The Twisted Psychology Behind Why Robert Durst Said He ‘Killed Them All’

Robert Durst in court in 2003. (Photo: Corbis/Steven Hirsch) 

The bizarre story of Robert Durst has left many scratching their heads, wondering, “Why?” Why would he agree to be interviewed on camera about murder investigations he was allegedly involved in? But most of all why would he seemingly admit out loud — and in the “enemy territory” of a TV studio —that he’d “killed them all”?

We spoke with psychologists and threat-assessment experts to answer the whys, but first, here’s a synopsis of the saga to get you up to speed.

Robert Durst, the 71-year-old eldest son of a billionaire New York City real estate family has been the central focus of an HBO documentary series called The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst.

The six-part series delves into the multiple murder investigations to which Durst has been linked. In 1982, Durst was a suspect in the mysterious disappearance of his first wife, Kathleen McCormack. In 2000, police reached out to public relations manager and Durst friend Susan Berman while investigating the McCormack case; Berman was found shot to death in her Los Angeles home.

An early image of Robert Durst’s first wife, medical student Kathleen McCormack Durst, who disappeared in 1982 and has never been found. (Photo: Corbis)

Mere months after, though, Durst was locked up after he confessed to killing neighbor Morris Black and dumping the remains in Texas’s Galveston Bay. A unit of high-powered attorneys defended him in the trial that followed; he was acquitted by way of self-defense.

On Saturday night, however, Durst was arrested in New Orleans on a warrant for murdering Berman; he will face a murder trial in Los Angeles. But Sunday night was the true shocker when the final episode of The Jinx aired — along with a chilling utterance from Durst.

The poster offering a reward for information about Kathleen McCormack Durst. (Photo: Corbis)

Confronted with new evidence by the makers of The Jinx, the troubled millionaire blinked, burped oddly, pulled his ear, and briefly put his head in his hands before denying he was the killer.

Then he stepped away from the tense interview and went to the bathroom, still wearing the live microphone that recorded what he said next. In the bathroom, Durst seemed to say to himself, “There it is. You’re caught,” and “What the hell did I do? Killed them all, of course.”

First of all, maybe this question is the most obvious: Why would Durst agree to be interviewed on camera at all about murder investigations he was suspiciously involved in? 

Durst and his close friend Susan Berman, who was found shot to death in her Los Angeles home in 2000. (Photo: HBO)

Many criminals who agree to talk candidly to authorities or the media without trickery have an inflated view of themselves and their ability to manipulate others, says Stephen D. Hart, a professor of psychology at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia and director and threat-assessment specialist at Proactive Resolutions.

A New York Daily News cover from 2003, when Durst faced trial in the murder of his neighbor Morris Black. (Photo: New York Daily News)

“They tend to believe they can outsmart and outwit everyone else, to the point where they actually become arrogant and may say too much,” he tells Yahoo Health. “They also crave the attention. They want to be the center of attention. Those two things can definitely lead people to give away incriminating information.” This is something that Durst may have realized near the end of his interviews with the HBO filmmakers, when he asked to use the restroom and said to himself, “There it is. You’re caught.”

Why would Durst do something so risky as to seemingly admit out loud, with producers looking into the murder investigations for which he’s been involved nearby, that he’d “killed them all”? 

According to Art Markman, PhD, a professor of psychology at the University of Texas at Austin, Durst is probably high on a spectrum of personality traits called IMPASSS — which stands for impulsivity, anti-social behavior, and sensation seeking.

Durst leaves court in 2014. (Photo: Corbis/Mike Segar) 

People who fall high on the IMPASSS spectrum will engage in behavior that can be dangerous for them, whether it’s extreme sports, financial risks or drug use, says Markman. “The impulsivity is particularly interesting, because it can lead these people to do things that they would not do if they thought it out carefully — like blurting out a confession in a TV studio,” he says.

Related: 5 Habits Of Emotionally Intelligent People 

Markman explains that sociopaths tend to be high in IMPASSS, and certainly engage in more risk-taking behavior than the average person, so Durst may or may not also suffer a disorder of this type. “There are many people who are not sociopaths who still engage in risky behavior,” Markman says.

According to USA Today, following a bizarre incident of public urination at a CVS last July, some reports also suggest that Durst may suffer from a Asperger’s syndrome, which is a form of autism. In the past, researchers have looked into connections between higher-functioning Autism Spectrum Disorders (hfASDs) and criminal activity, and found that those with hfASDs have an overrepresentation in the criminal population.

So it’s possible many factors have played into Durst’s erratic and dangerous behavior — including the stress bearing down on him.

What would explain a vocal confession from Durst, where he seemingly let his guard down in such a profound way? “Most people tend to have a running monologue going on in their heads, and this gets particularly strong when people are stressed or anxious, because anxiety often causes us to ruminate or ‘chew on’ the thoughts relating to the anxiety,” Markman says.

“Normally, we do not speak out loud, because we inhibit the desire to speak while thinking in words,” he continues. “But people under stress, or those who are highly impulsive, may have trouble inhibiting that desire to speak and may end up talking to themselves.”

Durst agreed to 25 hours of on-film interviews for HBO. When ABC News asked him for comment on his participation, he stayed mum.

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