“Durst just had this compulsion to confess – and it was tragic.”
It’s the documentary series that continues to go down in history as having one of the most chilling endings ever, but the director of The Jinx has since admitted that part of him felt “sad” about Robert Durst’s apparent off-camera confession.
With The Jinx – Part Two set to land on our screens this month, director Andrew Jarecki spoke to the Financial Times about the jaw-dropping moment in the Emmy-winning 2015 series.
Jarecki said: “The journalist part of me was thinking, ‘This is one of the greatest moments of my life.’ But another part of me felt sad that this incredible charade this man had persisted with for years was all coming down to this terrible moment of truth.”
He continued: “In that moment, he was closer than he’d ever been to blurting it out. And then what happens? We finish the interview, shake hands and he goes to the bathroom and immediately says: ‘There it is, you’re caught.’
“Durst just had this compulsion to confess. And it was tragic, you know?”
The moment in question is recognisable for any true crime documentary fan, or even many who haven’t watched the series in full.
After being shown a letter on which Durst’s own handwriting implicated him in the murder of his friend Susan Berman, Durst went to the bathroom.
Still mic’d up, Durst was heard saying: “There it is, you’re caught . . . What the hell did I do? Killed them all, of course.”
That final episode was aired the day after Durst was arrested for Berman’s murder, with the letter in question ultimately leading to his conviction. The trial took place in 2021, and Durst was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole.
One year later, Durst died in a prison hospital, before his impending trial over the unsolved 1982 disappearance of his first wife, Kathleen McCormack.
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The second part of The Jinx series, which will premiere on Monday 22nd April, is a continuation of the original series, and will follow the filmmakers as they continue their investigation for the next eight years.
In the process, they will be “uncovering hidden material, Durst’s prison calls, and interviews with witnesses who had not come forward until now”, according to the synopsis.
Speaking to the FT about the new series, Jarecki revealed: “Thematically, this season is about complicity.
“While we were making the first season, the same question came up: how do you kill three people over 30 years and get away with it?
“As we got deeper into it, we realised it takes a village. We were not dealing with Bob Durst the lone wolf, because he was surrounded by all these people.”
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The Jinx – Part Two premieres on Sky Documentaries and NOW from Monday 22nd April, with new episodes available weekly.
Check out more of our Documentaries coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what’s on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.