William Steel

​First, tell us a little about your book.
 
My book is about my 30+ years of interaction with a former acquaintance Robert Durst, whom I believe to be the wealthiest serial killer in American history.  More than that, I expose him for what he is plus what he has done and said in my presence over the years.  But most critically, it is a call for justice for his many murder victims and their families.  They’ve suffered horribly and, in many cases, for decades with no answers or even the remains of their loved ones.
 
What made you decide to come forward with all this information?  Why now instead of sometime earlier?
 
Great question.  In fact, I DID come forward soon after I learned what Bobby had told and shown me was true.  It was when I saw a recent episode of 48 Hours.  I was horrified.  Prior to that, I spent more time trying to forget many things from the past and I believed he was just all talk anyway.  Many people, while drunk or high, do things they wouldn’t ordinarily do; indulge in fantasies and fetishes of all types.  So, part of me just considered Bobby a wealthy eccentric, someone with fetishes and fantasies that I certainly couldn’t relate to or understand except that, for the most part, most people would never act out on the most violent and vile ones.  I was sadly, and obviously, wrong when it came to Bobby.  Had I known all those years ago that what he was saying was true I certainly would have come forward then.  When I did learn of all this being very real and did come forward at that time, I felt that I was being treated as a suspect in Susan’s murder or that I might, if I made one honest mistake recalling things from decades ago, be falsely accused of lying.  But, if you were to recover those recordings I mention in my book, locate and interview some of the witnesses as to part of what I went through, they would immediately show that I’m being as honest in my recollections as the massive passage of time will allow.  The recordings alone, if legally admissible, would be the nail in Robert Durst’s coffin. On them, as I detail in the book, Robert Durst readily admits, in his gravely morbid monotone voice to both planning to kill his first wife Kathie with an explanation of why he did it AND to initially wanting to arrange Susan Berman’s murder weeks prior to his traveling to Los Angeles to kill her himself; which is what he wanted to do before she was interviewed by the investigators from New York in regards to the investigation of the death of his first wife, Kathie.
 
What are your hopes regarding the impact of what you’ve revealed in your book?
 
My hope is not only to raise public awareness regarding the horrific crimes and proclivities of Robert Durst but to ensure he’s exposed for what he is, to alert the others that he threatened to murder that they may still be at risk, in the event law enforcement didn’t make such notifications.  And most importantly, in some small way to try to help bring justice for Kathie Durst, his first wife, again, whom I firmly believe he murdered in 1982, and hopefully bring some answers to his many victim’s long suffering relatives.
 
There are a lot of horrible incidents described in your book.  What was it like for, or how difficult rather, reliving these memories?
 
It was, and remains, extraordinarily difficult to remember these things.  The graphic photographs he showed me of many women, naked and bound, women I know now to have been sexually tortured and murdered.  The trophies he kept from the women he killed, the blood and gore covered green dress he wore the night he murdered and dismembered the dog in my house, its parts strewn about, my having slipped in its blood on my floor in the dark.  As I detailed in my book, he stunned me with the revelation that his murdered wife’s remains were in the suitcase he brought to my home “to prove it to me” he said. To relive the sight of him in a green dress having sex with a transsexual, to be in a deep sleep in the arms of a beautiful naked woman only to be awakened by the realization that he snuck into the room to molest me as I slept…How was it for me to recall these and far worse things?  Horrible. Infuriating.  Embarrassing.  Disgusting. Disgusted with myself because I could have stopped him long ago.  But, to now tell what I know is a necessary evil.  If we don’t speak for the dead, who will???
 
What was it like being that close, that involved with someone so maniacal and horrifying?
 
