Accused of killing a 71-year-old neighbor in an unglamorous apartment complex two years ago -- quarters he rented disguised as a woman -- Mr. Durst fled after his arrest only to be apprehended in a delicatessen while stealing a chicken sandwich.

... What is worth noting about the media coverage of Mr. Durst's spectacular tribulations is how little has been made of the effects his actions might have had on his powerful relatives and their business dealings. The notion of family dishonor is absent in part, one must assume, because the notion of family honor itself has become outdated.

Geoffrey Wolff, author of biographies on two fabled black sheep, noted that now the phrase "Oh, my God, the shame you have brought on your family!" goes virtually unheard.