A German national and con man who posed as a member of the wealthy Rockefeller family faces 27-years-to-life in prison when he is set to be sentenced on Thursday in connection with the 1985 murder of a man in San Marino.
Christian K. Gerhartsreiter, 52, who blended into wealthy East Coast circles by posing as a member of the famous Rockefeller family was convicted in April of first-degree murder in the killing of John Sohus, in whose guesthouse Gerhartsreiter lived for a time under an assumed name. Sohus' wife, Linda, was never found.
Sohus’ remains were unearthed in his family's San Marino backyard a decade after he disappeared. He died from a blow to the head.
Gerhartsreiter, a German national, was a con man who crisscrossed the country under assumed identities, including as Clark Rockefeller, a descendent of the billionaire founder of the Standard Oil Company.
Gerhartsreiter was charged in the murder in 2011 while he was serving a prison sentence in Massachusetts for kidnapping his daughter.
Gerhartsreiter fired his lawyers and failed to file required paperwork asking for a new trial.
He told the Pasadena Star-News that he will seek to submit a motion of many thousands of words and wants to read it in open court.
It was uncertain if sentencing would proceed.
The judge in his case said he wants to go forward, but would also consider any new evidence.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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