Robert Durst’s lead attorney wants the real estate scion’s murder trial to be stopped, claiming he is “too sick to continue.”
Dick DeGuerin made another request for a mistrial to Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Mark Windham on Thursday, according to the Los Angeles Daily News. The trial restarted with opening statements on May 18.
Durst is on trial for the 2000 killing of friend Susan Berman at her home in Benedict Canyon. The trial has been on and off amid the pandemic.
Durst’s lawyers have twice in the last few months asked Windham to declare a mistrial or indefinite delay.
On Thursday, DeGuerin repeated that Durst is “too sick to make the decision whether to testify.” He told the judge “it’s cruel and unusual for Mr. Durst to be put through this in his condition. You should put a stop to this.”
The defense team made a similar request in June, and submitted a report by Dr. Keith Klein with Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. Klein examined Durst at the defense’s request in May, saying he believed Durst should be hospitalized immediately.
Prosecutors aren’t buying the defense’s claims. L.A. County Deputy District Attorney John Lewin said the request was a “get out of jail free card.”
Durst’s trial was first suspended in March 2020 as courts closed in response to the pandemic.
The judge denied the defense’s request for a mistrial last summer, but ultimately suspended the trial again before its most recent restart.
[LADN] — Dennis Lynch