Berserk Conman Clark Rockefeller Found Guilty of 1985 Murder and an Outrageous Life
Christian Karl Gerhartsreiter, a 52-year-old German conman, best known for his infamous posing as Clark Rockefeller, was found guilty of murdering a California man 28 years ago. Gerhartsreiter has lived for many years using the name Rockefeller and claimed to be an heir to their fortune.
The jury found Gerhartsreiter guilty of murdering the 27-year-old son of his former landlady in 1985, and burying his victim in the backyard of the victim's mother's house in San Marino, California. Gerhartsreiter's defense says that while Gerhartsreiter is a certifiable liar, he is not a murderer. The defense also suggested that it was possible that the victim's wife, who then disappeared without a trace, murdered her husband.
Over the past decade, Gerhartsreiter has gone by several different aliases in addition to Rockefeller and has led a fantastically insane life. After moving to the States at the age of 17 in 1978, he worked as a Wall Street venture capitalist, a Hollywood producer, and a cardiologist.
He now faces 26 years to life in prison. He was previously serving a five-year sentence in Massachusetts after being convicted in 2009 for kidnapping his 7-year-old daughter, before he was extradited to California for the Sohus murder trial.