Robert Durst tells murder trial he had a 'happy' life with wife Kathie who vanished in 1982 before she 'started using cocaine' and 'paying for a divorce lawyer'

Real estate heir Robert Durst testified on Wednesday at his Los Angeles trial for the murder of his best friend Susan Berman that he and wife Kathie enjoyed a 'happy' life before her mysterious disappearance, except for her worsening cocaine habit and dealings with a divorce attorney.

The jury was shown a 1980 photo of Durst in his late 30s, smiling, with one arm around Kathie and another around Berman. It was taken at a party he threw for the release of Berman's memoir about her life as a mobster's daughter in Las Vegas.

A frail-looking Durst, now 78, told the jury that the trio had gotten along famously in the 1970s, at a time when Durst was trying to accept his role in his family's New York business, his wife was a medical student and Berman was a journalist and fledgling author. But the night of the party didn't end well.

'It was the first time I'd ever seen Kathie drink so much that she lost control of herself. She fell down and bashed her head,' said Durst, who strained to speak as he sat in a wheelchair instead of the witness chair.

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New York real estate scion Robert Durst, 78, answers questions from defense attorney Dick DeGuerin, left, while testifying in his murder trial at the Inglewood Courthouse on Monday. On Day 2 of his testimony, Durst said he and missing wife Kathie had a 'happy' life

Durst claimed troubles with Kathie (left and right) began emerging a few years into the marriage, though he was still happy in the relationship. He said his wife began using cocaine excessively and that he learned she had been paying a 'matrimonial lawyer'

Durst took her to a hospital to get stitches.

'She wanted to go back to the party, with her head half-shaven,' Durst said. "I took her home, and I went back to the party.'

Two years later, Kathie Durst would disappear and later be declared dead, though her body was never found.

THE DARK TRAIL OF ROBERT DURST: HAS A HIT TV SHOW CAUGHT OUT THE REAL-ESTATE HEIR?

1982: Robert Durst's estranged wife, Kathleen McCormack, vanishes from their home in South Salem, New York after they meet. She is never heard from again.

2000: The Westchester County New York district attorney reopens the investigation into the disappearance of Kathleen McCormack

December 2000: Durst's friend, Susan Berman, is shot in the back of the head at her LA home. He is questioned but not charged.

2001: Durst moves to Galveston, Texas and lives as a mute woman named Dorothy Ciner.

October 9, 2001: Durst arrested after body parts of his neighbor, Morris Black, found in Galveston bay.

October 10, 2001: Durst released on $300,000 bail.

2003: Real estate heir found not guilty of Black's murder after claiming the killing was in self-defense.

2010: Movie about Durst, All Good Things, made by director Andrew Jarecki. Soon afterwards, Durst contacts the director about being interviewed.

2010-2013: Documentary made and interviews take place with Durst. The bathroom 'confession' is reportedly recorded after a final interview towards the end of this three-year period.

Early 2013: Jarecki had spoken to LAPD investigators,The New York Times reported. This was after the film crew received a letter, written by Durst which appeared to have similar handwriting and a misspelling of 'Beverley' Hills - like an anonymous note the LAPD received alerting them to Berman's body the day after she was killed.

August 2013: Durst arrested for violating a 2012 restraining order by turning up at his brother Douglas's Manhattan home.

June 2014: A member of Jarecki's editing team reportedly stumbles across Durst's 'confession' audio recording, The Times reported.

December 2014: Durst pleads guilty to misdemeanor criminal mischief after urinating on candy at a CVS drug store in Houston, Texas.

February 8, 2015: Six-part series, The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst, premieres on HBO.

Saturday, March 14, 2015: Durst is arrested for first-degree murder at a New Orleans hotel where he has was staying with false ID.

Sunday, March 15: The final episode of The Jinx airs on HBO.

Prosecutors allege Robert Durst fatally shot Berman in the back of the head in her Beverly Hills home in 2000 because she was about to tell authorities what she knew about his wife's disappearance.

Durst has never been charged in connection with his wife's disappearance and has denied having any role in it, but the judge at his trial is allowing prosecutors to present evidence that he killed her as they try to establish his motive in Berman's slaying.

