LOS ANGELES — The whispered words of Robert Durst recorded in an unguarded moment in a bathroom could come back to haunt him — or help him — as he faces a murder charge.
A possible move by prosecutors to introduce the incriminating material from a six-part documentary on his strange life and connection to three killings could backfire as interview footage did in the Michael Jackson molestation trial and the Robert Blake murder case.
In both cases, the defense was allowed under the "doctrine of completeness" to provide segments of interviews that presented their clients favorably without subjecting them to tough cross-examination.
"I submit that Blake didn't have to testify and Michael Jackson didn't have to testify because the prosecution foolishly wanted to introduce portions of their interviews," said attorney Thomas Mesereau Jr., who represented both men. "They just got greedy. They were mesmerized by portions they thought could help them."
In the Jackson case, the defense used unaired footage to counter damage done by "Living With Michael Jackson," a damning documentary in which Jackson held hands with his accuser and spoke of letting children into his bed.
"I'd slit my wrists before I'd hurt a child," Jackson said in one outtake shown by the defense, according to Mesereau, who won the performer's acquittal 10 years ago.
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