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In the criminal
justice system,
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00:00:02,785 --> 00:00:05,309
detectives and prosecutors
face daunting challenges
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00:00:05,309 --> 00:00:07,790
when money
is the motive for murder.
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00:00:09,531 --> 00:00:13,665
A call come in as
the possibly missing couple.
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00:00:13,665 --> 00:00:16,929
He said that they had gone to
New York on a secret mission.
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00:00:16,929 --> 00:00:18,627
They just vanished.
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00:00:18,627 --> 00:00:20,933
Years after a young couple
goes missing,
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00:00:20,933 --> 00:00:24,633
new evidence reignites
a bizarre and twisted case.
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They found the remains
of a human.
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Could the discovery
of a body
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00:00:29,594 --> 00:00:32,293
be the key to unlocking
both a cold-case murder
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00:00:32,293 --> 00:00:34,295
and a con man's true identity?
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He kept changing his name,
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so we were one step behind him
the whole way.
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00:00:38,821 --> 00:00:41,867
And it becomes national news
because of the last name--
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00:00:41,867 --> 00:00:43,260
Clark Rockefeller.
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Suddenly, it's everywhere.
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This was
a master manipulator.
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This is someone who had to run.
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These men and women dedicate
their lives to law and order.
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There's a lot
of unanswered questions yet.
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00:00:56,491 --> 00:00:59,842
These are
their true stories.
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00:01:04,151 --> 00:01:06,066
Of all the cases
that I've worked on,
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00:01:06,066 --> 00:01:09,112
the Sohus case really stands
out because of the mystery.
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00:01:09,112 --> 00:01:13,160
There's this
Agatha Christie-esque tale.
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00:01:13,160 --> 00:01:15,162
There's a great
con artist involved.
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There's wealthy people.
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There's a community
that's seeing something
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it's never seen before...
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A community that enabled it.
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April '85, I was a patrol
officer in San Marino.
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And I was inside
the police department,
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00:01:46,454 --> 00:01:50,240
and a call come in
as a possibly missing person
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00:01:50,240 --> 00:01:53,200
or missing couple--
John and Linda Sohus,
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00:01:53,200 --> 00:01:55,550
down on Lorain Road.
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They'd been missing
for a couple of months.
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They just vanished.
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I did some more digging,
and I did
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00:02:02,948 --> 00:02:05,560
personal interviews
with some of the people
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00:02:05,560 --> 00:02:08,911
that knew
John and Linda Sohus.
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00:02:08,911 --> 00:02:13,176
In July of 1982,
Linda met John Sohus.
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Linda was a smart individual.
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She was really interested
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00:02:17,746 --> 00:02:20,575
in the art world
and science fantasy.
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00:02:20,575 --> 00:02:24,231
John was
a Dungeons Dragons freak.
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00:02:24,231 --> 00:02:26,102
They started going
to games together,
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and she may not have played,
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but she was there hanging out
with him.
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And then out of the blue,
they were engaged.
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It was an odd match.
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00:02:35,764 --> 00:02:39,202
But in my opinion,
there is a lid for every pot.
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I believe she was happy,
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00:02:42,031 --> 00:02:45,513
but Linda and I did not have
the kind of relationship
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00:02:45,513 --> 00:02:48,168
where we would call each other
and say, how you doing?
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We did not have that.
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This book is the chronology
of everything
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00:02:53,390 --> 00:02:57,525
about John and Linda that
I've kept through the years.
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00:02:57,525 --> 00:03:01,442
On Halloween 1983,
they got married.
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00:03:01,442 --> 00:03:04,575
There they are
on their wedding day.
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00:03:04,575 --> 00:03:06,795
As the newlyweds
got on their feet,
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00:03:06,795 --> 00:03:10,668
they moved in with John's
adoptive mother, Didi.
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00:03:10,668 --> 00:03:14,324
John's mom, his adopted mom,
Didi Sohus,
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00:03:14,324 --> 00:03:17,153
was a socialite
in the '40s and '50s.
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Really high
on the echelon there.
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00:03:19,982 --> 00:03:22,027
It was an awesome house.
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00:03:22,027 --> 00:03:24,639
Some of the homes
that these people live in
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00:03:24,639 --> 00:03:27,294
are some of the largest
mansions on the West Coast,
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00:03:27,294 --> 00:03:29,644
if not even
in the United States.
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00:03:29,644 --> 00:03:31,733
When they moved in with Didi,
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00:03:31,733 --> 00:03:35,345
they're living in basically
a guest bedroom in the house.
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But this house
has a granny flat,
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but they can't move in there
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because there's a renter there
named Christopher Chichester,
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00:03:44,180 --> 00:03:47,531
who's kind of persuaded
their mom
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00:03:47,531 --> 00:03:49,533
that he's going
to pay the rent
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and help her keep
her home together.
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00:03:52,971 --> 00:03:55,887
Linda wanted to be
with her husband alone.
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The income wasn't there
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for them to be able
to make that move.
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Then this dream job
sort of falls out of the sky.
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00:04:04,287 --> 00:04:07,682
The last time I saw John and
Linda was when they came over
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00:04:07,682 --> 00:04:11,642
to my house in Orange County
in their new car...
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00:04:11,642 --> 00:04:14,645
a white Nissan truck.
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00:04:14,645 --> 00:04:18,301
And she says,
I have to go to New York.
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00:04:18,301 --> 00:04:20,521
John had an opportunity
to interview
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for a high-level,
high-security government job,
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00:04:24,438 --> 00:04:26,309
and she was going with him.
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00:04:29,007 --> 00:04:30,400
Okay, it's a little odd,
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00:04:30,400 --> 00:04:32,228
but you guys have always had
an odd life.
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00:04:32,228 --> 00:04:33,751
Why not?
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00:04:33,751 --> 00:04:36,406
It seemed like it was
going to be a good thing.
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00:04:36,406 --> 00:04:39,366
They would be back
in a week or so.
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00:04:39,366 --> 00:04:40,889
Okay, great.
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March 1985,
I call Linda and John
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at home in San Marino.
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00:04:51,334 --> 00:04:54,163
His mom, Didi, informs me
that they have gone away,
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00:04:54,163 --> 00:04:57,862
and she doesn't know
if they will ever come back.
