Prosecutors were denied permission to present evidence from Durst’s brother, Douglas, about the thefts.
Douglas Durst is the younger brother who bypassed Robert when he was named in early 1990s to head the business. That contributed to the siblings’ estrangement and a settlement years later that reportedly paid Robert more than $60 million.
According to a motion filed by the prosecutors in April, Douglas was approached by Kathie about a month before she disappeared. Douglas revealed to prosecutors that Robert Durst was “very upset” that Kathie knew about this.
But Douglas Durst had known about his brother’s schemes for years, according to the motion, and would have testified that Robert siphoned off hundreds of thousands of dollars by creating fictitious businesses and fabricating invoices for them.