Case of the Missing Head

摘要

On the streets of galve-ston, the mysterious drifter―seemingly a mute woman―was known as Dorothy Ciner. But under the ill-fitting wig, in reality, was Robert Durst, a fabulously rich New York real-estate heir, living on the lam. Renting a $300-a-month apartment on Avenue K, Durst became pals with a neighbor across the hall, Morris Black, a peppery old seaman. Then came a bitter falling-out. In the fall of 2001, the dissected remains of Black, 71, were discovered by a boy fishing in Galveston Bay. Charged with murder, Durst acknowledged chopping Black's body into pieces, a chore he said left him "swimming in blood." But he claimed the killing was accidental, telling jurors Black had brandished a gun in a quarrel at Durst's place; the two men struggled and the gun fired, killing Black. Durst carved up the body with a bow saw, he explained, because he was in a panic- and fogged by drinking a fifth of Southern Comfort and smoking pot. To prosecutors, it seemed a farfetched explanation. But in a stunning verdict reached last week, the Texas jury voted to acquit. Even Durst seemed astounded, his mouth falling open. Finally he smiled and whispered to his lawyers, "Thank you so much."