After the Exam Material
The Jinx Episode Guide
Episode 1: A Body in the Bay
This episode starts in 2001 in Galveston, Texas. A dismembered corpse is found floating in trash bags in Galveston Bay. Police are able to use evidence to trace it back to Robert Durst. Durst is arrested, but makes bail and flees. After months of evading police Durst is caught shoplifting a sandwich in Pennsylvania, even though he had thousands of dollars in his car. It is revealed that Durst is from one of the richest families in New York. He is taken back to Texas to stand trial. He spends millions of dollars hiring the best defense team of lawyers. It is also revealed that his first wife, Kathleen, disappeared in 1982 and he is a suspect. We also meet Durst’s second wife, Debrah, who is a little odd. It is explained that Durst uses several disguises, including dressing as a woman. Douglas Durst, Robert’s younger brother, is also interviewed. Douglas reveals that he hired a bodyguard after Robert jumped bail because he was afraid for his and his family’s safety. Then the episode flashes forward to 2011. A film starring Ryan Gosling called “All Good Things” premieres about Robert Durst. The filmmaker, Andrew Jarecki, is called by Durst, who said he wants to be interviewed about his life.
Episode 2: Poor Little Rich Boy
This episode starts with more details about Robert’s childhood. He was born in New York City, the eldest of four children. He saw his mother’s violent death-she committed suicide by jumping off their roof. After that he ran away often and had a difficult time. His father was never around. Then the episode flashes forward to Robert meeting Kathy, his first wife. They fell in love and were married after meeting in New York. There are several interviews with Kathy’s mother, brother, and friends. Bob admits he was not very nice to Kathy’s family-he never tried to talk to them and get along. Bob eventually started working for the Durst Organization, the family business. The episode then dives in to Kathy and Bob’s relationship and the night she disappeared. Excerpts from Kathy’s diary reveal that they fought a lot and it got violent. Kathy told several friends that she was afraid of Bob, and that if anything ever happened to her, they should investigate Bob. On January 31, 1982, Kathy disappeared. She went to a friend’s house in the afternoon, went home, and then Bob dropped her off at the train station to go back to the city. Bob told police that after he dropped her off at the train station he had a drink with the neighbor, went for a walk, and called Kathy to check in. He admits in the episode that that is all a lie, made up so the police would leave him alone. Interviews with Bob also bring up that he made Kathy get an abortion, and that she had wanted more “independence” in their relationship. To this day the case is considered a missing person, and Durst has never been charged.
Episode 3: The Gangster’s Daughter
This episode picks up where episode 2 left off-exploring the disappearance of Kathy Durst. In 2000, a man gave information to the police about the case. This was enough to re-open the case. The lake by the cottage was searched, the cottage itself was searched, etc. No evidence was found. However, we do learn that Kathy probably never made it to Manhattan-there is no evidence she actually got on the train. It turns out a lot of the timeline for that night and next day was fed to the media by the Durst organization. Also, police found records of collect calls from a laundromat in New Jersey to the Durst organization a few days after Kathy’s disappearance. Bob Durst is one of the only people known to make collect calls. There is a lot of vacant area near this payphone where a body could be buried. This episode also introduces Susan Berman, one of Bob’s best friends that he met in college. Susan had a similar upbringing as Bob-her family was wealthy, and both her parents died when she was young. Susan’s father was a gangster. It is suspected by the police that Susan was the one who called Kathy’s medical school the next day, pretending to be Kathy, calling in sick. When the case was re-opened, police really wanted to talk to Susan about what she knew. Before they could question her, Susan was murdered in December 2000. There is no evidence of forced entry, so police believe Susan was murdered by someone she knew. There was also a letter sent from the killer to the police station so that they would find Susan’s body. Police also reveal that Bobby had lent Susan $50,000. Many of Susan’s friends were interviewed, and they all feel that Bob may have killed Susan to keep her quiet. The episode ends by circling back to the 2001 murder in Galveston and Bob’s subsequent arrest.
Episode 4: The State of Texas vs. Robert Durst
This episode covers the trial of Robert Durst for the murder of Morris Black back in 2001. The prosecution felt they had a lot of evidence, and that this would be an easy win. The defense team began their case by calling Robert to the stand. He first explained why he was in Texas-he was hiding from the media. This is because the Kathy Durst case had been reopened, and the DA there, Jeanine Piro, was “out to get him.” This is why Robert was dressed as a woman and living in Texas. Robert alleged that he became good friends with Morris Black, and they spent a lot of time together. The defense painted Morris as a mean, unstable person. Robert said that one day he came home to find Morris in his apartment with a gun. There was a struggle, and the gun accidentally went off, killing Morris. Then Robert panicked and dismembered the body, dumping it in the Bay. However, the head has never been found, and that is the most important piece of evidence. The jury debated for a while, but ultimately came back with a Not Guilty verdict. Then the episode goes back to the 2011 interviews with Durst about the trial. The producer asks if he lied during the murder trial. Durst says no, but admits he may have left out information. They take a break, and during the break Durst is caught on the microphone practicing the phrase, “I did not knowingly, purposefully lie.” His lawyer quickly tells him that his mic is hot, so we can hear everything he is saying. Durst dismisses this by saying that he was practicing how to say the phrase.
