There used to be a rule that documentary-makers shouldn’t interfere with their subjects. But Andrew Jarecki’s jaw-dropping 2015 series The Jinx proved an exception.
Jarecki, you may recall, elicited an apparent confession to murder from the real estate heir Robert Durst – which resulted in Durst briefly going on the run before his arrest, the night before the finale aired.
This sequel picks up where the first series left off, covering Durst’s attempted escape, his incredibly odd dialogue with police and the cast of oddball allies he acquired in the show’s aftermath.
I loved this series because at the time I was working on makingon documentaries and could not believe the access that Andrew had managed.
The story keeps on giving – although, as we are reminded by footage of the family of one of Durst’s victims watching the first series, it’s a story with horror at its heart.
It has been nine years since The Jinx aired its explosive finale and we heard the immortal words uttered by Robert Durst: “Killed them all, of course.” He was, in essence, confessing to the murders of his first wife, Kathleen McCormack Durst (in 1982); his best friend, Susan Berman (in 2000); and his neighbour, Morris Black (in 2001).
The documentary film-makers handed their evidence over to law enforcement in 2013, and he was arrested on 14 March 2015, the day before the finale aired. He was convicted of the murder of Berman in 2021 and charged with McCormack’s disappearance – but died in prison at the age of 78, the day before that trial was due to begin.
With Durst now gone, it is hard to know exactly what fresh intel a sequel to The Jinx could possibly reveal, and whether or not this is simply a Tiger King 2-style cash grab. But the first four episodes present a reasonably compelling tale that overlaps with the first series, following the investigation into Durst reopened by the Los Angeles district attorney, based on the recordings received from the film-makers.
Previous attempts to prosecute Durst had been halted thanks to the leverage of his immense wealth passed down from his real-estate magnate father. But, unfortunately for him, not even incredible privilege can protect you when you won’t shut up. Durst simply cannot stop incriminating himself.
He would probably have got off scot-free if it weren’t for the confounding choice to confess to murder while miked up for an HBO documentary. As the district attorney John Lewin says: when it comes to interrogation, people can choose to talk or to remain silent – and “Bob always talks”.
The first episode is the strongest. It follows from the reopening of the cold case until the airing of the season finale, and we learn how Durst reacted in real time to his newfound fame. Even with his propensity for indiscretion, the lack of restraint remains shocking.
The Jinx – Part Two goes full hall of mirrors at the conclusion: watching the families of the victims, the investigators and the prosecutors, who were the subjects of both documentaries, all watching the season finale in the home of its creator, Andrew Jarecki.
They all gasp as they hear the totemic “Killed them all, of course”, and though Kathleen’s brother speaks of the catharsis of that moment, there is something a little salacious and icky about having her family hear it for the first time on camera.
The rest of the room quickly springs into debating whether the “confession” will be admissible as evidence in court, but you can see Kathleen’s family members processing something seismic.
Rather than giving them space to take it all in, they are interrupted by Fox News’s “Judge Jeanine” Pirro, who was responsible for the first prosecution of Kathleen’s case, squawking about legal protocols. It is, to put it mildly, a choice. In any case, it seems almost certain that we will be back here in six weeks, talking about “The Jinx.”
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