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CNN Live At Daybreak
Not Guilty Verdict in Murder Trial of Robert Durst
Aired November 12, 2003 - 05:08 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And by now you've probably heard about the surprising not guilty verdict in the murder trial of Robert Durst. He's the man who was accused of killing his neighbor then cutting up and disposing of the body. You may be asking what was the jury thinking? Well, they're about to tell you.
Here's CNN's Ed Lavandera.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We the jury find the defendant, Robert Durst, not guilty.
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): How does a jury find a man not guilty who admits he shot his neighbor, cut up the corpse, dumped the body parts in Galveston Bay and then tried to hide from authorities? Some members of that jury tried to explain.
JOANNE GONGORA, JUROR: We all kept coming back to that original charge -- is, was it an act of self-defense or an accident how Morris Black met his death? And that's the question that we answered in our verdict.
ROBBIE CLARAC, JUROR: We can't convict someone on our thoughts or what we think or what we perceive or what we speculate. We can't do that. We went on the facts that was presented to us from the prosecution. We cannot convict him. He is not guilty.
DEBORAH WARREN, JUROR: There were people that cried. There were people that fussed and argued. My stomach is still knotted up. But we did the best with what we had. And whether it agreed to you all or to anyone else out there in America, this is what we came up with.
LAVANDERA: Most jurors said they did not believe much of Robert Durst's testimony. Despite that, they say, the prosecution presented too many different explanations as to why Robert Durst would murder his neighbor.
CHRIS LOWELL, JUROR: We're going to convict Mr. Durst, but here's your reason why, A, B, C or D. Pick one and we're going to send him away. Well, that's not the way it works. Tell me what happened.
LAVANDERA: Prosecutors say they're dismayed and disappointed in the verdict, but also say they respect the jury's decision. When asked if they thought Robert Durst would be a threat whenever he gets out of jail, the prosecutor would only say... KURT SISTRUNK, PROSECUTOR: Mr. Durst is not going to be invited to my house for any reason at all.
LAVANDERA (on camera): Mr. Durst isn't a free man just yet. He's still in jail, indicted on a bail jumping charge. If he's convicted of that crime, he could be sent to prison for 10 years. But still, that's far less than the life sentence he avoided in his murder trial.
Ed Lavandera, CNN, Galveston, Texas.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired November 12, 2003 - 05:08 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And by now you've probably heard about the surprising not guilty verdict in the murder trial of Robert Durst. He's the man who was accused of killing his neighbor then cutting up and disposing of the body. You may be asking what was the jury thinking? Well, they're about to tell you.
Here's CNN's Ed Lavandera.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We the jury find the defendant, Robert Durst, not guilty.
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): How does a jury find a man not guilty who admits he shot his neighbor, cut up the corpse, dumped the body parts in Galveston Bay and then tried to hide from authorities? Some members of that jury tried to explain.
JOANNE GONGORA, JUROR: We all kept coming back to that original charge -- is, was it an act of self-defense or an accident how Morris Black met his death? And that's the question that we answered in our verdict.
ROBBIE CLARAC, JUROR: We can't convict someone on our thoughts or what we think or what we perceive or what we speculate. We can't do that. We went on the facts that was presented to us from the prosecution. We cannot convict him. He is not guilty.
DEBORAH WARREN, JUROR: There were people that cried. There were people that fussed and argued. My stomach is still knotted up. But we did the best with what we had. And whether it agreed to you all or to anyone else out there in America, this is what we came up with.
LAVANDERA: Most jurors said they did not believe much of Robert Durst's testimony. Despite that, they say, the prosecution presented too many different explanations as to why Robert Durst would murder his neighbor.
CHRIS LOWELL, JUROR: We're going to convict Mr. Durst, but here's your reason why, A, B, C or D. Pick one and we're going to send him away. Well, that's not the way it works. Tell me what happened.
LAVANDERA: Prosecutors say they're dismayed and disappointed in the verdict, but also say they respect the jury's decision. When asked if they thought Robert Durst would be a threat whenever he gets out of jail, the prosecutor would only say... KURT SISTRUNK, PROSECUTOR: Mr. Durst is not going to be invited to my house for any reason at all.
LAVANDERA (on camera): Mr. Durst isn't a free man just yet. He's still in jail, indicted on a bail jumping charge. If he's convicted of that crime, he could be sent to prison for 10 years. But still, that's far less than the life sentence he avoided in his murder trial.
Ed Lavandera, CNN, Galveston, Texas.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
