Jeanine Pirro again at center of Robert Durst hearing in New Orleans

HOUSTON — Attorneys defending New York real estate heir Robert Durst plan to call as a witness and subpoena Fox News host, former judge and Westchester District Attorney Jeanine Pirro on Thursday before a preliminary hearing in New Orleans.

Durst, 71, was arrested at a Canal Street hotel on March 14 in connection with the slaying of Susan Berman, a Los Angeles author and Durst's friend, 15 years ago.

In his hotel room, investigators found a .38 revolver and marijuana; Durst was charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of a firearm with a controlled substance.

Durst waived extradition, but Orleans Parish prosecutors have pursued the state charges, which, if he is convicted as a first-time offender, carry maximum sentences of 10 and 20 years.

After Berman's execution-style shooting, it was reported that Pirro's office had been looking to question her about Durst's involvement in the 1982 disappearance of his wife. After Kathleen Durst vanished, Berman had served as a spokeswoman for Durst, who later admitted that he lied to authorities about his actions the night he claims his wife left their Westchester County home and boarded a train to New York City.

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