Legal

Robert Durst -- who was serving a life sentence for the murder of his friend, Susan Berman, after appearing to confess about it during the filming of the HBO documentary 'The Jinx' -- has died.

Durst's attorney says he died Monday morning of cardiac arrest ... though he had also recently been battling bladder cancer, among other life-threatening health issues. Durst's attorney says he was pronounced dead at San Joaquin General Hospital.

Of course, Durst recently came down with COVID-19 ... and was placed on a ventilator as a result. This came after he was found guilty by a jury of his peers, and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

As we reported ... he'd been in and out of court over the past few years for his murder trial following a 14-month break due to the pandemic. He had been accused of shooting Berman in the head at her Bev Hills home in December 2000 ... allegedly because she may have had deets about the mysterious death of his wife, Kathie, who disappeared in 1982.

You'll recall Durst was busted in 2015 just weeks after "The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst" started airing on HBO ... prompting the LAPD to reopen the Berman case.

The miniseries explored bizarre and disturbing allegations against Durst and why he was alleged to have been involved in the deaths of Susan and Kathie. The doc also dove into how he was acquitted for the murder of a Texas neighbor in 2001.

The jaw-dropping moment came at the end of the documentary when Durst was caught on a hot mic seemingly confessing to the murders saying, "What the hell did I do? Killed them all, of course." Durst had thought his mic was turned off after excusing himself to use the bathroom.

Durst was born on April 12, 1943. His father was a wealthy New York real estate mogul and Durst, the eldest son, was the heir to that empire worth over a billion bucks. He married then-20-year-old Kathie in 1973.

A decade later ... Durst reportedly told police he dropped off Kathie at a train station in upstate NY in Westchester County and claimed he never saw her again. He reported her disappearance several days later.

Durst moved to Texas in 2000. A year later ... a torso was found and cops found garbage bags that had human limbs and other items connected to the building where Durst lived.

He was charged for the murder of his neighbor but he skipped a court date and was on the run. Authorities found him in Pennsylvania but he was ultimately found not guilty and acquitted in 2003.

Ryan Gosling portrayed Durst in the 2010 film "All Good Things." Following the release of that film, Durst hit up a filmmaker to pitch the documentary that eventually became 'The Jinx,' which aired on HBO in 2015.

Lana Del Rey has an alleged stalker on her hands -- one whom she claims has come to her home on THREE different occasions over the last month ... and now a judge had ordered some protection.

The singer filed for and was granted a temporary restraining order this past week in L.A. County, where she claims a woman by the name of Janeen Lee Stratton -- who apparently also goes by the nickname "America" -- has been harassing her in very scary fashion.

According to court docs, obtained by TMZ, Lana and her legal team say this lady has been blowing up LDR's professional associates, including managers, with demands to meet her in person -- because she believes she's Lana's muse ... and not just that, but she thinks Lana communicates with her via song and/or dreams.

Eventually, Lana's management responded via text message ... telling Ms. Stratton to get lost, noting Lana did NOT know her, nor did she want to meet.

That led to a freaky retort from Stratton, at least according to Lana and co. -- the woman allegedly replied, "I want to make a scene. Because guess what?! I don't go away easy."

Per the legal paperwork, not only did Stratton not go away ... she allegedly landed on Lana's front doorstep here in L.A. last month, somehow tracking down her private residence and jumping the fence to get in, where she was eventually met by Lana's security.

Lana and her attorneys allege the guards found Stratton who they say admitted to having a couple of pocket knives on her, this while she apparently told them she'd driven for hundreds of miles for a chance to meet the star. Of course, she was given the boot, but that didn't keep her away for long ... so says LDR.

Lana claims she returned to the property, not once ... but TWICE more just earlier this month, right around New Year's, and was kicked out each time. Now, Lana says she fears for her safety ... and needs a court-ordered forcefield to keep this person at arm's length.

That apparently was a compelling enough tale for the judge … who granted Lana's request for a TRO, which states Stratton has to steer clear of LDR ... both in person and in all forms of communication.

