GALVESTON, Texas (AP) - A request by defense lawyers to have a district attorney testify in the murder trial of cross-dressing New York real estate heir Robert Durst was turned down Monday by the judge presiding over the case.

Lead defense lawyer Dick DeGuerin wanted Westchester County District Attorney Jeanine Pirro to testify about whether her office in New York was the source that leaked recordings of telephone calls Durst made from a jail in Pennsylvania, where he was arrested for shoplifting after fleeing Galveston following his arrest on a murder charge in the death of his neighbor.

During a court hearing Monday before testimony resumed, DeGuerin accused Pirro of leaking the recordings to a New York tabloid in her zeal to connect Durst with the unsolved disappearance of his former wife, Kathleen, in 1982.

According to the tabloid, the 36 hours of recordings detailed calls Durst made to his wife and attorneys about why he started shoplifting and concerns about losing control of his portion of his family's fortune if he pleaded insanity to the shooting death of 71-year-old Morris Black.

Durst has pleaded innocent by reason of self-defense and accident.

The eccentric millionaire's attorneys argued reports about what's on the tapes, which have not been admitted into evidence, would prejudice the jury in the murder trial.

DeGuerin also wanted state District Judge Susan Criss to order Pirro to also become subject to a gag order in the case that would prevent her from "running her mouth off" about Katherine Durst's disappearance.

Criss declined to take action and said transcripts of the recordings would become part of the public record if they are introduced at the trial.

Black, described by acquaintances as a volatile loner and drifter, lived across the hall from Durst, who had rented his apartment under the guise of a mute woman named Dorothy Ciner.

On Monday, the real Ciner testified, saying she and Durst were childhood friends who went out on a few dates.

Durst, whose family owns The Durst Organization, a privately held billion-dollar New York company, faces from five to 99 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000 if convicted.

The murder trial, which began last week, could last through October.

Prosecutors contend Durst in late September 2001 intentionally killed Black and then calmly tried to cover up the crime by cutting up the body and then dumping the parts in Galveston Bay, where they were discovered by a fisherman. His head has never been found.

However, defense attorneys claim Black was accidentally shot after he and Durst struggled over a gun.