Killing of Morris Black
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In October 2001, the dismembered remains of 71-year-oldMorris Blackwere discovered floating inGalveston Bay.Black's neighbor, real estate heirRobert Durst,was charged with his murder. Durst testified he shot Black in self-defense and was acquitted due to a lack of forensic evidence to contest his account. Following the acquittal, Durst pled guilty to evidence tampering by dismembering Black's body.
Morris Black
[edit]Morris"Jack"Julius Blackwas born on Oct 21, 1929 in Malden, Middlesex County, Massachusetts to Faigle "Fannie" nee Grusky and Samuel Black.
Morris was one of six children. In childhood, Morris contracted polio; he would walk with a limp for the rest of his life.[1]His parents suffered from mental problems and the children were placed in foster care.[2]The siblings accused their father of sexual abuse in which Morris was alleged to have participated.[3]
Black joined theMerchant Marinesat age 18, returning in the 1950s.[4]
In 1972, Black became co-owner of a building near Boston Harbor; the city foreclosed on Black in 1976, taking possession of the building.[4]In 1980, he purchased a three-story Boston tenement; neighbors recall him as personally evicting a resident by force for dealing drugs rather than calling the police.[3]In late 1981, Black rented space from a barbershop and worked repairing watches. The following year he returned to Boston.[3]In 1987, he sold the tenement and moved south.[3]
From 1988 to July 1994, Black resided in Galena Park, Texas.[5][6]From September 1994 to June 1995, he lived in Long Beach Mississippi.[6]On October 6, 1997, Black was arrested in North Charleston, South Carolina, after a telephone dispute over a $50 bill in which he threatened to blow up the South Carolina Electric & Gas company[7][8]He spent a night in jail, was convicted of a misdemeanor, and sentenced to community service.[8]
After a time living inBrownsville,in October 1998, Black moved to Galveston. In November 1999, Black moved into his final residence, on AvenueK.[9]
Durst becomes Black's neighbor
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On November 15, 2000, Black's Galveston landlord Klaus Rene Dillman was contacted via telephone by a man claiming to serve as aid to a deaf-mute woman named Dorothy Ciner.[10]
In January 2001, Black began interacting withThe Jesse Tree,a Galveston homeless shelter run by Ted Hanley.[11]Black began buying cheap glasses in bulk and handing them out to the needy. In August, Hanley encountered Black, apparently in distress over unspecified problems. One Friday, Black approached Hanley and said he knew a wealthy individual who might be able to provide a $50,000 low-interest loan to helpThe Jesse Treepurchase new real estate; the following Monday, a strange man visited Hanley atThe Jesse Treewearing glasses with the lenses almost-completely covered in tape, pretending to be deaf and mute. Once in private, the man admitted to being able to speak, attributing his earlier silence to his hatred of women. The man initially requested $50, but Hanley came to believe the man didn't really need the money. After Black's death and Durst's arrest, Hanley identified his strange visitor as Robert Durst.[12]
At the time of his death, Black had $140,000 in savings across multiple bank accounts.[6]
Arrest and trial
[edit]On October 9, 2001, Durst was arrested in Galveston shortly after body parts belonging to Black were found floating inGalveston Bay.He was released on $250,000 bail, missed a court hearing on October 16, and a warrant was issued for his arrest on a charge ofbail jumping.[13]On November 30, Durst was caught inside aWegmanssupermarket inBethlehem,Pennsylvania,after trying to shoplift Band-Aids, a newspaper, and a chicken salad sandwich, despite having $500 in cash in his pocket.[14][15]Among the items discovered in his rental car were $37,000 in cash, two guns,marijuana,Black's driver's license, and directions to Gilberte Najamy's home in Connecticut.[14][16][17]Durst also used his time on the run to stalk his brother Douglas, visiting the driveway of his home inKatonah, New York,while armed. Durst employed defense attorneyJohn Waldronwhile he was held on charges in Pennsylvania. He was eventuallyextraditedto Texas for trial.[17]
In 2003, Durst was tried for the murder of Morris Black. On the death of Black, the prosecution presented the jury with only a charge ofcapital murder,with no lesser murder ormanslaughtercharges. Durst employed defense attorneyDick DeGuerinand claimedself-defense;DeGuerin conducted twomock trialsin preparation for the case.[18]Durst's defense team found communicating with him to be difficult and hired psychiatrist Milton Altschuler to investigate. After spending 70 hours examining him, Altschuler diagnosed Durst withAsperger syndrome,saying, "His whole life's history is so compatible with a diagnosis of Asperger's disorder." His defense team argued at trial that the diagnosis explained his behavior.[19]
