Without a Trace: Inside the Robert Durst Case

by Marion Collins

In September 2001, the headless body of an elderly man washing ashore in Galveston, Texas. also recovered were garbage bags containing the severed limbs of the victim--and a newspaper with a home delivery address that left arresting officers to the downscale apartment of Robert Durst, an unkempt transient who dressed in drag.

Incredibly, his bail was posted the following morning. New York authorities were quick to make the unbelievable connection. This was the Robert Durst, the dashing real estate scion whose family's fortune was worth hundreds of millions of dollars. He was also the Robert Durst who was a "person of interest" in the number of a prominent woman journalist, as well as a high-profile suspect in the mysterious disappearance of his first wife 20 years earlier.

How could Robert Durst degenerate from a powerful New York City businessman to a cross-dressing fugitive wanted in a murder investigation? The answer was more startling than anyone who knew him could ever have imagined...

Genres: True Crime, Nonfiction, Audiobook

265 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 18, 2002

Reviews

[Eden Stotesbury · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book very well written. I was interested in all the little piece of information that had been gathered and assembled in a way that was fun to read and engaging. Disappointing ending but isn't that life for you?

[Jo · Rating 2 out of 5]

I felt like this book was poorly organized and perhaps published too soon in order to capitalize on Durst's first arrest. The book doesn't even cover the trial for the Morris murder and the last 5 pages rely on questions and conjecture that could not be answered at the time this was written.

[Jess Schira]

While this was an interesting case (and the ending surprised me) there were aspects of the author's style that made me a little nutty. She spent too much time setting up a scene or giving the background of certian characters that weren't entirely neccassary to the moving the book forward. My guess is that this wasn't so much a stylistic choice but rather an attempt to pad the book.

I did enjoy reading this and will likely read a few more of the author's books in the future.

[Mortisha Cassavetes · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the true story of Robert Durst. His life, money, greed and murder. I really enjoyed reading this book. It not only goes into his life but the lives of his victims and everyone he hurt. I do believe his family's riches and fame kept him being prosecuted, leaving him to kill more. Very Interesting read. I highly recommend it.

[Astrid Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a pretty interesting read. I remember watching the TV special "Jinx..." and hearing him say he did it. He is a bad, bad man. His wife and his best friend never had a chance. Even though Susan was his best friend, I feel bad for her and how her life ended.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was published in the early 2000s and additional developments have happened in the crimes Robert Durst has been accused of since its publication. The narrative and characters are captivating, but the ending will leave you doing online searches about how Durst spent the rest of his life.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had never heard of Robert Durst when I picked up this book as part of a large lot of true-crime books that I bought on eBay. After reading this book I'm surprised I had never heard of his family. They are one of the wealthiest families in the U.S. and own many buildings in NYC. The timing was uncanny because right when I finished reading this, I came upon a 6-part documentary about Robert Durst on HBO called "Jinx".

Basically, he is suspected of killing his first wife, Kathie; was, amazingly, acquitted of a murder of Morris Black, although he admitted in the trial that after his "accidental" death, he cut up the body in several pieces, threw them in black garbage bags, and threw them into the water off Galveston, Texas; and also is suspected of killing a longtime female friend, Susan Berman, who stuck by Durst through all the allegations, only to wind up dead herself. Another strange element to the story was that Susan's father was a key Mafia figure who founded Las Vegas as a gambling city, along with other mob figures such as Bugsy Siegel. Wow.

**#29 of 100 books I have pledged to read/review during 2015**

[Sheri]

This is a true crime story inside the Robert Durst case. It is a very good book about a tremendously rich man who killed his wife, whose body was never found, and then went into hiding in Houston, living as a vagrant and sometimes cross-dressing. His next door neighbor turns up in a garbage bag, hacked to pieces and all evidence points to Durst. He goes on the run. Also, his best friend and confidant turns up dead in CA. Eventually he is caught in PA, but was, shockingly, declared not guilty and was never tried for killing his wife. Page turner.

[Eva-Marie Nevarez · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is another that I remember reading but can only remember few details from. I remember the name Durst and a few other minor details. It's a definite worth-while read for a true crime reader but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone else.

[Kristen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nothing I didn't already know, and the book's copyright is 2002 so the case has been highly updated since then. Author has a tendency to go in directions not directly associated with the cast. Good, but only for those who know nothing about the Durst story.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bizarre story

[Big H · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good up until the end. Apparently justice yields to money, always. :(