Real estate millionaire Robert Durst has been sentenced to life in prison without parole for murdering his friend Susan Berman.
Berman, who had previously acted as a spokesperson for 78-year-old Durst, died after being shot in the head at her Beverly Hills home in 2000.
During Durst's trial last month, the court heard how crime writer Berman had been preparing to go to police to tell them how she helped Durst cover up the killing of his first wife Kathleen McCormack in 1982 by providing a false alibi.
Advert
McCormack, a medical student, was last seen in 1982 and is presumed dead.
Prosecutors have also argued that Durst also killed a third person, his elderly former neighbour Morris Black.
Sentencing Durst at the Inglewood Courthouse in Los Angeles Superior Court, Superior Court Judge Mark Windham said there was 'overwhelming evidence of guilt', and that the defendant's testimony had been 'profoundly incredible and incriminating'.
Advert
Windham continued: "As Susan Berman's family have described for us, Susan Berman was an extraordinary human. I personally wish I could have known her.
"This is indeed a horrific crime."
Durst was arrested after featuring in a documentary series called The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst, which aired six years ago.
He was caught while hiding out in a hotel in New Orleans, the night before the airing of the final episode - in which he was confronted with incriminating evidence and made what prosecutors said was a confession.
Advert
Durst muttered to himself on a live microphone in a bathroom: "What the hell did I do? ... Killed them all, of course."
Durst is an estranged member of a wealthy real estate family in the US.
His brother Douglas Durst, who testified at the trial, told the court: "He'd like to murder me."
Sareb Kaufman, who saw Berman as his step-mother as she had been dating his father, said: "I have not had one day off in 21 years from the absolute destruction, grief and pain this has caused me."
Advert
He continued: "I have lost everything many times over because of him... I have lost and sacrificed more than anyone could possibly know.
"My mother's murder and the events of the last 40 years will never leave me. Are you satisfied, Bob?"
Berman's family also begged Durst to tell the McCormack family where his first wife's body is.
Kaufman added: "Any hope of any kind of redemption you can find is in letting them know where to find Kathie."
Featured Image Credit: Alamy