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Robert Durst hospitalized after testing positive for COVID, his lawyer says

Robert Durst sentenced to life in prison
Robert Durst sentenced to life in prison 00:21

New York real estate heir Robert Durst has been hospitalized after contracting COVID-19, his lawyer said Saturday.

Defense Attorney Dick DeGuerin said he was notified that Durst was admitted after testing positive for the coronavirus. DeGuerin said he didn't know Durst's condition and was trying to find out more details.

Durst, 78, was sentenced Thursday to life in prison without a chance of parole for the murder of his best friend more than two decades ago. Durst, who has numerous medical issues, sat in a wheelchair with a catatonic stare during much of the sentencing hearing.

robert durst trial sentencing susan berman
Robert Durst was sentenced to life without possibility of parole for the killing of Susan Berman. Photographed in Airport Courthouse on Thursday, October 14, 2021, in Los Angeles. Myung J. Chun

"He was very, very sick in the courtroom," DeGuerin said Saturday.

He was convicted in Los Angeles Superior Court last month of first-degree murder for shooting Susan Berman point-blank in the back of the head at her home in December 2000.

The killing had been a mystery that haunted family and friends for 15 years before Durst was arrested in 2015 following his unwise decision to participate in a documentary that unearthed new evidence and caught him in a stunning confession.

DeGuerin said Thursday that Durst will appeal.

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