How did a man who admitted dismembering a body and dumping it in Galveston Bay walk away with a not-guilty verdict on a murder charge?
On this episode of “Greta Wire,” Greta Van Susteren sits down with legendary criminal defense attorney Dick DeGuerin to revisit his representation of Robert Durst in the 2003 Texas murder trial involving Durst’s neighbor, Morris Black.
DeGuerin explains why the defense argued that Black was killed accidentally during a struggle over a gun—and how he persuaded jurors to separate the circumstances of the shooting from Durst’s horrifying actions afterward. He walks Greta through the physical evidence, the courtroom demonstration of the struggle and the defense’s explanation for why Durst did not immediately contact police.
The conversation also examines Durst’s bizarre attempt to live in Galveston disguised as a mute woman, the mistakes that led investigators directly to his apartment and his eventual arrest after returning to collect a pair of eyeglasses. DeGuerin also discusses Durst’s later trial for the murder of Susan Berman and his objections to how that California proceeding was conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Greta and DeGuerin, both former criminal defense attorneys, broaden the conversation to the constitutional role of defense lawyers, the enormous resources available to prosecutors, the responsibility carried by jurors and the danger of judges becoming advocates instead of neutral referees.
It is a remarkable firsthand look at one of the strangest murder cases in American legal history—and at how a defense attorney approaches a client surrounded by nearly impossible facts.
0:00 How Robert Durst beat a murder charge
0:54 Dick DeGuerin joins Greta
1:29 The defense theory: a struggle over a gun
2:15 Durst’s disguise and the dismemberment
4:42 What evidence supported self-defense?
6:07 Recreating the shooting in the courtroom
9:19 How investigators traced the body bags
10:28 Living as a mute woman in Galveston
11:50 Jury deliberations and the acquittal
12:25 Mental health, competence and Durst’s behavior
13:30 Arrested after returning for eyeglasses
14:46 The additional charges and plea agreement
15:54 What jurors knew about Durst’s missing wife
18:33 Who was Morris Black?
20:50 What Robert Durst was like as a client
23:09 Why Durst did not call 911
26:11 Shoplifting while carrying thousands in cash
27:55 The Susan Berman murder trial
30:12 The prosecution’s motive theory
33:36 Why criminal defense lawyers matter
36:47 What juries hear that the public does not
38:14 When judges become advocates
41:16 Why Dick DeGuerin became a lawyer
44:38 Final thoughts
#GretaWire #DickDeGuerin #RobertDurst #TrueCrime #CriminalDefense #NEWSMAX
