Real estate heir Robert Durst back in custody after violating parole

Tuesday, December 20, 2005

(12/20/05 - HOUSTON) -- A New York real estate heir who was acquitted of murdering his Galveston neighbor was arrested Tuesday because he returned to Galveston in violation of the terms of his supervised release, a prison spokesman said.

Robert Durst was acquitted in 2003 but served 5 1/2 months in prison for carrying a weapon across state lines while fleeing prosecution in the murder case. Durst, 62, was released from a New Jersey prison in July and placed on supervised release in Texas until 2006.

Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokesman Mike Viesca said a warrant was issued for Durst because he was spotted in Galveston on Dec. 16. Durst was arrested at his Houston home, he said.

Viesca said in a statement that by going to Galveston, "Durst violated the terms of his supervision that restrict his schedule and travel."

It isn't clear why Durst traveled to the island city, about an hour south of Houston, the prison spokesman said.

A revocation hearing should be scheduled in the next two weeks, where the Board of Pardons and Paroles will determine whether to send Durst back to prison, to a secured-facility designed for short-term incarceration, or return him to supervised release with some or no modifications to his release plan, Viesca said.

Durst's attorney, Dick DeGuerin, did not immediately return a phone message from The Associated Press seeking comment.

Durst was arrested near downtown Houston about noon Tuesday and was being booked into the Harris County Jail, Harris County Sheriff's Department Lt. John Martin said.

Durst was found innocent of murder in Galveston County in 2003 after testifying he accidentally shot 71-year-old Morris Black while they struggled over a gun. Durst admitted cutting up Black's body and dumping it in Galveston Bay, saying he panicked after the gun fired.

Durst was arrested in Bethlehem, Pa., where fled in 2001 days after Galveston authorities charged him with Black's murder and allowed him to post bond. While on the lam, Durst was caught shoplifting a sandwich at a grocery store and found with two .38-caliber pistols in his possession.

Durst posed as a mute woman and lived in a dingy apartment in Galveston. He is the son of the late Seymour Durst, patriarch of the Durst Organization, a privately held, billion-dollar real estate company that owns several New York skyscrapers. Durst has been estranged from his family since the early 1990s.

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