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00:04:57,862 --> 00:05:01,344
Sue and I had a conversation
on the phone.
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00:05:01,344 --> 00:05:04,347
You know, we shared
what we each knew.
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00:05:04,347 --> 00:05:07,350
We thought if we put
our heads together,
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00:05:07,350 --> 00:05:10,222
we could figure it out.
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00:05:10,222 --> 00:05:14,009
It's hard to imagine, you know,
two adults just going missing.
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00:05:15,880 --> 00:05:20,102
I wanted to chat with Didi,
John Sohus's mother.
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00:05:22,191 --> 00:05:25,673
She said they were gone
on a secret mission.
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00:05:25,673 --> 00:05:27,762
I thought that was
kind of unusual,
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00:05:27,762 --> 00:05:30,895
so I went ahead
and wrote that in my notes.
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00:05:30,895 --> 00:05:33,768
I spoke
with Didi several times.
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00:05:33,768 --> 00:05:37,206
The conversations
were unreasonable,
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because she was a drinker.
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I said, can you give me
contact information?
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She said,
I cannot contact them.
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00:05:44,779 --> 00:05:48,217
This third party
is the only one
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who contacts me.
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00:05:49,958 --> 00:05:51,612
It seems as though
the third party
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was Christopher Chichester,
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00:05:54,441 --> 00:05:57,400
who was living
in the guesthouse.
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He was half-British,
half-American royalty,
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00:06:00,185 --> 00:06:02,927
somewhere between a baron
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00:06:02,927 --> 00:06:05,408
and an earl.
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00:06:05,408 --> 00:06:08,150
He was the 13th Baronet
of Chichester.
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00:06:08,150 --> 00:06:09,630
Chichester,
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00:06:09,630 --> 00:06:11,893
because of his social status
in the community,
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00:06:11,893 --> 00:06:14,983
had grown to be a trusted
confidant of John and Linda.
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00:06:14,983 --> 00:06:17,507
Officer Yankovich made
his way to the guesthouse
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00:06:17,507 --> 00:06:19,335
to follow up on this lead.
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I knocked on the door,
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00:06:21,598 --> 00:06:25,167
and this little short guy
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00:06:25,167 --> 00:06:26,951
answered the door,
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00:06:26,951 --> 00:06:29,563
and he was nude.
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00:06:29,563 --> 00:06:32,957
And I said, can I come in?
And he said, yeah.
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00:06:32,957 --> 00:06:34,959
And I asked him to
put some clothes on.
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00:06:34,959 --> 00:06:38,180
He said, no.
He says, I'm a nudist.
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00:06:38,180 --> 00:06:41,357
I prefer to stay nude.
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00:06:41,357 --> 00:06:43,359
I've been on calls before
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00:06:43,359 --> 00:06:46,797
where you encounter
both male and female, nude.
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00:06:46,797 --> 00:06:49,713
Some of them would put
a robe on or grab a towel.
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00:06:49,713 --> 00:06:52,020
Some of them
would just stay nude.
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00:06:52,020 --> 00:06:55,153
It's something you have to put
up with in police work.
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00:06:55,153 --> 00:06:58,461
He was pale,
kind of skinny-looking.
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00:06:58,461 --> 00:07:00,202
He was sweaty.
He was dirty.
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00:07:00,202 --> 00:07:01,551
His hair was messed up.
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00:07:01,551 --> 00:07:05,207
Looked like he'd been
out gardening.
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00:07:05,207 --> 00:07:08,036
I asked him where
John and Linda Sohus were.
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00:07:08,036 --> 00:07:10,691
He said that they had gone to
New York on a secret mission.
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00:07:10,691 --> 00:07:12,562
I said, what type
of secret mission?
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00:07:12,562 --> 00:07:15,652
He goes, it's something
involving satellites.
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00:07:15,652 --> 00:07:18,438
But that was, like,
two months ago
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00:07:18,438 --> 00:07:20,657
that they were supposed
to be back.
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00:07:20,657 --> 00:07:22,398
And I asked him
if he had any ID,
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00:07:22,398 --> 00:07:24,139
and he showed me
his driver's license.
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00:07:24,139 --> 00:07:26,576
It said
Christopher Chichester on it,
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00:07:26,576 --> 00:07:29,579
and Christopher Gerhartsreiter.
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00:07:29,579 --> 00:07:31,581
He was going
by a different name.
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00:07:31,581 --> 00:07:34,584
And I didn't notice any accent.
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00:07:34,584 --> 00:07:36,934
Things just didn't make sense.
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00:07:36,934 --> 00:07:40,285
I was with him for probably
a good 15, 20 minutes,
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00:07:40,285 --> 00:07:41,896
then we walked outside.
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00:07:41,896 --> 00:07:44,289
On the way back
out the driveway,
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00:07:44,289 --> 00:07:46,727
I saw a Nissan truck.
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We ran the license plate.
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It come back
to John and Linda Sohus.
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00:07:51,427 --> 00:07:52,994
So I came back to the office
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00:07:52,994 --> 00:07:57,564
to run Christopher Chichester's
driver's license number.
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00:07:57,564 --> 00:07:59,653
While Christopher was,
at the very least,
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00:07:59,653 --> 00:08:02,438
an eccentric character,
a check on both names--
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00:08:02,438 --> 00:08:05,920
Christopher Chichester and
Christopher Gerhartsreiter--
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00:08:05,920 --> 00:08:09,619
showed no criminal history.
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00:08:09,619 --> 00:08:13,014
My mom did receive
a postcard.
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00:08:13,014 --> 00:08:16,234
"Looks like we
made a wrong turn.
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00:08:16,234 --> 00:08:18,149
Linda."
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00:08:18,149 --> 00:08:19,542
Not "Love, Linda."
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00:08:19,542 --> 00:08:23,764
Not "See you soon, Linda."
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00:08:23,764 --> 00:08:27,985
And the handwriting looked
like her handwriting.
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00:08:27,985 --> 00:08:31,902
My mom's reaction
to the postcard was confused.
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00:08:31,902 --> 00:08:35,079
She didn't understand
what was happening
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00:08:35,079 --> 00:08:39,301
and how come Linda wasn't
calling on the phone.
