this is night line. tonight, multi-millionaire robert durst could be facing the death penalty, so why is he smiling? tonight we're going inside the mind of a criminal find out how the subject of "the jinx" could be the author of his own undoing. unarmed eric garner surrounded by officers choking to death. now our david muir is getting an exclusive look at what's really going on inside the police academy. and this is your brain on barbecue. at south by southwest, the best and brightest are gathering for mind blowing and gut busting experiences. so what happens when the tech

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evening. thank you for joining us. tonight multi-millionaire robert durst is behind bars. the change in circumstance hasn't wiped the grin off his

face. the real estate heir has captivated the country. even after being charged with murder, his behavior continues to amaze. here's matt gutman. >> reporter: today robert durst slumped in a patrol car and smiling. the prime suspect in a murder mystery, playing out in real life. >> it's based on ratings. >> reporter: authorities looking for clues, searching durst's condo after he was arrested in this hotel in new orleans saturday night. many believe an hbo documentary was his undoing. >> after a while you start thinking you got away with it. you'll never be caught. that's why he sat down and spock on camera. >> reporter: and tonight questions about his sanity as he was moved just hours ago to a mental health facility here in louisiana. >> that cruiser right there.

>> reporter: like what could he have been thinking when he agreed to interview in the six-part hbo documentary called "the jinx." was it an insatiable need for attention or was he looking to be caught? a suspect not once but in three separate deaths. >> nobody tells the whole truth. of. >> reporter: the documentary may now be crucial evidence in the case of the murder of susan berman who was shot dead in her los angeles home in 2000. >> i can't discuss the specifics of the case. obviously this is a case that is going to be tried in the courts and not in the media. i know there's intense interest. obviously the documentary helped to fuel that. >> reporter: sunday night's final ep soid of "the jinx" revealed a bombshell piece of potential evidence. >> i want to ask you about the cadaver note. >> reporter: he was faced with handwriting analysis that may tie him to berman's murder.

>> can you tell me which one you didn't write? >> no. >> reporter: but perhaps more disturbing -- >> i want to go use the restroom. >> reporter: the shocking words he muttered into his microphone still recording in the bathroom what some might consider a confession. >> what the hell did i do? killed them all, of course. >> reporter: it is a mind-blowing turn in the increasingly strange story of robert durst. the wealthy heir and subject of public fascination since 1982 when his first wife kathleen mysteriously vanished. >> kathy told anyone who would listen, all her friends, if anything ever happens to me look to bob. don't let him get away with it. >> reporter: she was a long-time friend of kathy durst. >> the moment she disappeared i knew bob had done away with her.

i was hoping against hope that maybe he had just beaten her up and we'd find her some way. but i knew she was dead. >> did you have anything to do with the death of your wife? >> i don't know that she's dead. >> do you think it's possible that she's alive now? >> it's possible. not likely. >> reporter: the case went cold until 2000 with new york prosecutors renewed their focus on durst in connection with his wife's disappearance. >> i began the investigation and started looking to all the people who knew robert durst at the time in 1982 when she went missing. >> reporter: susan berman had been working as durst's personal spokesperson. then one night she was found murdered in her home. authorities say she was scheduled to meet with him to talk about the kathleen durst case. >> durst was sending berman money, $50,000 why was he sending her that much money at the time we're looking to talk to her. could it be to shut her up?

could it be to convince her not to say the truth? >> i feel terrible for susan. i was astonished that they were putting all this together that i did it or i caused it to be done. >> reporter: once again, durst evaded formal charges. in an attempt to escape the attention, he fled to texas, disguising himself as a mute woman. and in texas, durst's neighbor found chopped up into small pieces in galveston bay. at his murder trial, he admitted to killing morris black and dismembering the body but claimed it was in self-defense. >> we the jury find the defendant not guilty. >> reporter: he was acquitted of murder. >> somehow they bamboozled the jury into believing that durst and black got into a scuffle and that durst fired in self-defense. and then out of fear of

prosecution dismembered the body. >> it seems like a lot of people around robert durst have died violent deaths. >> reporter: durst avoided the public eye until 2010. he then contacted andrew jarecki with an irresisbling offer to tell his side of the story despite his lawyer's advice. >> an interview is a big risk for you. why do you want to do an interview? >> reporter: why would he take such a big risk? >> robert durst sat down with hbo because he loves the adulation. he loved the cat and mouse aspect of talking about all of these people in his life that are either dead or missing. that's why he did it. >> reporter: the only thing i can think of as to why he would do this would be that he loves the game. he loves the idea of walking right up to that line and seeing how far he can go. he just never imagined there'd be a new piece of evidence.