Durst's attorney, Dick DeGuerin, made the rare and risky move of calling a defendant in a murder trial to the stand on Monday.

His first questions to Durst were: 'Did you kill Susan Berman?' and 'Do you know who did?' with Durst answering 'no' to both.

DeGuerin then took Durst on a long, slow journey through his life story that continued into a second day of testimony Wednesday after a day off Tuesday.

Durst said his marriage was happy in the 1970s except for his firm refusal to become a father.

'I was very, very much against having children,' Durst said. 'I did not want to be a daddy. My childhood had been a disaster. I did not want the same thing to happen to my child.'

He said bigger troubles began emerging a few years into the marriage, though he was still happy in the relationship. He said Kathie Durst began using cocaine excessively and that he learned she had been paying a 'matrimonial lawyer' from their joint checking account, though they had not talked about divorce.

On the first day of testimony, Durst went into detail about his traumatic childhood, revealing that at the age of seven he saw his 'mommy on the roof' of the family's home and then found her motionless body after she committed suicide.

Durst also testified that he blamed his father for his mother's death even though he was just a child.

'I kept begging my father to move,' Durst said, 'but he never sold the house where his wife died.'

Asked if her ran away from camp and ran away from school, Durst answered,

'I ran away from everywhere,' Durst answered.

He said he ran away from his home because he 'hated the house.'

Durst also said that he had psychiatric problems that precluded him from getting drafted to serve during the Vietnam War.

Durst was arrested on a warrant in Berman's killing in New Orleans in 2015 on the eve before the final episode of the HBO documentary series The Jinx aired. In the series about Durst, he made several seemingly damning statements.

Prosecutors also have been allowed to present evidence from a 2003 Texas case, where DeGuerin first put Durst on the stand.

Durst had testified that his Galveston neighbor Morris Black was killed in a struggle after entering his home with a gun.

In that trial, Durst described chopping up and disposing of Black's body, and the jury acquitted him of murder.

In the Berman killing, prosecutors allege that she was about to talk to police about Durst’s involvement in his wife’s disappearance.

Durst is on trial for the 2000 murder of his best friend, Susan Berman. Prosecutors allege Durst killed Berman to prevent her from speaking to the police about Kathie's disappearance

Durst’s attorneys have said that he found her body, panicked, and fled to Texas, sending a letter to police that read 'CADAVER' with Berman’s address.

His lawyers have sought delays and a mistrial over his many health troubles, including two bouts with cancer, pulmonary disease and urinary tract infection, but the judge has rejected them all, expressing sympathy for Durst's state but emphasizing that jail doctors have declared him fit for trial.

In late June, Durst's estranged brother reluctantly testified that the two never got along and he feared his oldest sibling would kill him.

'He'd like to murder me,' Douglas Durst bluntly told jurors in Los Angeles County Superior Court on June 28.

Douglas Durst, head of one of New York’s largest commercial real estate firms, said his brother was angry and bitter over an acrimonious inheritance settlement for tens of millions of dollars.

He had not seen his brother in 20 years but worries because of threats he has made.

The chairman of the Durst Organization, which owns some of Manhattan’s premier skyscrapers and 2,500 apartments, said he and his brother have fought since childhood.

Kathie Durst had told Douglas Durst she planned to seek a divorce from his brother, he testified.

Douglas said his brother told him Kathie vanished three days after he put her on a train to New York City from their lakeside house in Westchester County. Robert said that was the last time he saw his wife.

Durst testified Monday that he did not kill his Berman and did not know who did

The image above shows the promotional movie poster for the HBO documentary The Jinx

During the documentary, Durst was caught on a hot mic appearing to confess to the killings

'His tone was very neutral,' Douglas said. 'There was no great anxiety in his tone. It seemed a little strange.'

On cross-examination, he said his brother seemed distraught but added he would have been more upset if his wife was missing.

'There is almost no emotion that Bob shows that is genuine,' he said.

He said his brother told him the disappearance might be related to a drug dealer who had come by the couple’s apartment.