Britney Spears may be a free woman, but that's not the case for her ex Jason Alexander ... he's been tethered to probation after pleading guilty to stalking, TMZ has learned.

According to the Franklin Police Department, Jason was arrested on Dec. 30 and taken to the Williamson County Jail in Tennessee. He was eventually charged with violation of a protective order and aggravated stalking.

District Attorney General Kim Helper tells TMZ ... Jason pled guilty to misdemeanor stalking on Jan. 4 and was given 11 months, 29 days of probation. As part of the deal, he'll have to undergo a mental health screening and submit to random drug screenings.

Helper added Alexander won't be allowed to have any contact with the female victim. The nature of their relationship is unclear.

As you might recall, Britney and Jason dated back in '04. They abruptly got married in Vegas ... but that lasted all of 55 hours and the marriage was annulled shortly thereafter.

Jason later claimed Britney's team forced them to end the relationship and made it hard for the two to communicate afterward ... and while she seems to be in a better place these days, Jason's clearly struggling.

Last January, he was hit with a DUI and other charges related to drug possession ... later in August, he was arrested for trespassing into a "non-secure" area at a Nashville airport.

Masha Diduk, AKA Jeff Lowe's hot nanny from "Tiger King," may have taken the idea of "Sin City" a little too literal ... she was arrested for stealing a candelabra worth $5k from a Vegas nightclub, TMZ has learned.

According to a police report obtained by TMZ ... back in July, security at the Wynn hotel in Vegas watched surveillance footage showing a woman pilfering a candelabra from a private dining room in a club on the property. Moments later she was seen leaving the casino, wearing it on her forearm like an accessory.

But, what happened in Vegas that night didn't stay under wraps. Security was able to get the name on the ticket the suspect used to valet her car as well as the license plate. And, after some social media digging they were able to match Masha's posts to the suspect in the security footage.

She even posted at the club around the time of the incident on IG ... posing with one of their signature drinks.

She was later detained by Wynn security and arrested for grand larceny.

As you may recall, Masha raised eyebrows over her work ethic when she became a part-time nanny for 'Tiger Kings' former cohorts, Jeff Lowe and his wife, Lauren. She apparently met Jeff and his wife in Vegas a while back, where she had been living and working as a model.

The man suspected of gunning down Young Dolph says he's waving the white flag to the authorities over the charges against him -- charges of which he says he's innocent.

23-year-old Justin Johnson took to his social media page Saturday to both profess his innocence, and to also announce he'd be turning himself into the cops. The strange part ... he says he won't be doing so until Monday.

Using his rap IG account, going by the stage name Straight Drop, Johnson writes ... "Turning Myself In Monday @201 I'm Innocent I'll Be Back Sooner Than You Can Blink." Shortly before this message, he posted a video of a local news package that covered his criminal history ... which included an interview with a criminal court judge from Shelby County, TN.

The judge recounts how Johnson had previously carried himself in a separate case, making it seem like he was compliant and, later, a well-behaved prisoner after accepting his fate ... only to be released on probation early. Johnson seems to think the judge's words here are actually vouching for his character, because he wrote ... "Next time post the REAL… BS ass Blogs."

Of course, Johnson's timeline of taking the weekend to himself definitely isn't gonna fly with the feds ... who are actively pursuing him in a manhunt right now, and probably don't want to wait until Monday to have the guy in their custody.

It's unclear where Johnson is at the moment, but he obviously has access to his Instagram page, and presumably his phone too. By the same token, he's also eluded the cops thus far -- so perhaps he really is on his own schedule at this point.

As we reported ... Johnson was announced as the prime suspect in Dolph's killing, and he's currently wanted on a slew of charges -- including first-degree murder.

He also appears to have shot a music video once upon a time at the same home where the authorities retrieved what they believed to be the getaway vehicle used the day Dolph was shot and killed.

The lawyer for Travis McMichael claims the judge in the case was pressured by the President, former Presidents and celebrities to hand down the harshest sentence.

Attorney Jason Sheffield tells TMZ, he believes the die was cast from the jump, saying the "decision-makers" were under a microscope. He says he's referring to the police, prosecutors, judge and jury.