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I do think it was odd,
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00:08:44,959 --> 00:08:48,745
and I have a suspicion that...
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00:08:48,745 --> 00:08:52,009
she was forced to do that.
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00:08:52,009 --> 00:08:56,884
I don't know what he was
telling John and Linda,
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00:08:56,884 --> 00:09:00,452
but whatever it was, apparently
they were falling for it.
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00:09:04,848 --> 00:09:06,546
Didi calls the police
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00:09:06,546 --> 00:09:09,679
and files a missing persons
report of her own,
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00:09:09,679 --> 00:09:13,335
because now Chris,
who lived in back, is gone,
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00:09:13,335 --> 00:09:14,989
and so is John's truck.
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00:09:14,989 --> 00:09:18,166
She's now
sufficiently concerned.
187
00:09:18,166 --> 00:09:21,343
Chris was the connection
that she had to her son,
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00:09:21,343 --> 00:09:23,824
or at least to news
about her son.
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00:09:23,824 --> 00:09:27,175
Now everybody's gone.
190
00:09:27,175 --> 00:09:29,612
Now we have
a missing couple,
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00:09:29,612 --> 00:09:31,527
a missing tenant,
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00:09:31,527 --> 00:09:34,008
and a missing pickup truck
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00:09:34,008 --> 00:09:36,706
that were not
to be found anywhere.
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00:09:36,706 --> 00:09:39,143
Three grueling years pass by
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00:09:39,143 --> 00:09:43,626
with no sign of Linda, John,
or Christopher Chichester.
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00:09:43,626 --> 00:09:46,020
Refusing to let
the case go cold,
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00:09:46,020 --> 00:09:48,762
Officer Yankovich combs
through reports
198
00:09:48,762 --> 00:09:50,938
and uncovers
that John and Linda's truck
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00:09:50,938 --> 00:09:54,028
was recently sold
in Greenwich, Connecticut.
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00:09:54,028 --> 00:09:56,683
That's when
I contacted detectives
201
00:09:56,683 --> 00:09:58,815
from Greenwich, Connecticut.
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00:09:58,815 --> 00:10:01,818
Detective Yankovich, he had
given a couple of addresses--
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00:10:01,818 --> 00:10:03,603
John and Joann Bishop,
204
00:10:03,603 --> 00:10:08,433
who supposedly had purchased
the truck in July of 1988.
205
00:10:08,433 --> 00:10:12,394
So I responded there.
206
00:10:12,394 --> 00:10:13,787
The Bishops didn't know
207
00:10:13,787 --> 00:10:15,876
a Chichester
or a Gerhartsreiter
208
00:10:15,876 --> 00:10:17,834
but said they had bought
the truck
209
00:10:17,834 --> 00:10:19,662
from a hedge-fund manager
at their church
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00:10:19,662 --> 00:10:21,577
named Chris Crowe.
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00:10:21,577 --> 00:10:23,710
Now that I have a name,
Chris Crowe,
212
00:10:23,710 --> 00:10:26,103
I am trying to run him down.
213
00:10:29,759 --> 00:10:31,892
Found out he had
a mailbox address
214
00:10:31,892 --> 00:10:35,112
in Berlin, Connecticut.
215
00:10:35,112 --> 00:10:38,072
So I reached out to
the Berlin Police Department,
216
00:10:38,072 --> 00:10:42,511
and that's when I found out
that Christopher Chichester,
217
00:10:42,511 --> 00:10:44,252
Christian Gerhartsreiter,
218
00:10:44,252 --> 00:10:47,255
and Chris Crowe
were all one person.
219
00:10:50,737 --> 00:10:52,477
Never had a case like this.
220
00:10:52,477 --> 00:10:56,873
Where is this guy?
Where's John and Linda Sohus?
221
00:10:56,873 --> 00:10:59,876
We knew this case wasn't over.
222
00:10:59,876 --> 00:11:03,706
It was just this constant--
where is she?
223
00:11:03,706 --> 00:11:05,490
Where are they?
What happened to them?
224
00:11:05,490 --> 00:11:08,015
Forensic investigators
spent the morning
225
00:11:08,015 --> 00:11:09,799
pulling out every possible
piece of evidence
226
00:11:09,799 --> 00:11:11,409
they could find.
227
00:11:11,409 --> 00:11:13,585
The head had been covered
with two plastic bags
228
00:11:13,585 --> 00:11:15,196
and then buried.
229
00:11:15,196 --> 00:11:16,980
And I'm like,
I can't believe this.
230
00:11:16,980 --> 00:11:19,591
We need to find out
where this guy is.
231
00:11:24,422 --> 00:11:26,207
Three years
after the disappearance
232
00:11:26,207 --> 00:11:27,904
of John and Linda Sohus,
233
00:11:27,904 --> 00:11:29,906
detectives in Connecticut
had uncovered
234
00:11:29,906 --> 00:11:33,344
that the truck owned by the
couple was sold by Chichester
235
00:11:33,344 --> 00:11:35,651
under the alias
of Chris Crowe.
236
00:11:35,651 --> 00:11:38,523
Police quickly traced
Crowe's mailing address
237
00:11:38,523 --> 00:11:39,699
to his residence.
238
00:11:42,092 --> 00:11:44,660
A local homeowner
had a garage apartment
239
00:11:44,660 --> 00:11:46,749
on his property,
240
00:11:46,749 --> 00:11:48,490
and he rented it to Mr. Crowe.
241
00:11:48,490 --> 00:11:51,101
His landlord did mention
that he appeared there
242
00:11:51,101 --> 00:11:53,147
with a white pickup truck.
243
00:11:53,147 --> 00:11:55,497
After speaking
with his landlord,
244
00:11:55,497 --> 00:11:58,805
I learned that Mr. Crowe
had worked for a hedge fund
245
00:11:58,805 --> 00:12:00,458
in downtown Greenwich.
246
00:12:04,985 --> 00:12:06,726
So I drive into the city
247
00:12:06,726 --> 00:12:08,815
to meet up with him
in the office.
248
00:12:08,815 --> 00:12:10,773
I'm going to surprise him
with a surprise visit.
