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June 12, 2009

Fake Rockefeller found guilty

Posted: 11:55 AM ET

NEW YORK - On the fifth day of deliberations, a Boston jury has rejected an insanity defense and found the man who called himself Clark Rockefeller guilty of kidapping his daughter and assault and battery with a deadly weapon.

Christian Gerhartsreiter reacts as guilty verdict is read

The defendant, whose real name is Christian Karl Gerhartsreiter, was later sentenced by Judge Frank Gaziano to range of four to five years for the Kidnapping and two to three years for the Assault and Battery with a Deadly Weapon. The sentences are to run concurrently.

Gerhartsreiter was found not guilty on two of the lesser charges, furnishing a false name or social security number to law enforcement and assault and battery.

A jury foreperson explained the process, issuing the following statement: "This was a complicated case and not as clear cut as it might seem to those who have followed it only in the media. We were very thorough in our deliberations. We methodically examined every piece of evidence. We considered every element of every charge and every defense."

After a divorce settlement with his wife of 12 years, Gerhartsreiter snatched his 7-year-old daughter, nicknamed "Snooks", off the streets of Boston during a supervised visit on July 27, 2008. Gerhartsreiter, who hired a driver, placed his girl in the SUV and sped away, dragging the social worker who attempted to thwart the kidnapping. That specific act brought the assault with a deadly weapon count. A week later, he was arrested in Baltimore and "Snooks" was returned safely to her mother.

Stay tuned to In Session for full coverage throughout the day. 

-Bob Regan, In Session senior executive producer

Filed under: Uncategorized


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Doreen   June 12th, 2009 12:31 pm ET

Gerhartsreiter is crazy....like a fox! From what I've seen of him, he is a conman through and through. He's known exactly what he's been doing for years and years. You break the law, you do the time. Now the law needs to find out what happened to that couple he knew back in his college days. Justice prevails!

terri   June 12th, 2009 12:40 pm ET

The party is over for Crockefeller. I have some questions about this schmuck. 1) Was he legally divorced from his first wife? 2) Whether or not, can Ms. Boss sue him and regain anything she gave up in their divorce settlement? 3) If such a suit could be filed, could she prevent him from profiting on any possible book/movie deal? 4) Will CA pursue homicide charges against him? and last but not least, after he serves his sentence for whatever convictions "stick" to him, can he be legally deported immediately or would deportation require a legal proceeding that could be postponed again and again?

Marie   June 12th, 2009 1:59 pm ET

I was wonderig too why he is not deported. I heard talk about counceling and supervised visit with the daughter but that sounds crazy. Looks like after serving his sentence he should be on the first plane to Germany.

M.Getreide   June 12th, 2009 3:16 pm ET

As "Mr. Rockefeller" will be back in the headlines, maybe it's not too late to clear up his name for journalists:

Gerhartsreiter = Gerharts/reiter ("Gerhard's Rider")

This is a compound word, not "Gerhart sreiter"
(nice try adding a sh sound; but that's only with sp or st, never with sr). sreiter is not a word.

Correct pronunciation sounds exactly like it wants to sound in English: Whose rider? Gerharts reiter

The fella knew one thing for sure, he had to get rid of his cumbersome German name!

Reminds me, on the other hand, of an excellent German reporter who wanted to tell us about a "propper" ( "proffer") in the O.J. case.

Don't feel sorry for this guy –he's a longtime fraud, if not worse; maybe California will put him away for a little longer (by which time you probably won't remember my German lesson!)

Paula   June 12th, 2009 3:26 pm ET

Let me say that this guy they call Rockefeller is real sick. And he should of been found guilty of given all the fake names too. He should of gotten more time in jail. Well that's the end of Rocketfeller.
Paula from Brooklyn

adelaide duncan   June 12th, 2009 3:32 pm ET

I think the fake rockefeller got off easy with his sentence by the judge.
also, he is an illegal immergrant and should be sent back to his country of origin. Or at least pick up by imigration. had he been an
illegat mexican he most likely have been jailed right away for this crime.

Gunnar   June 12th, 2009 5:11 pm ET

RE: FAKE ROCKEFELLER: What happened to his first wife which he only met twice to get his green card? Is she a victim too? Or did she conveniently "disappear"?
If he killed the couple in in Los Angeles in the eigthties and then got caught selling their car, chances are that he wanted to kill his first wife as well to collect any monies or insurance?

Jo Ann   June 15th, 2009 9:18 am ET

you can not trust a drug person I am talking from experience they are con man and woman and know exactly what they are doing they are slick and smart and if they want the drugs bad enought they contemplate how to go about getting it, they lie-steal- and kill.

Carolyn   June 17th, 2009 2:37 pm ET

I have a hard time believing he is insane. He sat perfectly still in court, no raving, tossing things about, but his eyes were shifting right and left as witness after witness took the stand. He appears to be highly intelligent, he needed to be in order to fool as many people as he did. He was methodical, took great care in planning his actions, and got exactly what he deserved. My pity goes to his family, ex-wife & daughter, they will never be the same. Bodies heal from physical abuse, but I don't think the mind ever does completely. Trust is gone, the ability to judge peoples actions are questionable, and we begin to look at others as the enemy. The CA courts have time to make their case, hopefully they will do it right the first time. He will be deported, that is a sure thing, unless he is convicted of murder. I don't think he will walk, as a free man, on American soil ever again. "You commit the crime, you do the time."

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