Sheffield says anyone who voiced sympathy for his client was criticized and threatened, adding, "So the decision-makers face the same fate if they don't acknowledge the narrative that has been perpetrated by Ben Crump and Lee Merritt, as well as the national media, former presidents Obama, Trump and [current President] Biden, and top-level sports athletes and entertainers."

All 3 defendants were convicted of murdering Ahmaud Arbery. Travis and Gregory McMichael were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, after the judge described their lack of remorse and callousness. William "Roddie" Bryan was sentenced to life with the possibility of parole after 30 years.

Sheffield calls the sentence "scripted, because nobody wants to be on the other side."

Former President Barack Obama said of the case when he spoke at an HBCU graduation ceremony during the pandemic, "We see it when a Black man goes for a jog and some folks feel like they can stop and question and shoot him if he doesn't submit to their questioning. Injustice like this isn't new."

Donald Trump called the cellphone video showing the horrific murder "very disturbing."

President Biden's statement ... "Ahmaud Arbery's killing -- witnessed by the world on video -- is a devastating reminder of how far we have to go in the fight for racial justice in this country."

'Love & Hip Hop' star Lyrica Anderson is waving the white flag on her marriage to A1 Bentley ... because she just filed for divorce.

Lyrica beelined it to a Los Angeles courthouse Friday to file divorce docs after more than 5 years of marriage.

It's unclear what led to the split ... but they have been very open about marital problems, sharing their issues on reality TV ever since they eloped back in 2016.

Lyrica was previously accused of cheating on A1 with Nicki Minaj's ex, Safaree Samuels ... and the drama was a major storyline on the 2018 season of 'L&HH: Hollywood.'

Lyrica was pregnant at the time of the cheating allegations and A1 and his immediate family demanded she takes a paternity test, which revealed A1 was the father.

LA gave birth to the couple's baby boy in November 2018 ... and as she told us back then, she survived a major health scare shortly after bringing Ocean Zion Bentley into the world.

"Anchorman" star David Koechner's recent DUI arrest has his estranged wife worried for the safety of their kids -- and she's asking the court to put buffers in place to protect them.

Leigh Morgan Koechner filed docs Friday in L.A. asking for Koechner's visitation with their children to be suspended and for "safeguards be put in place to ensure (Koechner's) sobriety."

As for what those measures include ... Leigh requests the actor submit to drug testing as well as use a Soberlink device to monitor alcohol consumption.

TMZ broke the story, Koechner was busted for DUI around 3 PM in L.A. on New Year's Eve. Law enforcement sources tell us he had two flat tires when he was pulled over and blew a .13 in the field and .12 back at the station.

Koechner's fighting Leigh's visitation request, stating none of the couple's kids were in the car at the time of the arrest and claiming he's driven the kids -- with Leigh's knowledge -- since the incident. Koechner also says he's working on his sobriety with professional help.

The fate of the 3 men responsible for the murder Ahmaud Arbery has been decided, 2 will spend the rest of their lives behind bars and the third has a possibility of parole.

The Brunswick, GA judge just sentenced Travis and Gregory McMichael to life in prison without parole, while William "Roddie" Bryan has the possibility of parole down the road. The judge decided to cut Bryan a slight break as he was unarmed and had showed some remorse for being involved in the incident from the beginning.

Each of the men sat solemn while their sentences were read, faces covered with masks, and neither made any sort of statement to the court.

After the sentence was read, the prosecutor asked the judge to prohibit each of the 3 men from being able to make any money from the case -- whether it be through book deals, interviews or promotional material ... a decision the judge has not yet made.

During the victim impact statements, Ahmaud's mother, Wanda Cooper Jones, gave an emotional testimony to the life of her son ... saying raising him was the greatest honor of her life.

Wanda went on to describe her son as a curious, loving and thoughtful child -- she had asked the judge for life without parole for each of the 3 involved.

While all 3 men were convicted of murder and several other charges back in November ... only Travis, the son of Gregory, was convicted of malice murder. Travis is the one who pulled the trigger on his rifle, killing Ahmaud.

