A longtime friend of Robert Durst told the court Thursday that when he asked the real estate heir in 2014 what happened to their mutual friend, Susan Berman, he basically confessed to the killing her, allegedly because she knew he had killed his first wife, Kathleen.

Nathan Chavin, 72, said Durst told him, "I had to. It was her or me; I had no choice," according to the Los Angeles Times.

Chavin said he took Durst's admission to mean that he had carried out the execution-style killing of Berman in 2000.

Durst is accused of shooting Berman once in the back of the head inside her Benedict Canyon home in 2000 because she knew too much about Kathleen's disappearance.



It was Chavin's second bombshell during his two days on the stand at the pretrial hearing after testifying that Berman had told him Durst confessed to her that he had killed Kathleen Durst, who disappeared Jan. 31, 1982.



Chavin's identity was kept under wraps until Wednesday, when he first took that stand. He had been referred to only as the "secret witness" by prosecutors, who said there was evidence of "possible danger" to his life, although they did not elaborate. Chavin arrived in court flanked by bodyguards at the start of his testimony.

Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney John Lewin told the court he needed to get Chavin’s testimony on the record now because of his age. A second witness was questioned Tuesday for similar reasons.

Chavin said he had known Durst for 45 years after meeting him "through a very dear friend of mine, Susan Berman."