249
00:12:10,773 --> 00:12:12,514
I'm there at 7:00.
250
00:12:12,514 --> 00:12:15,212
Security take me
upstairs to his desk,
251
00:12:15,212 --> 00:12:17,301
and I'm sitting there
waiting and waiting.
252
00:12:17,301 --> 00:12:19,695
Never shows up.
253
00:12:19,695 --> 00:12:22,132
His boss tells me that
he got a call from Chris
254
00:12:22,132 --> 00:12:26,484
saying that his mother and
father had been kidnapped...
255
00:12:26,484 --> 00:12:28,095
in Pakistan
256
00:12:28,095 --> 00:12:30,662
and that he was going
to have to take two months off
257
00:12:30,662 --> 00:12:32,926
to go look for them.
258
00:12:32,926 --> 00:12:34,884
Just a little common sense
would say,
259
00:12:34,884 --> 00:12:37,800
there's something wrong here.
260
00:12:37,800 --> 00:12:39,454
His boss indicated
261
00:12:39,454 --> 00:12:42,544
that because Mr. Crowe
was going to become a broker,
262
00:12:42,544 --> 00:12:45,025
the U.S. Securities
and Exchange
263
00:12:45,025 --> 00:12:47,288
required fingerprints.
264
00:12:47,288 --> 00:12:50,987
And I said, so did you take
his fingerprints?
265
00:12:50,987 --> 00:12:53,294
He said, yes, I did.
266
00:12:54,643 --> 00:12:57,777
His boss also gave me
a few telephone numbers,
267
00:12:57,777 --> 00:13:00,780
because sometimes he stayed
with these individuals.
268
00:13:02,085 --> 00:13:04,609
I reached out
to a New York number.
269
00:13:04,609 --> 00:13:08,265
Mihoko Manabe picked up
the phone that I had called.
270
00:13:08,265 --> 00:13:11,834
She indicated that Chris Crowe
was not there,
271
00:13:11,834 --> 00:13:14,228
and she would give him
the message
272
00:13:14,228 --> 00:13:17,405
that I was looking
to speak with him.
273
00:13:17,405 --> 00:13:19,581
He never returned
the phone call.
274
00:13:21,322 --> 00:13:23,019
The fingerprint card I got
275
00:13:23,019 --> 00:13:25,543
was placed
in the national database.
276
00:13:25,543 --> 00:13:27,937
So, if Christopher ever got
arrested anywhere,
277
00:13:27,937 --> 00:13:30,461
it would automatically show up
278
00:13:30,461 --> 00:13:32,115
that he was wanted
in connection
279
00:13:32,115 --> 00:13:34,465
with the missing persons.
280
00:13:34,465 --> 00:13:36,990
With no other
additional information
281
00:13:36,990 --> 00:13:39,296
to locate him
or reach out to him,
282
00:13:39,296 --> 00:13:42,909
I ended up having
to close our case.
283
00:13:42,909 --> 00:13:44,911
Where is she?
Where are they?
284
00:13:44,911 --> 00:13:46,303
What happened to them?
285
00:13:46,303 --> 00:13:48,479
I would have dreams
almost every night
286
00:13:48,479 --> 00:13:50,655
where she would walk
into a room, and I'd go,
287
00:13:50,655 --> 00:13:52,092
where the hell have you been?
288
00:13:52,092 --> 00:13:53,833
And she goes,
I just had a trip.
289
00:13:53,833 --> 00:13:55,965
I'll tell you about it
in a minute.
290
00:13:55,965 --> 00:13:58,446
I need to wait
for the detectives
291
00:13:58,446 --> 00:14:01,057
to get more information.
292
00:14:01,057 --> 00:14:03,843
I had nothing else to offer.
293
00:14:03,843 --> 00:14:06,889
I tucked Linda away.
294
00:14:06,889 --> 00:14:09,413
In February of 1988,
295
00:14:09,413 --> 00:14:11,938
three years after John
and Linda's disappearance,
296
00:14:11,938 --> 00:14:13,896
Didi passed away,
297
00:14:13,896 --> 00:14:17,421
never having learned
what happened to her son.
298
00:14:17,421 --> 00:14:20,860
Without answers, Linda's
disappearance left her family
299
00:14:20,860 --> 00:14:23,210
in a state of ambiguous loss.
300
00:14:23,210 --> 00:14:24,907
Over the course of time,
301
00:14:24,907 --> 00:14:26,822
my mother didn't talk
about it.
302
00:14:26,822 --> 00:14:30,391
And it only came up again
303
00:14:30,391 --> 00:14:35,396
when the house Didi
was living in was sold
304
00:14:35,396 --> 00:14:39,966
and the new owners
were putting in a pool.
305
00:14:45,928 --> 00:14:48,844
In May of '94,
306
00:14:48,844 --> 00:14:52,935
the owner of Didi Sohus's home
on Lorain Road in San Marino
307
00:14:52,935 --> 00:14:56,678
decided to build a swimming
pool in the backyard.
308
00:14:56,678 --> 00:14:58,941
As they're digging,
309
00:14:58,941 --> 00:15:01,857
they found the remains
of a human.
310
00:15:04,468 --> 00:15:06,644
The head had been covered
with two plastic bags
311
00:15:06,644 --> 00:15:10,779
and wrapped around his neck
with a telephone wire.
312
00:15:10,779 --> 00:15:12,824
The arms and legs, torso,
313
00:15:12,824 --> 00:15:16,524
were wrapped in, like,
a Saran Wrap material
314
00:15:16,524 --> 00:15:19,440
and then buried.
315
00:15:19,440 --> 00:15:22,922
My friend Mary
was watching the news,
316
00:15:22,922 --> 00:15:24,924
and she calls me up,
and she goes,
317
00:15:24,924 --> 00:15:26,664
you won't freaking
believe this!
318
00:15:26,664 --> 00:15:27,970
I'm like, what?
319
00:15:27,970 --> 00:15:29,363
She goes, they found bones
in the backyard
320
00:15:29,363 --> 00:15:30,886
where John and Linda lived!
321
00:15:30,886 --> 00:15:32,409
And I went, what?
