Robert Durst Real estate heir pleaded not guilty to murder on Monday for the death of a friend who has been said that Durst wanted to keep from talking to investigators for the disappearance of his first wife.

The 73 years old Durst, in a neck brace and seated in a wheelchair, stepped into the plea during a long-awaited appearance in a Los Angeles courtroom in the case of death of Susan Berman. Durst said in court , “I do want to say here and now though I am not guilty. I did not kill Susan Berman."

Durst commented after his attorney argued unsuccessfully  to ban news media cameras from the courtroom.

Prosecutors said that they will not seek the death penalty against Durst. Durst had already been a well-known figure in New York. But he became a national figure after HBO aired the documentary "The Jinx" which followed his life and cast suspicion on him engaging many crimes.
Los Angeles County prosecutors are seeking to bring Durst to California since just after his arrest in March 2015.

But he faced a federal weapons charge in New Orleans, there he pleaded guilty in April and started  serving a seven-year prison sentence in Indiana.

The arrest had been made as the final episode of "The Jinx" had been airing. The HBO documentary examinedreported ties to the killing of Berman and the death and dismemberment of his neighbor Morris Black in 2001.

By Prakriti Neogi