for him to have to address. >> reporter: while investigators search his apartment overnight, the new orleans sheriff's department requested transfer for reasons of insanity and it was approved by the louisiana state court of appeals. indeed, his behavior in court these past days seems erratic. before his hearing he was held here. when his name was called he went out here shackled in an orange jumpsuit, came to this spot and looked at the judge. the judge asked him questions. he answered yes or yes your honor. >> he will not plead insanity because that would mean he was insane at the time of the crime, in 2000. and likely at all times since then. he's not going to argue that. is it possible that he becomes so incapacitated, temporarily, now, such that they have to postpone the trial? i guess that's possible. but do not expect a mental

defect defense here. >> reporter: tonight with robert durst housed in a mental health facility, the case growing ever more complicated. >> i would like to see bob put away, either in prison or in a mental institution. he belongs in one or the other for the rest of his life so he can't harm anyone else. he may look like a frail fellow but it doesn't take that much strength to pull a trigger. >> reporter: for "nightline," i'm matt gutman in new orleans. next our david muir is inside the nypd talking chokeholds and body cams to find out what's changed since garn ir chokeer choked to death. and later, we're heading to south by southwest for barbecue it may be so mind-blowing. talk about a taste test. cold medicines open your nose over time, but add a breathe right strip and pow, it opens your

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ment caught on camera that helped reignite america's long and bitter debate over race and justice. unarmed eric garner sur onlied by police, choking to death on a

new york city side walk. the glare of the national spotlight folks on such fracases. every member of the nypd is being retrained. >> reporter: tonight at this very moment, there is training under way in a remote building right here in queens new york. no one has been allowed in overnight. no one has been allowed in to seat training. this is the police academy for the nypd where they are retraining every officer on the force. 35,000 of them when they're done. for folks at home this is about 9:00 now. >> correct. >> reporter: we're taken inside this gym where we see officers trained on the new take down thet methods. all of the moves avoiding the chokehold. you're training all of these officers to stay away from the neck. >> yes. >> reporter: and how important is that? >> extremely important. >> reporter: important because the nation saw that video.

the case of eric garner on staten island. he could be heard "i can't breathe." >> i can't breathe. >> reporter: the police officer was not indicted. eight months after that incident we see the new recruits lining the hallways inside. the sun went down hours ago. but the training we're about to witness is for the veterans on the force. when folks at home say i see them still using the chokehold, what do you say? >> don't use it. >> reporter: they're taught to go for the arm barhamer lock to protect themselves and the suspects. the chokehold was banned more than 20 years ago, but many agencies are still using it in this country. >> we want to promote what? breathing. we don't want them to go into asphyxia. >> reporter: what does that mean? >> any sort of compression on the chest.

>> reporter: the officers are trained through the night in three shifts. we are with the west harlem precinct. this mother, 14 years on the force, raising two boys at home. do they worry about you? >> they do. but they understand their mom has a job to do. >> reporter: do they listen to you? >> yes, they >> reporter: and listen to that officer and other officers in a very candid moment revealing the last time they had this kind of training. when's the last time you practiced techniques like this? >> seven years. >> three and a half. >> 12. >> 14 and a half. it should be more. it should be like twice out of the year. >> everybody here is a volunteer. nobody is going to volunteer in the street. >> reporter: how often are you taught go nowhere near the neck? >> you never know when you're going to be under stress. >> somebody who doesn't want to be arrested it never looks