322
00:15:32,409 --> 00:15:34,934
Forensic investigators
spent the morning
323
00:15:34,934 --> 00:15:36,761
pulling out every possible
piece of evidence
324
00:15:36,761 --> 00:15:38,111
they could find.
325
00:15:38,111 --> 00:15:40,678
My whole body
was just like, oh, my God,
326
00:15:40,678 --> 00:15:42,202
that's what has happened.
327
00:15:42,202 --> 00:15:43,943
Someone was killed.
328
00:15:43,943 --> 00:15:46,206
Investigators believed
329
00:15:46,206 --> 00:15:48,121
that they
might have finally recovered
330
00:15:48,121 --> 00:15:50,514
the bodies
of John and Linda Sohus.
331
00:15:50,514 --> 00:15:52,864
Looking for signs
of foul play,
332
00:15:52,864 --> 00:15:56,042
sheriff's deputies processed
the entire property,
333
00:15:56,042 --> 00:15:57,478
including the guesthouse
334
00:15:57,478 --> 00:15:59,567
that the elusive
Christopher Chichester
335
00:15:59,567 --> 00:16:01,264
had once lived in.
336
00:16:01,264 --> 00:16:03,353
During the luminol process,
337
00:16:03,353 --> 00:16:07,314
they found four spots
on the floor that were blood...
338
00:16:07,314 --> 00:16:10,099
and wiping details
in the blood.
339
00:16:14,060 --> 00:16:16,584
This confirms a crime scene.
340
00:16:16,584 --> 00:16:18,803
No blood was taken,
because at the time,
341
00:16:18,803 --> 00:16:21,937
DNA was not as sophisticated
as it is now.
342
00:16:24,287 --> 00:16:27,160
When the human remains
are found in the backyard,
343
00:16:27,160 --> 00:16:30,076
I knew they had to be
one or both of them.
344
00:16:30,076 --> 00:16:32,556
So I have to have
that mindset.
345
00:16:32,556 --> 00:16:35,690
They are dead and gone,
and I will not see my friends,
346
00:16:35,690 --> 00:16:36,996
personally, ever again.
347
00:16:39,650 --> 00:16:42,436
There was strong evidence
in this case
348
00:16:42,436 --> 00:16:45,308
that these were
the bones of a male
349
00:16:45,308 --> 00:16:47,832
and that this individual died
350
00:16:47,832 --> 00:16:50,574
from blunt-force head trauma.
351
00:16:50,574 --> 00:16:52,576
So one here
in the frontal area,
352
00:16:52,576 --> 00:16:55,318
and the others were here
on the right side of the skull,
353
00:16:55,318 --> 00:16:58,626
but extending
into the temporal bone.
354
00:16:58,626 --> 00:17:01,150
But there was an issue
as to whether or not
355
00:17:01,150 --> 00:17:03,457
he might also
have been stabbed.
356
00:17:03,457 --> 00:17:07,461
The clothing showed some slits.
357
00:17:07,461 --> 00:17:10,203
One of these shows
what appears to be
358
00:17:10,203 --> 00:17:14,468
a well-defined,
small slit in the fabric.
359
00:17:14,468 --> 00:17:17,123
There was another such slit
360
00:17:17,123 --> 00:17:21,170
consistent with stab wounds.
361
00:17:27,263 --> 00:17:30,005
You know, it's
a reasonable assumption
362
00:17:30,005 --> 00:17:32,138
that those remains
would be John's.
363
00:17:32,138 --> 00:17:34,792
Sadly, they were not identified,
364
00:17:34,792 --> 00:17:37,056
because he's adopted.
365
00:17:37,056 --> 00:17:38,927
Biological mother is deceased.
366
00:17:38,927 --> 00:17:43,453
There's no biological dad
that we know of.
367
00:17:43,453 --> 00:17:46,152
Without any biological
evidence or dental records
368
00:17:46,152 --> 00:17:47,675
to work from,
369
00:17:47,675 --> 00:17:49,416
investigators took another dive
370
00:17:49,416 --> 00:17:51,722
into Christopher Chichester's
background
371
00:17:51,722 --> 00:17:54,812
to figure out what
might have caused this con man
372
00:17:54,812 --> 00:17:56,771
to turn into a killer.
373
00:17:56,771 --> 00:18:02,081
Gerhartsreiter
came to Connecticut in '79
374
00:18:02,081 --> 00:18:04,257
as a German exchange student.
375
00:18:04,257 --> 00:18:05,910
He was 16 years of age.
376
00:18:05,910 --> 00:18:07,912
And he stayed
with residents there
377
00:18:07,912 --> 00:18:11,351
who are accustomed to taking
in exchange students.
378
00:18:11,351 --> 00:18:14,005
They hadn't heard
from him in years.
379
00:18:14,005 --> 00:18:16,921
In Berlin, Connecticut,
we found that
380
00:18:16,921 --> 00:18:18,923
Christopher Gerhartsreiter
381
00:18:18,923 --> 00:18:23,058
left for the University
of Milwaukee, Stevens Point,
382
00:18:23,058 --> 00:18:26,105
and he had shortened his name
while he was in school
383
00:18:26,105 --> 00:18:27,932
to Christian Gerhart.
384
00:18:27,932 --> 00:18:32,720
And then he showed up at the
USC film school as Chichester.
385
00:18:35,636 --> 00:18:39,683
At some point, USC film
student Christopher Chichester
386
00:18:39,683 --> 00:18:40,858
became a baronet
387
00:18:40,858 --> 00:18:42,991
and then later became
Chris Crowe,
388
00:18:42,991 --> 00:18:46,908
a former movie producer
turned finance manager.
389
00:18:46,908 --> 00:18:51,869
Every time he wanted to
reinvent himself as somebody--
390
00:18:51,869 --> 00:18:56,135
as somebody of importance,
somebody of wealth.
391
00:18:56,135 --> 00:18:58,093
We clearly know
it's a murder,
392
00:18:58,093 --> 00:19:00,139
and we have
a person of interest.
393
00:19:00,139 --> 00:19:02,532
But he kept changing his name,
394
00:19:02,532 --> 00:19:06,406
so we were one step behind him
the whole way.
395
00:19:06,406 --> 00:19:08,103
And so the case went cold.