Under GA law, each of the men are required to serve 30 years in prison, so for 52-year-old Bryan ... even with the possibility of parole, he could still die behind bars.

The judge in Lil Mosey's rape case just handed down a ruling that could have a huge impact on the rapper's fate ... blocking his lawyers from using any prior acts of consensual sex with the alleged victim as a defense, TMZ has learned.

As we reported, the rapper was charged with rape back in April, after the alleged victim claimed she blacked out from drinking and couldn't possibly have consented. Last month, Mosey asked the court for permission to introduce evidence that he had multiple previous consensual sexual encounters with the woman.

Well they just got an answer -- no.

According to the legal docs, obtained by TMZ ... Mosey claims he met the alleged victim at one of his concerts, and they engaged in consensual sexual activity multiple times. Lil Mosey claims on the night of the alleged rape, the woman invited him to a party. He claims he met up with her and they had consensual sex in a car.

As we previously reported, the alleged victim told police ... she and Mosey had two sexual encounters that night. She said the first was in the car and it was consensual. However, she told cops the second was not consensual because she was too drunk to give proper consent.

Prosecutors argued the previous acts were irrelevant because Mosey was charged with rape based solely on the alleged victim's inability to consent due to her level of intoxication.

The judge sided with the prosecutors, with one caveat. The judge will allow Mosey's team to bring up what happened in the car on the night of the alleged rape ... but only for the limited purpose of letting him explain why his DNA was allegedly found on her body.

John Mulaney is now officially divorced ... signing papers to finalize things with his ex, Anna Marie Tendler.

According to a legal filing, Mulaney and Tendler ended things Thursday in NYC -- about 4 months after he filed to divorce her. The pair married in July 2014, and did not have any kids together. It's unclear if they'd signed a prenup.

John and Tendler first split in October 2020.

The divorce agreement makes it official, but John's already done plenty of moving on from that relationship -- as TMZ first reported, Olivia Munn gave birth to the couple's son, Malcolm Hiệp Mulaney, on November 24.

John posted an adorable photo of Malcolm on Christmas Eve with the cute caption, "He has his whole life ahead of him. He hasn’t even tried seltzer yet. I’m very in love with him and his whole deal. Happy Holidays."

Young Dolph's shooting suspect certainly didn't cover his tracks well -- twisting his music career with murder, perhaps handing investigators much-needed clues to connect him to the case.

Cops announced Wednesday 23-year-old Justin Johnson is wanted for murdering Dolph. Johnson is a Memphis-area rapper who goes by the name Straight Drop -- and used areas around the city as the background to many of his music videos.

However, it's his music video for the song "Going Straight In" released on November 21, 2021, that had fans making an eerie connection.

Shortly after Dolph was killed, detectives tracked down the getaway car -- a white Mercedes -- to a Memphis-area home. You can see very clearly, Johnson uses the same home as the backdrop to his "Going Straight In" music video.

Shockingly enough -- Dolph was murdered November 17, which means that the music video was actually posted to YouTube AFTER he was gunned down.

Washington D.C. is ramping up for another clash a year after the storming of the Capitol -- but there's some good/bad news for the cops on duty ... depending on how things shake out.

Sources with knowledge tell TMZ ... the Metropolitan Police Dept. is planning to activate its civil disturbance units Thursday, in anticipation of round 2 from what occurred in 2021 -- which we’re told is standard when mass demonstrations are expected.

That isn't to say the cops have much reason to believe there's gonna be another major riot on their hands. Our sources say the department is mostly doing this out of an abundance of caution, and that there's no credible threats at this time for a repeat of Jan. 6. That’s the upside.

We're told the effort will be mostly organized by the feds -- FBI and Dept. of Justice -- which will help to make sure both Capitol and local authorities communicate and act efficiently. What's more -- from 6AM to 10PM only Capitol staffers, members and official visitors will be allowed close to the premises.