Durst claimed that Black, a cranky and confrontational loner, grabbed his.22 calibertarget pistolfrom its hiding place and threatened him with it. During the struggle for the pistol, the weapon discharged and shot Black in the face.[20][19]Duringcross-examination,Durst admitted to using aparing knife,two saws, and an axe todismemberBlack's body before bagging and dumping his remains in Galveston Bay.[20]Black's head was never recovered, so prosecutors were unable to present sufficient forensic evidence to dispute Durst's account of the struggle.[18]As a result of lack of forensics, the juryacquittedDurst of murder on November 11, 2003.[21]
On December 21, 2004, Durst pleaded guilty to two counts of bail jumping and one count ofevidence tampering(for his dismemberment of Black's body). As part of aplea bargain,he received a sentence of five years and was given credit for time served, requiring him to serve three years in prison.[22]Durst wasparoledon July 15, 2005. The rules of his release required him to stay near his home; permission was required to travel.[23]That December, Durst made an unauthorized trip to the boarding house where Black was killed and to a nearby shopping mall. At the mall, he ran into former Galveston trial judge Susan Criss, who had presided over his trial.[18]Due to this incident, theTexas Board of Pardons and Parolesdetermined that Durst had violated the terms of his parole and returned him to jail.[23]He was released again from custody on March 1, 2006.[24]
Asked in March 2015 whether she believed Durst murdered Black, Criss commented: "You could see that this person knew what they were doing and that it was not a first time. The body was cut perfectly like a surgeon who knew how to use this tool on this bone and a certain kind of tool on that muscle. It looked like not a first-time job. That was pretty scary."[18]Private investigatorBobbi Bachaargues Morris Black had known Durst years prior and was likely involved in the disappearance of Durst's wife Kathleen in 1982.[25][26]
Sources
[edit]- Matt Birkbeck(2005).A Deadly Secret: the Bizarre and Chilling Story of Robert Durst.Berkley (Penguin Random House LLC). p. 257.ISBN978-1101987421.
- Collins, Marion (2002).Without a Trace.New York: Macmillan.ISBN0312985029.Archivedfrom the original on October 6, 2020.RetrievedOctober 8,2016.
References
[edit]- ^Collins 187
- ^Birbeck (2015) p. 246-7
- ^abcdBirbeck (2015) p.248
- ^abBirbeck (2015) p. 247
- ^Birbeck (2015) p. 217
- ^abcCollins 186
- ^Birbeck (2015) p. 210
- ^abCollins, Marion (November 18, 2002).Without a Trace.Macmillan.ISBN978-0-312-98502-8– via Google Books.
- ^Collins p.186
- ^Birbeck (2015) p. 162
- ^Birbeck (2015) p.183-4
- ^Birkbeck (2015) p. 188
- ^Bagli, Charles V.; Flynn, Kevin (October 17, 2001)."Durst Jumps Bail, and a Nationwide Dragnet Is On".The New York Times.Archivedfrom the original on October 5, 2021.RetrievedOctober 5,2021.
- ^abZeman, Ned (February 2002)."The Fugitive Heir".Vanity Fair.New York City:Condé Nast.Archivedfrom the original on July 24, 2017.RetrievedMarch 17,2015.
- ^Todt, Ron (December 1, 2001)."Fugitive heir Robert Durst arrested in Pennsylvania".Spartanburg Herald-Journal.Spartanburg, South Carolina.Archivedfrom the original on April 16, 2021.RetrievedOctober 16,2020.
- ^Andrea Peyser (September 24, 2003)."His Next 'Victim': He Had Directions To Dead Wife's Pal".New York Post.Archivedfrom the original on December 8, 2015.RetrievedApril 21,2015.
- ^abAndrea Peyser (September 26, 2003)."The Durst Tapes: Bitter Robert Planned To Knock Off His Brother".New York Post.Archivedfrom the original on April 26, 2015.RetrievedApril 20,2015.
- ^abcdPamela Chelin (March 17, 2015)."Judge who presided over Robert Durst acquittal in Texas murder: 'He's very dangerous'".Mashable.Archivedfrom the original on March 19, 2015.RetrievedMarch 20,2015.
- ^abLeung, Rebecca (March 15, 2004)."The Mystery of Robert Durst".CBS News.Archivedfrom the original on December 15, 2014.RetrievedDecember 14,2014.
- ^abSpringer, John."Prosecution forces Durst to admit his many lies".truTV.Archived fromthe originalon October 30, 2003.RetrievedApril 2,2009.
- ^John Springer."Millionaire Durst acquitted of neighbor's murder".truTV.Archived fromthe originalon April 3, 2005.RetrievedApril 2,2009.
- ^Su, Jessica."Millionaire Robert Durst pleads guilty to bail jumping, evidence tampering".Court TV.Archived fromthe originalon March 9, 2009.
- ^abAbrams, Dan (January 25, 2006)."Billionaire Robert Durst back in jail".NBC News.Archivedfrom the original on January 8, 2014.RetrievedApril 2,2009.
- ^Moran, Kevin (March 1, 2006)."Millionaire Durst allowed back to Houston home".Houston Chronicle.Archivedfrom the original on May 4, 2011.RetrievedApril 30,2011.
- ^"Private investigator's new claims about Durst".khou.March 25, 2015.
- ^Vanity Fair Confidential"The Fugitive Heir"