This really all began when I when I was about 20 years old and, like many people, coming from a dysfunctional family.  My mother was severely mentally ill and though I was very close to her, loved and protected her from what I could, like neighborhood bullies, there was also an enormous amount of turmoil growing up so, to a degree, I was desensitized to certain things and numb to life at another level due to the heartache over my mother’s condition.  Bobby was extremely successful in real estate and wealthy, something I admired and was eager to learn more about.  He feigned a friendship with me to use me and, to a certain degree, I feigned a friendship with him to use him.  A very famous screenwriter aptly described our relationship as “a friendship of mutual usury”.  It is clear now, and only with the hindsight of wisdom and age, that he was clearly grooming me to participate in his horrific deeds, which I’ve explained further in my book, and I always, ALWAYS refused.  And he never did the maniacal and horrifying things in my actual presence. Although he DID kill and dismember a poor dog in my house while I had stepped out for a while.  He showed and told me many things, some of which I recorded. It was nerve wracking once it began to dawn on me just how treacherous he was.  Especially when I helped some women flee from him, just in the nick of time.
 
Were you ever scared “in the moment” in Durst’s presence or did the fear hit you after the adrenaline from each situation had worn off?
 
Fear.  That word means something completely different to me today than it did all those years ago.  I call it severe concerns.  These concerns caused to proceed with more and more caution in his presence.  For example, searching him virtually every time we met, taking his guns when we were together, trying to dominate and control his, which, along with sexually and torturing and murdering women, only seemed to turn him on.  Of course, and again with the clarity of hindsight, there is a sense of relief that I even lived to tell this story.  I thank God for that.  The book could have been called “Surviving Robert Durst”, it’s what I’ve done so far…survive.  So far.
 
Is there anything additional you would like readers to know, either about you or your book?
 
Everyone needs to read this book to understand just some of what makes Robert Durst a modern day cunning serial killer.  To learn of the other victims that he murdered and dismembered.  His own wife, Kathie, a gal named Lynne who was a college student, an elderly retiree named Morris, prostitutes, and even his best friend, Susan Berman.  Read this book not only to learn of these gruesome crimes but how you can help see justice served.  There are very specific things readers can learn and do to ensure his victims are not forgotten, to ensure that he is held accountable, once and for all.  Justice is FINALLY in hot pursuit of Durst and hopefully, all of the other mega-wealthy killers in our midst.  Let’s not let off the pressure.  These people cannot continue to do horrible things to people, then end their lives with impunity, solely by virtue of their vast wealth and army of attorneys and enablers, frustrating the criminal justice system for decades at every turn.
 
Let’s all stand up and pay close attention to the legal proceedings in Los Angeles as they unfold over the next months and support the heroic investigators and prosecutors as they stand at the precipice of an epic murder trial and legal battle, surely to be on par with the OJ Simpson double murder trial.
 
As for telling something about myself, I am nothing to focus on.  Focus on the victims and their heartbroken, suffering families.  I will say that I am very grateful for all the reader reviews on the book, the massive media and Hollywood attention and interest and for the article and podcast that Nancy Grace did, which can be found on www.crimeonline.com.
 
As a courtesy here’s a little “snapshot” of me. Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York.  My mom was mentally ill and I spent many years protecting her and defending her from bullies.  Growing up I admired superheroes, James Bond and Mission Impossible types.  Wanting to be like that, I studied and excelled in locksmithing, safe and vault technology, as well as electronic security systems.  I was also very interested in real estate.  After my best friend died in a car accident, I tried to self-medicate with cocaine.  Big mistake. Instead of following my dreams of standing up to bullies and tyrants of every stripe, I utilized me skills to become a prolific jewel and art thief, as well as cocaine and illegal firearms trafficker.
 
After incarcerations and a spiritual awakening, I set out to make appropriate amends for my past. During that journey, I’ve saved lives, helped in getting numerous illegal firearms off the streets and helped, in two separate cases, to get individuals released that have been falsely charged with murders they did not commit.  One was a teenager being framed for a murder his friend committed.  The other was a mentally challenged African-American teenager who had falsely confessed to a murder he did not commit after corrupt, racist homicide detectives beat and abused him during interrogation.
 
All these matters and more will be released in a separate book about my life in 2019.  
 
For now, let’s focus not on the saga of my life but, on the victims of Robert Durst.  I believe if he beats another murder charge and goes free, he WILL kill again.  It’s what he does.
 
Thank you for your interest in my book and for your questions.

You can get your own copy of Sex and the Serial Killer: My Bizarre Times with Robert Durst at the link below:

www.amazon.com/Sex-Serial-Killer-Bizarre-Robert/dp/1727241096

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