Episode 5: Family Values
This episode starts off with the media coverage after Bob’s Not Guilty Verdict. There was outrage across the country about it. However, the case didn’t seem to affect the Durst Organization at all, in fact they still were doing very well in real estate. The episode then returns to the Kathy case and how it is weird that the police never interviewed any of the Durst family members. After the disappearance, Bob hired a high power criminal defense attorney, Nick Scoppetta. Scoppetta hired a private investigator, Ed Wright, to look in to the case. The producers received a copy of his report, which is full of Bob’s inconsistencies in his version of what happened the night Kathy disappeared. Then the episode returns to current time (2011) and shows the filmmakers trying to contact Douglas Durst. Douglas refused to be interviewed. The filmmakers point out that Douglas, the second eldest son, was chosen over Bob to run the Durst Organization. This was a major snub. The episode then revisits the Susan Berman murder. Investigators were able to place Bob in California, but not Los Angeles, at the time of Susan’s murder. Then filmmakers interview Susan’s son again. He recently went through Susan’s things and found a letter from Bob to Susan. The letter is addressed in the same handwriting as the cadaver letter. Also, Berkley is misspelled the same exact way. Producers decide to keep the letter safe and confront Bob about the new piece of evidence they have uncovered.
Episode 6: “What the Hell did I Do?”
This episode picks up where the last episode left off, examining the letter Susan’s son found from Bob to Susan. In particular, the word choice of “cadaver” is criticized. Kathy’s friend mentions that Kathy had a cadaver in medical school, and so Bob would have heard that word many times. Then the filmmakers interview a handwriting analysis expert, John Osborn. Osborn examines the cadaver letter, the letter Bob wrote to Susan, and other samples of Bob’s handwriting. He concludes that the handwriting is a match. The filmmakers talk strategy of how to approach Bob about the letter. They try for weeks to get Bob to come in for another interview, but he keeps dodging them. Finally, Bob is arrested for violating an order of protection that his brother Douglas took out against him. Then Bob contacts the filmmakers for some footage to help with his defense. This is how they finally get Bob to come back in for an interview. During the interview Jarecki (the producer) asks him about the similarities between the two letters. Bob denies writing the cadaver letter. Then Bob goes to the bathroom while his microphone is still on. Bob admits that he killed all three victims.
After the Show
The day before the finale aired (March 2015), Bob was arrested for the murder of Susan Berman. He was in Louisiana at the time. When he was arrested he had guns and drugs in his possession. He was transferred to Los Angeles to await trial. Preliminary hearings have begun, and recently a friend of Durst testified that Bob told Susan he killed Kathy. He also testified that Bob told him at a 2014 dinner that he had killed Susan. Another witness for the trial, a friend of Berman’s, claims Berman admitted to her that she was the one who called Kathy’s medical school, claiming to be her, calling in sick. His trial is set to begin late 2017. Dick DeGuerin, his lawyer for the Black case, will be defending him again. In 2015 the McCormack family filed a lawsuit against Bob for $100 million. They recently amended the lawsuit to include Debrah, Bob’s second wife. Recently, Bob claimed he was on meth during the mic incident for the Jinx. Bob is considered a person of interest in several other cases, including the disappearance of Karen Mitchell in 1997 from Eureka, CA and Lynne Schulze from Vermont in 1971.
Assignments
Arrival Assignment
Jinx Assignment
Positive Psychology website
Patch Adams Assignment
Silver Linings Playbook assignment
Schedule:
Monday, May 20th: Jinx/Movie #1
Tuesday, May 21st: Jinx/Movie #1
Wednesday, May 22nd: Jinx/Movie #1
Thursday, May 23rd: Jinx/Movie #2
Friday, May 24th: MEMORIAL ASSEMBLY-marshmallow challenge
Tuesday, May 28th: Jinx/Movie #2
Wednesday, May 29th: Jinx/Movie #2
Thursday, May 30th: Work Day for Reflections
Friday, May 31st: Positive Psychology
Monday, June 3rd: Course Evaluation
Tuesday, June 4th: College Advice/Adulting
Wednesday, June 5th: College Advice/Adulting
Thursday, June 6th: College Advice/Adulting
Friday, June 7th: Coloring Therapy/End of the Year Celebrations
Psych Movie Choices