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American Morning
Deadly Mysteries
Aired October 23, 2003 - 09:35 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.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Now to this heir to a New York real estate empire. Also the defendant now in a bizarre murder case. Robert Durst is accused of killing and dismembering an elderly Texas man. Durst admits to the killing, but says it was only in self- defense. This is only the latest in a series of mysteries linked to Durst. Among them, the disappearance of his first wife, Kathy, 21 years ago. Matt Birkbeck is the author of "A Deadly Secret: The Strange Disappearance of Kathy Durst." He's with us now on AMERICAN MORNING.
Nice to see you. Good morning to you.
You were down in Galveston, Texas about a month ago, is that right?
MATT BIRKBECK, AUTHOR, "A DEADLY SECRET": Yes, for the opening.
HEMMER: What explains Why was he dressing as a woman, claiming to be mute?
BIRKBECK: Well, he -- what people don't know is he's been living a very bizarre lifestyle for a very long time. For at least 20 years, living surreptitiously in different cities across the country, assuming different identities and living amongst the homeless. So this wasn't anything new. The cross dressing was something that came out of the blue, but as far as living in different areas of the country, assuming different names, that's something he'd been doing this for a long time.
HEMMER: He's had a lot of words for Jannine Pirro, who appears on this show, the DA in Westchester County. What's the problem he has with her?
BIRKBECK: Well, Pirro has taken this case and has used it for her own purposes. She used it back in 2001. She had problems resulting from a situation involving her husband, and she used the case for its publicity value. She was never really after Robert Durst, as the investigation was started by a New York State police detective by the name of Joe Biserra (ph). Pirro jumped into it after Susan Berman (ph), another friend of Durst, who died back in 2000. He jumped into it after she died, and that's when the story became more of a national story.
HEMMER: OK, back to Galveston, though, the man who was the victim here, his body was found chopped up in Galveston Bay. Some gruesome details involved in here. Apparently, they found all the body parts with the exception of his head. What explains why in court why this had to take place, the chopping up, the mutilation?
BIRKBECK: Why it took place? Why he did it, that's a question for law enforcement. One thing that they did tell me two years ago when I went to Galveston was that -- and this was before Durst admitted to the killing. Whoever had done this, they did it before. They were experienced in dismembering.
So now if you talk to different law enforcement officials across the country, they take into account he's been traveling around the country, living this bizarre lifestyle. He's experienced in dismembering people. You know, the word serial killer comes to mind.
HEMMER: Listen, 21 years ago, his first wife Kathy disappeared. We mentioned that in the lead-in just before we started talking here. Is there any evidence that comes to light that may account for why she disappeared back in 1982?
BIRKBECK: Well, she apparently had gone home that night to confront her husband over her divorce. She was seeking a divorce. She had taken large amounts of cocaine that night and drank a lot of wine. She was prompted by a friend, or supposed friend, to go confront him, which she did, and then she was never seen again.
HEMMER: What about family members? This is a very rich family. How have they reacted in this?
BIRKBECK: They've ignored him.
HEMMER: Completely.
BIRKBECK: Yes.
HEMMER: Never showed up in court?
BIRKBECK: No. He's been estranged from them for about 10 years now.
HEMMER: Matthew Birkbeck, thanks. You wrote the book recently. And the trial continues in Galveston. Thanks for being with us.
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 October 23, 2003 - 09:35 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Now to this heir to a New York real estate empire. Also the defendant now in a bizarre murder case. Robert Durst is accused of killing and dismembering an elderly Texas man. Durst admits to the killing, but says it was only in self- defense. This is only the latest in a series of mysteries linked to Durst. Among them, the disappearance of his first wife, Kathy, 21 years ago. Matt Birkbeck is the author of "A Deadly Secret: The Strange Disappearance of Kathy Durst." He's with us now on AMERICAN MORNING.
Nice to see you. Good morning to you.
You were down in Galveston, Texas about a month ago, is that right?
MATT BIRKBECK, AUTHOR, "A DEADLY SECRET": Yes, for the opening.
HEMMER: What explains Why was he dressing as a woman, claiming to be mute?
BIRKBECK: Well, he -- what people don't know is he's been living a very bizarre lifestyle for a very long time. For at least 20 years, living surreptitiously in different cities across the country, assuming different identities and living amongst the homeless. So this wasn't anything new. The cross dressing was something that came out of the blue, but as far as living in different areas of the country, assuming different names, that's something he'd been doing this for a long time.
HEMMER: He's had a lot of words for Jannine Pirro, who appears on this show, the DA in Westchester County. What's the problem he has with her?
BIRKBECK: Well, Pirro has taken this case and has used it for her own purposes. She used it back in 2001. She had problems resulting from a situation involving her husband, and she used the case for its publicity value. She was never really after Robert Durst, as the investigation was started by a New York State police detective by the name of Joe Biserra (ph). Pirro jumped into it after Susan Berman (ph), another friend of Durst, who died back in 2000. He jumped into it after she died, and that's when the story became more of a national story.
HEMMER: OK, back to Galveston, though, the man who was the victim here, his body was found chopped up in Galveston Bay. Some gruesome details involved in here. Apparently, they found all the body parts with the exception of his head. What explains why in court why this had to take place, the chopping up, the mutilation?
BIRKBECK: Why it took place? Why he did it, that's a question for law enforcement. One thing that they did tell me two years ago when I went to Galveston was that -- and this was before Durst admitted to the killing. Whoever had done this, they did it before. They were experienced in dismembering.
So now if you talk to different law enforcement officials across the country, they take into account he's been traveling around the country, living this bizarre lifestyle. He's experienced in dismembering people. You know, the word serial killer comes to mind.
HEMMER: Listen, 21 years ago, his first wife Kathy disappeared. We mentioned that in the lead-in just before we started talking here. Is there any evidence that comes to light that may account for why she disappeared back in 1982?
BIRKBECK: Well, she apparently had gone home that night to confront her husband over her divorce. She was seeking a divorce. She had taken large amounts of cocaine that night and drank a lot of wine. She was prompted by a friend, or supposed friend, to go confront him, which she did, and then she was never seen again.
HEMMER: What about family members? This is a very rich family. How have they reacted in this?
BIRKBECK: They've ignored him.
HEMMER: Completely.
BIRKBECK: Yes.
HEMMER: Never showed up in court?
BIRKBECK: No. He's been estranged from them for about 10 years now.
HEMMER: Matthew Birkbeck, thanks. You wrote the book recently. And the trial continues in Galveston. Thanks for being with us.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
