THE JINX
Robert Durst is still making my spine tingle.
The final moments of The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst, the captivating HBO documentary miniseries, punctuated the fact that this suspected murderer was still a free man living among us. But as Durst’s chilling words, “Killed them all, of course,” fade away, the reality of his situation lingers.
The day before the airing of the series’ final episode, Durst, the heir to the successful New York real-estate company the Durst Organization, was arrested in New Orleans and later charged with the 2000 murder of his former friend, Susan Berman. The Jinx played a key role in Durst’s current legal situation, as part of a trend in recent investigative series presenting — and creating — real-life legal ramifications for their subjects.
The production team of The Jinx handed over information to the police that led to Durst’s arrest, and the final episode featured a handwriting expert who connected Durst to the scrawl of an anonymous informer leading police to Berman’s “cadaver,” as well as Durst’s seeming confession on a live microphone.
Durst’s family even credited the miniseries with his arrest.
“I no longer am looking over my shoulder,” Douglas Durst, Robert’s brother, told The New York Times. “I’m very grateful to The Jinx for having brought this about.”
Durst is also suspected in the disappearance of his wife, Kathleen Durst, and the murder of his neighbor Morris Black, whom Durst admitted to dismembering. Durst still received an acquittal from a Texas jury.
The Jinx is not alone in affecting legal proceedings; Serial, the popular podcast, exposed the nation to the case of Adnan Syed, who was convicted of murdering his ex-girlfriend in 1999 despite a lack of evidence. After being sentenced to life in prison, Syed was denied appeal on two occasions before the Maryland Court of Special Appeals in February granted him an appeal hearing. Syed’s lawyers subsequently filed a brief last week to make new arguments in hope of overturning his conviction.
One crucial piece of information Serial uncovered was the testimony of Asia McClain, Syed’s classmate who claimed she was with Syed in the library at the time his ex-girlfriend, Hae Min Lee, was killed. In January, McClain reiterated her statement in a new affidavit and denied claims from prosecutor Kevin Urick that Syed’s family pressured her to help create an alibi. Certainly, if Syed’s case reaches trial again, the McClain testimony could play a role in his argument.
The popularity of Serial and The Jinx has brought national attention to the respective cases of Syed and Durst, shedding light on their problematic trials and verdicts. As Durst faces the prospect of another murder trial, Syed is looking at the possibility of a new, fair trial.
The success of these series might uncover even more buzzy cases requiring investigation primed for true crime series, and ultimately, more media attention and influence on ongoing trials. While some might judge airing the details of murder cases for entertainment purposes as ethically questionable, these series have undoubtedly attempted to chase justice after flawed investigations and legal proceedings.
Ultimately, the merger of entertainment and criminal investigations has brought a few perplexing murder cases to larger audiences and has provided a check for imperfect procedures in the American criminal justice system.
As long as these eminently watchable series remain journalistically sound, we can all feel OK about binging our faces off watching stories of lives in the balance.