396
00:19:10,888 --> 00:19:14,153
Fast-forward to 2008.
397
00:19:14,153 --> 00:19:17,417
Clark Rockefeller allegedly
grabbed his daughter Reigh
398
00:19:17,417 --> 00:19:20,159
during a supervised visit
in Boston.
399
00:19:20,159 --> 00:19:22,291
July 27, 2008,
400
00:19:22,291 --> 00:19:24,206
a man going
by the name Clark Rockefeller
401
00:19:24,206 --> 00:19:28,123
is going through a bad divorce
with his wife, Sandra Boss,
402
00:19:28,123 --> 00:19:30,386
and he kidnaps his daughter.
403
00:19:30,386 --> 00:19:32,997
And then fled in this SUV
to New York,
404
00:19:32,997 --> 00:19:36,175
where they were last seen
at Grand Central Station.
405
00:19:36,175 --> 00:19:38,177
And it becomes national news
406
00:19:38,177 --> 00:19:40,179
because of the last name, Rockefeller.
407
00:19:40,179 --> 00:19:42,181
Suddenly, it's everywhere.
408
00:19:46,489 --> 00:19:48,926
23 years after
the unsolved disappearance
409
00:19:48,926 --> 00:19:50,972
of John and Linda Sohus,
410
00:19:50,972 --> 00:19:53,235
authorities would finally catch a break
411
00:19:53,235 --> 00:19:56,891
when a seemingly unrelated
case broke national headlines.
412
00:19:59,241 --> 00:20:00,895
She's believed
to be in danger
413
00:20:00,895 --> 00:20:03,245
and may be traveling
with Clark Rockefeller.
414
00:20:03,245 --> 00:20:06,030
Days after Clark Rockefeller
kidnapped his daughter,
415
00:20:06,030 --> 00:20:08,729
we get a call
from a real-estate agent.
416
00:20:08,729 --> 00:20:12,559
She watched the "Today" show
with Clark Rockefeller,
417
00:20:12,559 --> 00:20:14,256
and she said,
I immediately recognized him.
418
00:20:14,256 --> 00:20:15,953
That's Chip Smith.
419
00:20:15,953 --> 00:20:17,303
I just sold him a house.
420
00:20:17,303 --> 00:20:19,479
So she calls the FBI.
421
00:20:23,657 --> 00:20:25,920
The FBI are able to get him
422
00:20:25,920 --> 00:20:27,051
out of this apartment
423
00:20:27,051 --> 00:20:28,227
on a ruse.
424
00:20:28,227 --> 00:20:29,924
And as he walks out
onto the street,
425
00:20:29,924 --> 00:20:31,404
thinking he's Chip Smith,
426
00:20:31,404 --> 00:20:34,276
an FBI agent
hollers out, hey, Clark!
427
00:20:34,276 --> 00:20:35,756
And he turns around.
428
00:20:38,411 --> 00:20:40,761
Chip Smith, aka Rockefeller,
429
00:20:40,761 --> 00:20:43,154
is immediately grabbed
by the FBI,
430
00:20:43,154 --> 00:20:46,593
and so he is arrested
for parental kidnapping.
431
00:20:46,593 --> 00:20:49,813
When he is fingerprinted
back in Boston,
432
00:20:49,813 --> 00:20:52,990
bells and whistles go off
because the fingerprint card
433
00:20:52,990 --> 00:20:56,472
collected by Detective Allen
had been put in the system
434
00:20:56,472 --> 00:20:58,953
as Gerhartsreiter.
435
00:20:58,953 --> 00:21:02,304
This man, who had eluded
investigators for decades
436
00:21:02,304 --> 00:21:05,568
by changing his identity
from Christian Gerhartsreiter
437
00:21:05,568 --> 00:21:09,485
to Chris Gerhart
to Christopher Chichester
438
00:21:09,485 --> 00:21:12,401
to Chris Crowe
to Clark Rockefeller
439
00:21:12,401 --> 00:21:14,360
was finally in custody.
440
00:21:14,360 --> 00:21:17,624
The fact that this
new Rockefeller--
441
00:21:17,624 --> 00:21:19,408
I call him Crockefeller--
442
00:21:19,408 --> 00:21:23,630
is all of a sudden
linked to this creepy guy
443
00:21:23,630 --> 00:21:28,025
that Linda mentioned in an
offhand comment back in 1983,
444
00:21:28,025 --> 00:21:32,987
and it all rolls back to him,
I'm just flabbergasted.
445
00:21:32,987 --> 00:21:36,382
So you go through all
sorts of different emotions.
446
00:21:36,382 --> 00:21:40,560
Anger, frustration, sadness.
447
00:21:54,487 --> 00:21:56,445
I've seen him on photos,
448
00:21:56,445 --> 00:21:57,446
but here he is.
449
00:21:57,446 --> 00:21:58,708
He's living flesh.
450
00:22:13,549 --> 00:22:16,291
The man of many names
was sentenced
451
00:22:16,291 --> 00:22:20,208
to five years in prison
for parental kidnapping.
452
00:22:20,208 --> 00:22:23,690
As he sat behind bars,
authorities in Los Angeles
453
00:22:23,690 --> 00:22:27,041
were finally able to start
building a murder case.
454
00:22:28,956 --> 00:22:31,306
I was given the file
and said,
455
00:22:31,306 --> 00:22:32,786
you're going to Major Crimes.
456
00:22:32,786 --> 00:22:34,309
And by the way,
we got a good case for you.
457
00:22:34,309 --> 00:22:35,484
You're prosecuting
a Rockefeller.
458
00:22:35,484 --> 00:22:36,877
I'm like, a Rockefeller?
459
00:22:36,877 --> 00:22:38,487
They're like, well,
it's not a real Rockefeller.
460
00:22:38,487 --> 00:22:40,054
George said that when
he interviewed him,
461
00:22:40,054 --> 00:22:42,752
he was going by the name
of Chris Chichester.
462
00:22:42,752 --> 00:22:45,059
It's easy to get confused
when there's so many names
463
00:22:45,059 --> 00:22:46,930
for one person.
- I understand.
464
00:22:46,930 --> 00:22:50,281
They let me know, this is
going to be a long road.