pretty. >> reporter: this was in the works, but there's no question that the garner case accelerated it. >> certainly in the aftermath of garner the training objectives was accelerated. >> reporter: they are adamant that bill bratten had ordered retraining months before the garner case. >> officers at the police academy never get any physical training, tactical training after that first academy. >> reporter: after they walk out of the academy. >> first six months, that's it. >> reporter: they also have body cams. this view shows what it captures when an over walked up to a car window. body cams have already been deployed in los angeles. and body cams were being days ago during this case. a suspect shot on the street. [ gunfire ] >> reporter: what we see is the view captured by bystanders. >> there's going to be someone

in that neighborhood who's got their phone up and rolling. >> more than one, more than one. cameras are here to stay. >> reporter: they've already retrained the officers here at the six land -- brooklyn. you say the 6-7 a city and what do they say? >> they say wow. it's a special place. >> reporter: roll call and we listen in. >> youth robberies going on. have a very safe tour. see you guys out there. >> reporter: we ride along with two officers first they try to get rid of drug dealers and thieves. and they've had problems here with people trying to sell drugs? >> yeah. >> reporter: they know the trouble spots. >> you know this intersection. >> reporter: at his post this officer acknowledged that the retraining changed the way he approaches people. >> how are you going to go about

it, how you perceive things. >> reporter: for you it was a bit of a reset? >> yeah. >> reporter: how difficult is it to change perceptions of the police? >> i don't even know if you really can change it as a whole. you can just change it one person that i encounter with. >> reporter: the optician who fixed their glasses after answering calls. >> you've helped them out with both of their glass? >> yes. >> reporter: we go back in after the police this time without anybody with the nypd. and we learn that even carl who has helped the police wants tactics changed after garner. >> more training the chokehold the most dangerous. >> reporter: and back at the academy, we were there, midnight as another group walks into room 405. >> today's your first day. >> reporter: first day students many of them veterans who have been on the streets for many years. >> re-earning the public's

respect. >> reporter: how important is that? >> i think right now it's the number one issue. the nypd did not let our news team go with them on any of their calls. it will be up to the office and the veteran officers to decide if the retraining worked. are they doing enough? head to our "nightline" facebook page and join the debate. next big ideas at south by southwest meet big flavor. abc news "nightline," brought to you by mercedes benz. the quietest or nothing. the sleekest... ...sexiest ...baddest ...safest, ...tightest, ...quickest, ...harshest... ...or nothing. at mercedes-benz we do things one way or we don't do them at all. the 2015 c-class. see your authorized mercedes-benz dealer for exceptional offers through mercedes-benz financial services.

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you'll be hungry after this one. we're going on a culinary journey to south by southwest in

texas to find out what happens when you mix the biggest flavor with the brightest minds. here's abc's rebecca jarvis. >> reporter: when it comes to barbecue, you don't mess with texas. austin is known for serving up some of the best. pit masters kicking up the spices to compliment one of america's favorite food groups. barbecue sauce alone a $400 million industry alone. thousands flock to find the next big thing in technology. so why not combine the two. >> brain on barbecue. >> reporter: welcome to the lab that will map your brain waves while you dine. >> using an hd headset to figure out what's happening to your brain when you eat barbecue. >> reporter: this device meant to pick up how much flavor i can

detect in each dish. now it's time to dig in. >> a ton of these little squiggles. it's really high right now. >> reporter: i'm picking up on even more in the second course. time for some coleslaw. and when i bite into the barbecue. look at how high it is. >> yeah yours is pre >> reporter: g.e. is hoping to use the data to see if science can find that perfect barbecue recipe. and i'm more than willing to help along their research. for "nightline," i'm rebecca jarvis in austin. it was john shelton reaves who said southern barbecue is the closest thing we have in the u.s. to europe's wine or cheeses. drive 100 miles and the q changes. tweet me what's your favorite. plenty of coleslaw please kind

of fell low. as always, we're on line at abc news.com. good night, america. are you goingto eat all of that? i asked you if you wanted one. all right, fine. i was just thinking that right now i could go for some orange or somome sex. thank you.

[ coughing ] [ turns up volume ] you all right? what's the matter? wait a minute. wrong pipe or something? there you go.