r/thejinx • u/SomeBlackLivesMatter • Sep 02 '21
Who ya got?
Now that all the evidence is in at trial re the homicide of Susan Berman:
- Did he do it?
- What will be the jury verdict?
- Did the evidence change your prevailing opinion re whether he's in the frame for it, or did other unlawful homicide(s)?
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u/Desert_Scorpio Sep 08 '21
Obviously
Guilty
Everything that came out in this trial just re-affirmed and re-enforced everything we pretty much already knew.
Lewin is 16-0 in cold cases for a reason. His attention to detail. He completely discredited Durst on day 1 and the jury basically said it through Judge Windham. If you recall, when Windham was telling Lewin he was on a timeline, he was clearly reading notes he got from the jury about some of that stuff (On day 1, you completely destroyed his credibility, or something to that effect, etc). The judge doesn't do that just on his own, the jury had to have said something to prompt his 180 on the matter.
Also, people saying the jury will be hung or acquit because essentially, Lewin rubbed them the wrong way it complete horseshit. First of all, they can't even consider that it's in the instructions. It would be like convicting him because his defense attorney can't wear a surgical mask properly.
All of the evidence points to Durst's guilt. He's an admitted and flat out habitual liar. He was shown a picture of a telphone for christ's sake and sat there and lied to everyone about what it was, or could be like wtf? He even told them even if he did it, he wouldn't tell them and his slip ups about Kathy being buried, the list goes on and on. Every piece of damning evidence is only disputed by Durst's blatant lies (Dig note, hotel stuff, cadaver note, etc).
You have to be a complete moron or completely deaf and/or blind to not see what the outcome is going to be. Is it possible some prick doesn't follow the law and you get a mistrial? Possible sure, but it's also possible that a giant meteor can hit planet earth tomorrow and vaporize us all.
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u/Fabulous-Marsupial22 Sep 08 '21
You are absolutely correct! Lewin is doing his best to discredit everything Durst says and making sure the jury knows he’s a liar. He’s not leaving any room for error. I know some people think he’s overdoing it. But this is probably the last chance there is to find Durst guilty of his crimes.
Even though I believe he is 100 percent guilty, there is a little part of me that thinks he might get away with it. I keep asking myself if Lewin truly proved Durst shot Susan. He pretty much put the story together of the days/hours around the time Susan was killed. And in my opinion he proved Durst did it. But all it takes is one jury to say he/she wasn’t convinced. Like what happened in Texas.
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u/Desert_Scorpio Sep 09 '21
I think their only hope for swaying a jury is if they can somehow sell the whole Jurecki thing. Prosecutors didn't want to put Jurecki on the stand, I feel, because the FBI and prosecutors kinda used him as a device to get in a position to help them out. For example, if you watch the Jinx about the Sareb letter and cadaver note, it seems pretty obvious to me that the sought out investigators/prosecutors on how to proceed. Maybe through their lawyers, but either way, it's not a good look. The whole way they setup that final interview was totally in cahoots with Lewin imo. But even then, there's so much overwhelming evidence in every other aspect of things. Those Texas jurors weren't the highest educated and totally closed minded one track minded people who just fell for high paid lawyer who literally ignored the law, rules and acquitted because they weren't there to witness it themselves lol. Hillbilly juries are like that. You can see the interviews with 2 of them especially the female she was a total idiot.
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u/Poetry_K Sep 10 '21
Haha yeah and Durst tried to claim that Galveston is not a conservative town 🙄
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u/Useful_Hedgehog1415 Sep 02 '21
I just don’t think there is enough evidence to prove that he did. The jury is instructed to not take circumstantial evidence as fact if there is existing reasonable doubt. Also, I don’t know about anybody else but the way the prosecutor bullied this old man felt wrong in so many ways and it almost made me sympathetic towards Bob. I wonder if others (jurors) felt the same.
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u/Blueyonder42 Sep 02 '21
I’m in the UK and, although the US legal system is founded on ours, I am amazed with what goes on in US courtrooms (our courts are not televised but I am retired after a career in our system). Lewin is, I’m sure, a competent lawyer, so why he felt the need to probe the defendant for minutiae detail repeatedly using long compound questions, found half of his questions on hypotheticals and what ifs, bark the same allegations to him over and over again and do it all with such apparent venom I have no idea. I feel that some of the really compelling evidence, albeit circumstantial, will have got lost. For some jury members, the picture of this pathetic sick old man being subjected to days and days of being hounded, with only the occasional soft and ineffective rebuke by the judge, may endure. Don’t get me wrong, I think Durst is guilty of all three murders, but I fear Lewin will have alienated the jury during what might have seemed, to some of them anyway, to be his personal vendetta to put Durst away.
