Los Angeles---Eccentric US tycoon Robert Durst was indicted Wednesday on weapons charges in New Orleans, further delaying his expected transfer to Los Angeles to face a murder rap featured in a TV show.
The 71-year-old is accused over the killing of a mobster's daughter -- a crime he apparently confessed to on television. He remains behind bars in New Orleans, despite his lawyer's stated wish that he be moved to LA.
Durst -- the scion of a New York real estate dynasty worth $4.4 billion -- was charged in Los Angeles last month with murder over the 2000 death of his close friend Susan Berman.
Berman was shot in the back of her head at her home in Beverly Hills, a day before she was due to be questioned by police who had reopened an investigation into the 1982 disappearance of the tycoon's wife, Kathie Durst, in New York.
Durst appeared to make an unwitting confession to a number of killings during filming of the acclaimed six-part HBO documentary "The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst."
In the final episode Durst was heard muttering to himself, "What the hell did I do? Killed them all, of course," apparently unaware that a wireless microphone remained switched on while he used the bathroom.
It was not clear if Durst was sincerely confessing, but authorities in Los Angeles reportedly said the documentary had played a role in their decision to seek the multimillionaire's arrest for Berman's murder.
Claiming that TV ratings are driving the prosecution, lawyers for Durst say they want the case to go to trial in California as soon as possible.
But prosecutors in New Orleans, where Durst was arrested, on Wednesday filed charges of possession of a firearm by felon and possession of both a firearm and an illegal drug -- 5 ounces of marijuana. He could face 10 to 20 years if convicted of the charges.
When police arrived at his hotel room, he was found with a .38 caliber revolver and marijuana, police said when he was detained.
AFP
