Rockefeller imposter to stand trial for murder
Source: Agencies |
March 19, 2013, Tuesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
AFTER 27 years, the murder trial of a German man who posed as a member of the fabled Rockefeller family is getting under way with opening statements to the jury.
Seven women and five men were selected as the jury to begin hearing the case yesterday of Christian Karl Gerhartsreiter. He was known for 20 years as Clark Rockefeller.
He says he is not guilty of the cold case killing of John Sohus.
Sohus disappeared with his wife, Linda, in 1985 while Gerhartsreiter was a tenant at the home of Sohus' mother.
The prosecution's case is circumstantial, based on a bag of bones found buried at the property and fuzzy memories of San Marino residents who knew the defendant.
The defense says there was no motive for the defendant to kill anyone.
Linda Sohus vanished without a trace.
Already serving time for the kidnapping of his young daughter in a Boston custody dispute, Gerhartsreiter was close to the end of his sentence and headed for freedom when the murder charge changed that.
After a quarter century, authorities believed they had linked him to the disappearance of his old neighbor John Sohus, a 27-year-old computer programmer.
His trial will write the most important chapter in his colorful story, determining if he walks free or spends his life in prison.
"He is upbeat and he's looking for closure," defense attorney Jeffrey Denner. "He's been in limbo with this case for so long. Of course he'd like it to be resolved in his favor."
Seven women and five men were selected as the jury to begin hearing the case yesterday of Christian Karl Gerhartsreiter. He was known for 20 years as Clark Rockefeller.
He says he is not guilty of the cold case killing of John Sohus.
Sohus disappeared with his wife, Linda, in 1985 while Gerhartsreiter was a tenant at the home of Sohus' mother.
The prosecution's case is circumstantial, based on a bag of bones found buried at the property and fuzzy memories of San Marino residents who knew the defendant.
The defense says there was no motive for the defendant to kill anyone.
Linda Sohus vanished without a trace.
Already serving time for the kidnapping of his young daughter in a Boston custody dispute, Gerhartsreiter was close to the end of his sentence and headed for freedom when the murder charge changed that.
After a quarter century, authorities believed they had linked him to the disappearance of his old neighbor John Sohus, a 27-year-old computer programmer.
His trial will write the most important chapter in his colorful story, determining if he walks free or spends his life in prison.
"He is upbeat and he's looking for closure," defense attorney Jeffrey Denner. "He's been in limbo with this case for so long. Of course he'd like it to be resolved in his favor."
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