Robert Durst stands up at his trial for murder of his best friend Susan Berman and tells judge he is not faking his illness or looking for sympathy while holding up his catheter bag

The health of Robert Durst has been a concern throughout his lengthy trial for the execution-style murder of his friend Susan Berman, 55, in 2000.

On Monday, Durst, 78, stood before the court to outright deny claims by the prosecution that he was faking his ailments in order to generate sympathy from jurors.

In the past, the trial has been delayed while Durst received treatment for bladder cancer.

Robert Durst told the judge in his trial he was not faking his illness or looking for sympathy while holding up his urine bag

#RobertDurst - WATCH: "I'm not seeking sympathy from the jury!" He said his head is shaved because that's the only haircut he can get in the jail. He said his chair was not purposely lowered in Galveston. He says he wants the catheter out. @LawCrimeNetwork pic.twitter.com/qs9i45Z3uP
— Cathy Russon (@cathyrusson) June 28, 2021

Appearing in prison scrubs and with a shaved head, Durst denied manipulating jurors.

'I am not seeking sympathy from the jury,' he said in open court on Monday. 'My head is shaved because it is the only kind of hair cut that I am able to get in the jail.'

He also denied deliberately lowering his chair and said he was trying to get doctors to remove his catheter.

'I don't think it is meaningful,' he said.

Deputy District Attorney John Lewin told the court that he changed Durst's urine bag during a break in court proceedings suggesting that he was doing Durst a favor and showing goodwill to him.

Robert Durst stands up at his trial for murder of his best friend Susan Berman and tells judge he is not faking his illness or looking for sympathy while holding up his catheter bag

The health of Robert Durst has been a concern throughout his lengthy trial for the execution-style murder of his friend Susan Berman, 55, in 2000.

On Monday, Durst, 78, stood before the court to outright deny claims by the prosecution that he was faking his ailments in order to generate sympathy from jurors.

In the past, the trial has been delayed while Durst received treatment for bladder cancer.

Robert Durst told the judge in his trial he was not faking his illness or looking for sympathy while holding up his urine bag

#RobertDurst - WATCH: "I'm not seeking sympathy from the jury!" He said his head is shaved because that's the only haircut he can get in the jail. He said his chair was not purposely lowered in Galveston. He says he wants the catheter out. @LawCrimeNetwork pic.twitter.com/qs9i45Z3uP
— Cathy Russon (@cathyrusson) June 28, 2021

#RobertDurst - WATCH: "I'm not seeking sympathy from the jury!" He said his head is shaved because that's the only haircut he can get in the jail. He said his chair was not purposely lowered in Galveston. He says he wants the catheter out. @LawCrimeNetwork pic.twitter.com/qs9i45Z3uP

Appearing in prison scrubs and with a shaved head, Durst denied manipulating jurors.

'I am not seeking sympathy from the jury,' he said in open court on Monday. 'My head is shaved because it is the only kind of hair cut that I am able to get in the jail.'

He also denied deliberately lowering his chair and said he was trying to get doctors to remove his catheter.

'I don't think it is meaningful,' he said.

Deputy District Attorney John Lewin told the court that he changed Durst's urine bag during a break in court proceedings suggesting that he was doing Durst a favor and showing goodwill to him.

Sickening moment maskless 'Karen' COUGHS in the face of grocery store customer, then claims she doesn't have to wear a mask because she 'isn't sick'

A woman was captured on camera following a customer through a supermarket as she coughs on her after claiming she does not need a mask because she is not sick. Video of the incident, which has garnered hundreds of thousands of views on Twitter alone, allegedly took place in a Su per Saver in Lincoln, Nebraska according to Twitter user @davenewworld_2. In it, an unidentified woman was captured dramatically coughing as she smiles saying 'Excuse me! I'm coming through' in the direction of the customer recording her. Scroll down for video An unidentified woman was captured dramatically coughing as she smiles saying 'Excuse me! I'm coming through' in the direction of a woman recording her A woman was captured on camera following a customer as she coughs on her in a supermarket without a mask on claiming she does not need one because she is not sick @chaiteabugz #karen #covid #karens #karensgonewild #karensalert #masks we were just wearing a mask at the store. ¿ o

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