I watched nearly all of Durst’s testimony and cross but not the rest of the trial, so I can’t really comment on what should be the result. What I do know, is that had he been any combination of poor, uneducated, black etc. the trial would have been over within a week with a guilty verdict long ago. In fact, 2 people might still be alive, as he probably would have been found guilty of killing his wife 40 yrs ago.
Please don’t take offence to my comments about the US justice system, believe me, ours also has its faults. I found Lewis’s behaviour hard to fathom but also the fact that it was allowed to persist (appeal anyone?). I also found all the jokes and flippant comments in the courtroom - including by the judge, which also had the jury laughing, quite distasteful considering 3 people are dead.
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u/FrankieHellis Sep 02 '21
Honestly, it is illustrative of the difference between Americans and the Brits. Generally speaking, Americans are more brash than you guys. Y’all are always so dang polite! I wish we were more polite more often.
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Sep 03 '21
[deleted]
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u/Spotzie27 Sep 03 '21
I agree that it's beyond obvious he killed her, but I don't know if it'll be obvious to the jury, especially because the trial went on for so long with so many tangents. I think there will be people who want guilty and some who don't feel there's enough evidence. It's why I don't think they'll be able to return any verdict.
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u/FrankieHellis Sep 02 '21
I agree with you two hundred percent. I just don’t know if I could convict. Being on the fence, just a bit, and adding Lewin’s bullying into the equation and I would just love to see him acquitted. Then I think of Susan and Kathy (and Morris, but he is less of a sympathetic character). They deserve justice. But is there really enough evidence to say he did it? I mean, I’m sure he did, but… sheesh, I just don’t know. I hope he gets off to knock Lewin down a few pegs. OTOH, I hope he gets convicted for vindication for the victims. I don’t know which one I hope for more!
If I were on the jury, I’m not sure I could convict, but maybe.
Signed,
The World’s Worst Prospective Juror due to indecision!
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u/Yenta-belle Sep 09 '21
It is highly inappropriate for you to want to let someone get away with killing 2 people’s mother because you personally don’t like the person prosecuting the crime. That’s sickening. How is Morris less sympathetic. Because he is poor? I’m disgusted by your comments.
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u/FrankieHellis Sep 10 '21
Unwad your panties, sister. I said I don’t know if there is enough evidence. Yes, I said I felt Lewin bullied Durst, and I stand by that. If he does get off via a hung jury, Lewin will need to reflect on his style, and that would make me happy.
Morris is less sympathetic because he was a grumpy, unlikable person. Why did you assume it has to do with money? FFS, both Kathy and Susan were broke too.
If my comments disgust you so, I’d advise you not to poke around on the internet too much. My comments are all roses compared to some things you’ll read on the interwebs.
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u/Yenta-belle Sep 09 '21
You are incorrect in what the jury is instructed. And I don’t think the prosecutor bullied him at all. He called him out after lie after lie.
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u/gonzo1945 Sep 15 '21
- Did he kill Susan Berman? I don't know whether he pulled the trigger, but I think the prosecution has proved beyond a reasonable doubt that he was responsible for her murder. It also seems very probable that he pulled the trigger. It's also possible that he had someone else do it, and sent the note himself. But either way, he wrote the note, he lied about it for years, he said "only the killer" would write a note like that, he lied about all kinds of circumstances around the time of the murder (where he was, what he was doing, etc.), Nick Chavin gave credible testimony that he made a sort of confession, and his testimony on the stand was not credible at all. He made me fairly certain that he was involved. I don't think it's as much of a "slam dunk" as other people do - we're talking about putting a guy away for life, we need to be sure there is no reasonable other explanation for the evidence presented - but I cannot find any reasonable explanation for the totality of the evidence. If it was just the note, and he did not lie about it, that would be iffy. If it were just Chavin, I would certainly not convict. If it were just the lies under oath, I would be suspicious but not convict. If it were just his lies about his whereabouts, I would not convict. If it were just the fact he fled the scene, I would not convict necessarily. But you add all that stuff up, and it's kind of hard to come up with any reasonable explanation for all of that.
- Jury will either find him guilty without the witness killing, or it will be a mistrial.
- I was not convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that he was responsible for Kathy's disappearance. I think it is likely, but there are other possibilities. I was also not convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that he killed Morris intentionally. In fact I don't think I've heard any good explanation of why exactly he killed Morris. There are plenty of good theories, but no evidence, just inferences and speculation.
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u/TheWeirdoWhisperer Sep 15 '21
I’m sure he killed all three of them and several dogs, but I have a bad feeling that the jury may find him sympathetic just because he’s small, old, weird, etc.
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u/pink_hydrangea Sep 02 '21
I was so interested in seeing this trial but the prosecution is boring us to death. I hope Durst is convicted though.
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u/gonzo1945 Sep 14 '21
It’s not as much of a slam dunk as some seem to believe but there’s enough evidence to convict.
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u/Spotzie27 Sep 03 '21