The not-so-great part ... we're told that if things do pop off for whatever reason, MPDC may be a little short-handed when it comes to manpower -- and that's due, in large part, to COVID. We're told officers have been going down due to omicron, and because of that ... they’re going to have to make do with what the remaining bodies they have available.

Just to give you an idea of how decimated their force is on the Capitol front ... Capitol Police Chief Thomas Manger said Wednesday his squad is short about 447 officers of where they need to be, with about 153 who've retired or resigned since last year ... and another 175 or so who are out sick on any given day due to COVID or other illness.

With those numbers in mind ... here's what the operation will look like on the ground -- smaller platoons than what would normally be deployed. Whereas there are usually 35 platoons throughout the region -- with 28 officers per platoon throughout 7 districts ... our sources say the units will be much smaller on Thursday.

These groups will also be strategically placed because of limited resources -- with officers patrolling the streets, the Capitol and other highly sensitive areas ... so we're told.

One woman says the crowd at a Harry Styles concert in Los Angeles got so rowdy it left her injured ... and now she's filed a lawsuit against the venue.

The woman claims she attended Harry's "Fine Line" album release show at The Forum in December 2019. According to the docs, obtained by TMZ, she says during the show, a mass of folks surged towards the stage, causing her to be knocked to the ground by other concertgoers.

From there, the woman says other folks in the crowd crushed her body, causing serious injury.

Harry is not named as a plaintiff in the lawsuit, but she's suing The Forum, show promoters and ticketing services -- including Live Nation, Stubhub and Ticketmaster.

In her suit, the woman claims the venue, promoters and ticketing services failed to provide sufficient seating, lighting, security, supervision and crowd control that night ... and says folks in front of the stage were left in harm's way during the crowd surges.

The fan is looking to get paid ... claiming her alleged injuries are chronic and debilitating and are diminishing her quality of life.

We reached out to MSG, which owned The Forum at the time of the alleged incident ... so far, no word back.

Raiders rookie Nate Hobbs will likely return to the football field against the Chargers on Sunday ... less than a week after he was arrested for DUI.

Las Vegas interim head coach Rich Bisaccia updated the media on Hobbs' status Wednesday ... saying based on what the team knows at this time, the 22-year-old will not be punished prior to the Week 18 matchup.

"We take [the arrest] extremely serious, organizationally and certainly within our team," the coach said. "Based on what we've learned at this time, we expect Nate to play."

"It's a legal matter, and other than that I really have nothing else. We'll leave it at that."

TMZ Sports broke the story ... Hobbs was arrested after cops say he was found passed out behind the wheel of his car parked in the exit ramp of a Vegas hotel early Monday morning.

Hobbs' attorneys, David Chesnoff and Richard Schonfeld, addressed the arrest ... saying, "The facts and circumstances related by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department to the news media leave serious concerns that this does not qualify as a DUI under Nevada law."

It's a surprising move by the team, especially when Hobbs' former teammate, Henry Ruggs, was charged with 2 counts of felony DUI after he was accused of driving drunk and crashing his Corvette into the vehicle of 23-year-old Tina Tintor, who burned to death after her Rav4 caught fire, according to officials.

Jana Duggar's child endangerment case is settled after the reality star fessed up to her crime.

The "19 Kids and Counting" star has pled guilty to a third-degree count of endangering the welfare of a minor in Arkansas -- this according to court docs obtained by TMZ. The paperwork shows Jana entered her plea on Dec. 15 ... closing the book on her case.

As a result, she had to pay fines and fees -- totaling $880 ... with $100 of that going toward what the court describes as a Child Victim Crime Fee.

Jana, who'd initially pled not guilty, explained what this was all about last month -- when news about her criminal case broke. She said she was babysitting, and one of the kids slipped out through the front door unnoticed by accident.

Somebody saw the child outside and called cops, which resulted in Jana getting ticketed. She said it was a mistake that could've happened to anybody ... and denied doing anything to purposely put any of the children at risk. Her family backed her up in supporting statements.

The timing of her charge coincided with her brother, Josh Duggar, getting convicted in his child porn case ... which made some folks believe she herself might've been wrapped up in something more dubious than just a babysitting slip-up.