465
00:22:50,281 --> 00:22:51,979
This is a complicated case.
466
00:22:51,979 --> 00:22:53,633
And I told them,
467
00:22:53,633 --> 00:22:56,070
I'm absolutely in on this case.
468
00:22:56,070 --> 00:22:58,768
And the next time...
both: He surfaces...
469
00:22:58,768 --> 00:23:00,422
- He's Rockefeller.
- He's this guy right here.
470
00:23:00,422 --> 00:23:02,250
- Mr. Rockefeller.
- Right.
471
00:23:02,250 --> 00:23:04,557
As the team built
their case,
472
00:23:04,557 --> 00:23:08,430
a clear motive
came into focus--money.
473
00:23:10,127 --> 00:23:13,392
When John and Linda Sohus
went on this "trip"
474
00:23:13,392 --> 00:23:16,656
for a secret government
job interview in New York,
475
00:23:16,656 --> 00:23:18,527
they left Didi behind.
476
00:23:18,527 --> 00:23:19,920
And Didi was older.
477
00:23:19,920 --> 00:23:22,923
She was of ill health,
and she was alone.
478
00:23:22,923 --> 00:23:26,709
Didi was convinced
John had abandoned her
479
00:23:26,709 --> 00:23:28,363
for this new wife.
480
00:23:28,363 --> 00:23:32,106
She wrote him out of her will.
481
00:23:32,106 --> 00:23:34,587
The San Marino house
was valuable.
482
00:23:34,587 --> 00:23:38,939
I believe $310,000 in 1985.
483
00:23:38,939 --> 00:23:41,594
With John and Linda Sohus
out of the way,
484
00:23:41,594 --> 00:23:43,900
Christopher Gerhartsreiter,
485
00:23:43,900 --> 00:23:47,600
aka Chris Chichester,
486
00:23:47,600 --> 00:23:50,994
would have been home alone
with Didi Sohus--
487
00:23:50,994 --> 00:23:54,650
a vulnerable old woman
sitting on a large property
488
00:23:54,650 --> 00:23:57,871
in a wealthy San Marino neighborhood.
489
00:23:57,871 --> 00:24:00,351
Though Didi had never gone
through with it,
490
00:24:00,351 --> 00:24:02,136
prosecutors theorized
491
00:24:02,136 --> 00:24:04,312
that she had been compelled
to leave her estate
492
00:24:04,312 --> 00:24:07,054
to the only person
who had stood by her side--
493
00:24:07,054 --> 00:24:08,969
Chichester.
494
00:24:08,969 --> 00:24:11,450
To help ensure a conviction,
495
00:24:11,450 --> 00:24:13,800
prosecutor Balian had
investigators review
496
00:24:13,800 --> 00:24:15,889
all the evidence associated
497
00:24:15,889 --> 00:24:18,326
with John and Linda Sohus's
disappearance.
498
00:24:20,763 --> 00:24:22,809
Sue, Linda's mother,
499
00:24:22,809 --> 00:24:24,637
all got postcards
from Paris, France.
500
00:24:24,637 --> 00:24:27,291
They're all dated the same day.
501
00:24:27,291 --> 00:24:28,641
"Kinda missed New York--
502
00:24:28,641 --> 00:24:31,818
oops--but this
can be lived with."
503
00:24:31,818 --> 00:24:33,384
Some of the language in it
504
00:24:33,384 --> 00:24:36,518
doesn't sound like English
as a first language,
505
00:24:36,518 --> 00:24:39,347
like "this can be lived with."
506
00:24:39,347 --> 00:24:42,132
Those postcards could have
been written under duress.
507
00:24:42,132 --> 00:24:44,439
We thought he was the guy
who mailed them.
508
00:24:44,439 --> 00:24:46,702
You know, maybe somebody
says to them,
509
00:24:46,702 --> 00:24:48,530
hey, we're going
on a secret mission,
510
00:24:48,530 --> 00:24:52,534
but we need to make sure that
nobody knows where you are.
511
00:24:52,534 --> 00:24:54,057
So, if you don't mind,
512
00:24:54,057 --> 00:24:56,973
can you write out
a couple of postcards for me?
513
00:24:56,973 --> 00:24:58,975
Well, who wouldn't do that?
514
00:24:58,975 --> 00:25:01,021
You're already buying
into the secret mission.
515
00:25:01,021 --> 00:25:03,763
Why not a little bit
of James Bond cover?
516
00:25:08,028 --> 00:25:10,378
I was still working
the case,
517
00:25:10,378 --> 00:25:12,815
trying to run down leads.
518
00:25:12,815 --> 00:25:16,340
We went into the city
to interview Mihoko
519
00:25:16,340 --> 00:25:18,168
at the FBI office.
520
00:25:18,168 --> 00:25:21,868
She goes, before we say
anything, I have to, uh--
521
00:25:21,868 --> 00:25:24,435
I have to apologize
to Detective Allen.
522
00:25:24,435 --> 00:25:26,916
And I said, why would you have
to apologize to me?
523
00:25:26,916 --> 00:25:28,875
And she says,
well, the day you called
524
00:25:28,875 --> 00:25:31,007
and I told you
he wasn't there,
525
00:25:31,007 --> 00:25:33,836
he was standing next to me.
526
00:25:33,836 --> 00:25:36,578
She continued to say
that he had told her
527
00:25:36,578 --> 00:25:38,885
that I was not a detective,
528
00:25:38,885 --> 00:25:42,279
that I was a hired hit man
out to kill him.
529
00:25:44,107 --> 00:25:46,719
There's this bad man.
He's not the police.
530
00:25:46,719 --> 00:25:48,634
They kidnapped my parents.
531
00:25:48,634 --> 00:25:51,071
We're probably going to have
to go on the run,
532
00:25:51,071 --> 00:25:53,682
so you need to go
on the run with me.
533
00:26:01,168 --> 00:26:03,562
While Clark Rockefeller
was sitting behind bars
534
00:26:03,562 --> 00:26:05,302
for the kidnapping
of his daughter,
535
00:26:05,302 --> 00:26:08,044
investigators continued
to track the backstory
536
00:26:08,044 --> 00:26:10,612
of the shapeshifting
suspected murderer
537
00:26:10,612 --> 00:26:13,223
of John and Linda Sohus.
