By Marisa Gerber and James Queally
Los Angeles Times
LOS ANGELES — Before she was killed, writer Susan Berman said that Robert Durst confessed to killing his wife, a key witness in the real estate scion’s murder case testified Thursday.
Nathan “Nick” Chavin delivered the stunning testimony at a special hearing in the case against Durst, who is charged in the 2000 execution-style slaying of Berman inside her Benedict Canyon home.
Prosecutors allege that Durst killed Berman, his confidante, because he feared she was going to talk to detectives about the 1982 disappearance of his wife, Kathleen Durst.
“Susan said to me, ‘Bob killed Kathie,’” Chavin testified, adding that Berman told him the confession came from Durst himself.
Chavin, a longtime friend of both Durst and Berman, was hustled into court Wednesday as a “secret witness,” flanked by bodyguards. While Durst’s trial in Berman’s murder is not likely to take place for at least another year, prosecutors had asked that Chavin testify early out of fear he might be killed before trial.
Chavin’s testimony may prove crucial, as prosecutors contend Durst made the decision to kill Berman after learning she planned to speak with investigators in New York about Kathleen’s disappearance.
Asked why he hadn’t told police of the admission earlier, Chavin said that Berman had insisted they protect Durst.
“Kathie’s dead, we can’t do anything about it,” Chavin testified Berman told him. “We have to protect Bob.”
During his testimony earlier in the week, Chavin — a New York advertising executive — said that Kathleen was afraid of her husband, even fearing he might physically harm her. Despite that fear, he testified, she never said anything to indicate her husband had been physically violent with her.
A prosecutor also asked Chavin on Wednesday if he believed Durst was involved in his first wife’s disappearance at the time that she vanished.
“No,” Chavin, 72, said emphatically.
Chavin said that he was also a close confidante of Durst, even serving as groomsman at his wedding. Durst drastically changed the trajectory of Chavin’s career by asking him to do advertising for some of The Durst Organization’s holdings. The family-run company is among the firms that dominate the prime Manhattan real estate market. Durst’s father, Seymour, became one of Chavin’s mentors. Chavin testified that he has known Durst for nearly three decades.
Chavin often closed his eyes in court when speaking about Berman on Wednesday.
He described her as an exceedingly generous person — the type of friend, he said, who gave him a navy blazer worth about $400 after he moved to New York. She told him it was a must-have in work circles, knowing he was clueless about such things.
Chavin grew up in El Paso, Texas, worked for a while as a musician and received a master’s degree in creative writing from San Francisco State University. He said he met Berman in the Bay Area in the late 1970s, soon before relocating to New York and getting work as a copywriter at an advertising agency. Before long, the witness said, Berman introduced him to Durst, and the trio became close friends.
He was also the former boss of Susan Giordano, a close friend of Durst who testified Monday morning. Giordano, who routinely communicated with Durst even while he was jailed, said Durst had loaned her large sums of money, and the two had discussed getting a “love nest” where they could live out the rest of their lives.
Giordano was in tears as she stepped off the stand Wednesday, while Durst simply stared forward, stoic.
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