Robert Durst murder trial: Juror removed from panel for reading news

The resumption of Durst's murder trial finished its second day of opening arguments after a juror seated on the panel overseeing the murder trial of multimillionaire Robert Durst was removed because she violated the court's order not to read about the case, the judge said.

Judge Mark Windham told the court he was removing the juror after she said she read about defense attorneys' requests for a mistrial. She was allegedly offended that defense attorneys suggested jurors would have forgotten what they heard 14 months ago when the case was postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic.

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Defense attorney Dick DeGuerin, center standing, addresses Judge Mark Windham, center in back, alongside fellow defense attorney David Z. Chesnoff, left, and Deputy District Attorney John Lewin, at right, representing the prosecution, during the murder trial of Robert Durst Monday, May 17, 2021, in Inglewood, Calif. (Los Angeles Times via AP)

The removal comes as lawyers prepared to present a new round of opening statements in Los Angeles County Superior Court. The judge interviewed jurors a day earlier to see if they could resume their duties after the unprecedented delay.

The panel now consists of 20 jurors, including eight alternates.

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Durst, 78, an heir to a New York commercial real estate empire, is charged with first-degree murder in the slaying of his best friend, Susan Berman. She was shot in the back of the head at her Los Angeles home in December 2000.

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He has pleaded not guilty. His lawyer said Durst didn't kill her and doesn't know who did, though he conceded last year that Durst found her body, putting him at the crime scene for the first time.

Fox News' Bradford Betz and The Associated Press contributed to this report.