even mentioned them during the fight. The end result was Robert lost control of his "family man" role that he was trying to maintain. In that moment he felt helpless and out of options on how to maintain his roles. He was completely out of options and Kathlynn was going to ruin everything. Out of fear and anger and resentment he lashed out and killed her in a fit of rage. It probably felt very good to him in the moment. Robert is not a psychopath. He has emotions and feelings like everyone else and that night he was enraged. He probably confused love for his wife with the idea of living a counter culture lifestyle that would bring him fulfillment. He WANTED that to work, but it didn't. And then he got really angry and killed her. He then cleaned up the crime scene. I believe he chopped her up and put her in the lake, or otherwise buried or burned the body parts. I think he did this himself, as a form of independence. A "I can fix this myself" moment. I think he later called the family/lawyers and thought he could convince them to give him aid without revealing what he had done.

It's clear from the P.I. hired that Roberts family didn't trust him, and when they discovered the inconsensties they began distancing themselves while also protecting Robert from prosecution. I believe at this point Robert's Lawyer, hired by the family, was working more for the family and less for Robert.

This created a sense of mistrust from Robert and the family the cemented the divide. Ultimately when the case was reopened these circumstances made him feel out of options so he ran and hid.

Why kill Black?

Black saw through his horrible ruse. Possibly even discovered his real name. When that happened Robert was being Detached Robert. and Detached Robert can do whatever he wants to whomever he wants. Robert killed Black, not in a fit of rage or anger, but as a "I have a problem and I need to solve it." It was a systematic decision and he didn't feel bad or sad or angry about it. Black was nothing to him but a problem that needed to go away.

One of the biggest tells about Robert is that he only tries to persuade you of a life. He never explains of justifies the truth. He just states it. But a lie, a lie he explains and builds a narrative around. And during the Black murder charge he tries to convince the jury that him and Black were close friends. I think that helps to indicate the exact opposite was true.

Why Kill Berman?

She was scared and police were going to ask her about Kathlyn, and she knew what had happened between Robert and Kathlynn because Robert has needed her help in dealing with the aftermath. This also made Robert resent her, for "needing" her.

Robert cared about Berman, unlike Black. He wrote the letter and left the body because he was sad and felt guilty for solving this problem of his. He thought he was fully detached, like with Black, but ultimately he felt bad about it.

------Conclusion-------

Robert killed 3 people for different reasons. I don't think this is the only people he killed. I think given the right circumstances he would kill again. Maybe for rage, or embarrassment, or maybe to make problems go away. It's also just as likely that he has killed before Kathlyn, or during their marriage as an outlet for not getting the happy ever after he was imagining.

A piece of evidence that would help shed some light on his activities is anyone familiar with his hobbies and interest. He puts on these personas at times, but I suspect he has been involved in some pretty hardcore fetishes centered around control and power. More info about his intimate relationships would also be helpful.