'Rockefeller' Trail Leads to Germany

Gerhartsreiter will faces charges he murdered his landlord in 1985

(NEWSER) - Christian Gerhartsreiter, the German immigrant whose many fake identities included blueblood heir Clark Rockefeller, has a new role this week: murder defendant. The 50-year-old has been taken from the Massachusetts prison where he was serving time for kidnapping his daughter and moved to California for trial on charges that he murdered his landlord in 1985 , reports the Boston Herald . More»

Calif. authorities seeking to extradite con man Christian Gerhartsreiter

(NEWSER) - A German immigrant who conned his way into American high society by pretending to be a member of the Rockefeller clan has been charged with the murder of a California man. Christian Gerhartsreiter—currently serving time in Massachusetts for kidnapping his daughter and assaulting a social worker—was renting a room in a Los Angeles suburb from John and Linda Sohus when they disappeared in 1985. He became a person of interest to the investigation after his kidnapping arrest in 2008, ABC News reports. More»

(NEWSER) - Lawyers for Christian Karl Gerhartsreiter—aka Clark Rockefeller—want his conviction overturned because the jury was unfairly prejudiced against their client, the Boston Globe reports. Rockefeller was found guilty of kidnapping his daughter. The lawyers say the prosecution “eviscerated” their insanity defense during closing arguments by calling an unqualified expert witness. More»

Sandra Boss 'thought we had a lot in common'

(NEWSER) - The ex-wife of Christian Karl Gerhartsreiter—aka “Clark Rockefeller”—testified today that the accused con artist was “charming” and “very intelligent” when they first met, but quickly became domineering and unpredictable, the Boston Herald reports. In her first public remarks since Gerhartsreiter allegedly kidnapped their daughter, Sandra Boss said she believed her husband’s made-up back-story and described how they met at a theme party. More»

Regret at losing his 'one true thing' led to kidnapping

(NEWSER) - How did a German student reinvent himself as the creepy Clark Rockefeller? After lifting the drawl and manner of the millionaire on Gilligan’s Island, accused kidnapper Christian Gerhartsreiter embarked on a 30-year con, Mark Seal recounts in Vanity Fair. He became a suspect in a double murder, charmed his way into Wall Street jobs, and hoodwinked Boston society—before his daughter came along. More»