Judge refused to release infamous HBO star Robert Durst

A magistrate in New Orleans refused to release wealthy eccentric Robert Durst on Monday, more than a week after his arrest in connection with a Los Angeles murder dating back to 2000.

Durst, 71, was arrested March 14 in at a New Orleans hotel and days later charged with the murder of friend and confidant Susan Berman. He also was charged with weapons and drug charges related to the arrest.

On March 15, HBO aired the climactic final episode of The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst featuring his now infamous bathroom mutterings "There it is. You're caught! What the hell did I do? Killed them all, of course."

Magistrate Harry Cantrell set a preliminary hearing in the New Orleans case for April 2. Durst's lawyers claim Durst was illegally arrested and was timed to coincide with the documentary.

The Los Angeles Police Department has said the documentary had nothing to do with the arrest, citing undisclosed "additional evidence that has come to light in the past year."

Durst's lawyers have brushed aside the documentary. "Bob Durst didn't kill Susan Berman," lawyer Dick DeGuerin last week, adding that he was frustrated that the local charges could delay efforts to deal with the Los Angeles murder charge.

Durst is being investigated in two other murders, including his wife's disappearance in 1982. He also successfully pleaded self defense in a Texas murder trial more than a decade ago.

Kathleen Durst disappeared in 1982 while the couple was living in Westchester County, north of New York City. Berman, who met Durst in college, had been an unofficial spokeswoman for him during the resulting media frenzy.

Almost two decades later, New York State Police and the Westchester District Attorney's Office were taking a fresh look at the case and determined that Berman might have information. But before they could speak to her, Berman's body was found.

Also last week, police in Eureka, Calif., said they would like to know what Durst might know about the 1997 disappearance of teen Karen Mitchell, according to the Los Angeles Times. Mitchell, 16, was last seen walking down a street; Durst was known to frequent a store owned by Mitchell's legal guardian and aunt, and was a prime suspect in the disappearance, according to The Charley Project, a website that profiles people missing in cold cases.