Killing of Morris Black

Durst testified he shot Black in self-defense and was acquitted due to a lack of forensic evidence to contest his account.

[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.

[10] In January 2001, Black began interacting with The Jesse Tree, a Galveston homeless shelter run by Ted Hanley.

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 help The Jesse Tree purchase new real estate; the following Monday, a strange man visited Hanley at The Jesse Tree wearing glasses with the lenses almost-completely covered in tape, pretending to be deaf and mute.

[13] On November 30, Durst was caught inside a Wegmans supermarket in Bethlehem, 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 in Katonah, New York, while armed.

[19] Durst claimed that Black, a cranky and confrontational loner, grabbed his .22 caliber target pistol from its hiding place and threatened him with it.

[20][19] During cross-examination, Durst admitted to using a paring knife, two saws, and an axe to dismember Black'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.

[23] That December, Durst made an unauthorized trip to the boarding house where Black was killed and to a nearby shopping mall.

[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.