538
00:26:16,313 --> 00:26:20,100
Investigators learned that
Rockefeller, as Chris Crowe,
539
00:26:20,100 --> 00:26:23,799
had tricked Mihoko Manabe into
going on the run with him.
540
00:26:23,799 --> 00:26:27,020
So he dyes his hair,
grows a beard.
541
00:26:27,020 --> 00:26:30,589
They threw their trash,
you know, in dumpsters.
542
00:26:30,589 --> 00:26:33,156
They would walk on opposite
sides of the street
543
00:26:33,156 --> 00:26:35,028
in case
they were being followed.
544
00:26:38,988 --> 00:26:41,425
After eight years
of life on the run,
545
00:26:41,425 --> 00:26:43,210
the two finally split up.
546
00:26:46,648 --> 00:26:50,086
Mihoko married another man,
but gave Clark
547
00:26:50,086 --> 00:26:53,916
her Upper East Side New York
apartment in 1992.
548
00:26:56,571 --> 00:26:59,008
I met Clark Rockefeller
for the first time
549
00:26:59,008 --> 00:27:02,011
when he moved
into my building.
550
00:27:02,011 --> 00:27:04,013
He was kind of paranoid.
551
00:27:04,013 --> 00:27:08,365
He was kind of an odd duck
but a very nice person.
552
00:27:08,365 --> 00:27:10,672
I just took it in stride,
of this is--
553
00:27:10,672 --> 00:27:14,371
the eccentricity
of Clark Rockefeller.
554
00:27:14,371 --> 00:27:17,810
Soon after I'd met him, Clark
rings me up on the phone.
555
00:27:19,246 --> 00:27:21,727
Says, you know, Martha,
I need your advice.
556
00:27:21,727 --> 00:27:24,381
He says, you know,
I've inherited some paintings.
557
00:27:24,381 --> 00:27:28,864
I said, okay, Clark.
So tell me, what do you have?
558
00:27:28,864 --> 00:27:31,519
And he says, well, I have
this artist, you know.
559
00:27:31,519 --> 00:27:33,129
I don't know if you've
ever heard of him.
560
00:27:33,129 --> 00:27:36,263
His name is Jackson Pollock.
561
00:27:36,263 --> 00:27:39,614
And I've got, you know,
somebody named Rothko,
562
00:27:39,614 --> 00:27:42,617
oh, and then there's
this artist named Mondrian.
563
00:27:42,617 --> 00:27:45,359
Have you ever heard
of these artists?
564
00:27:45,359 --> 00:27:46,795
So I'm like--
565
00:27:46,795 --> 00:27:48,362
I had already
been sitting down,
566
00:27:48,362 --> 00:27:50,494
because if I hadn't been,
I would have been on the floor.
567
00:27:50,494 --> 00:27:53,584
And he said, can you come over
right now and take a look?
568
00:27:53,584 --> 00:27:57,850
So, you know, like,
in ten seconds, I'm next door.
569
00:27:57,850 --> 00:28:00,287
And there they were.
570
00:28:00,287 --> 00:28:02,985
They were, you know,
hanging on the walls.
571
00:28:02,985 --> 00:28:04,595
And I said,
how did you get these?
572
00:28:04,595 --> 00:28:07,120
And he said, well, you know,
my great-aunt Blanchette,
573
00:28:07,120 --> 00:28:10,166
you know, died recently,
and maybe you've heard of her.
574
00:28:10,166 --> 00:28:11,646
You know, she started that
little old museum
575
00:28:11,646 --> 00:28:14,127
on 53rd Street--
the Museum of Modern Art.
576
00:28:14,127 --> 00:28:16,042
I said, oh, yeah, yeah.
577
00:28:16,042 --> 00:28:18,827
So of course she would
own paintings like this.
578
00:28:18,827 --> 00:28:22,004
And she had died
within this timeframe.
579
00:28:25,747 --> 00:28:28,358
I invited Clark to an opening
580
00:28:28,358 --> 00:28:31,318
of a contemporary artist
that I was showing.
581
00:28:31,318 --> 00:28:35,061
This was the first time
Clark came out
582
00:28:35,061 --> 00:28:37,498
as an art collector.
583
00:28:37,498 --> 00:28:41,110
These are purportedly
famous paintings.
584
00:28:41,110 --> 00:28:43,547
Turned out,
they were all fraudulent.
585
00:28:43,547 --> 00:28:45,158
I've never doubted
they were real,
586
00:28:45,158 --> 00:28:47,029
and I'm not the only person
to say that.
587
00:28:47,029 --> 00:28:49,466
The director
of Knoedler Gallery,
588
00:28:49,466 --> 00:28:51,294
one of the heads
of Sotheby's--
589
00:28:51,294 --> 00:28:55,516
they agree that the art that
they saw in his home was real.
590
00:28:55,516 --> 00:28:59,172
So he was able to open up
591
00:28:59,172 --> 00:29:04,220
all kinds of new social circles
for himself.
592
00:29:04,220 --> 00:29:07,571
Detectives learn that
these affluent social circles
593
00:29:07,571 --> 00:29:10,966
is how Clark Rockefeller
met Sandra Boss.
594
00:29:13,447 --> 00:29:15,971
Clark Rockefeller
met Sandra Boss
595
00:29:15,971 --> 00:29:18,495
at a party he threw,
596
00:29:18,495 --> 00:29:21,934
and they formed a relationship
and fell in love.
597
00:29:21,934 --> 00:29:23,674
Ultimately,
they get married.
598
00:29:23,674 --> 00:29:27,374
Sandra Boss is a smart
and beautiful woman.
599
00:29:27,374 --> 00:29:30,681
She went to Stanford and
then Harvard Business School.
600
00:29:30,681 --> 00:29:34,337
She worked for a large
engineering company.
601
00:29:34,337 --> 00:29:36,731
She made a couple
million dollars a year.
602
00:29:36,731 --> 00:29:38,820
And then Sandra got pregnant.
603
00:29:41,127 --> 00:29:42,955
When the daughter came around,
604
00:29:42,955 --> 00:29:45,044
he became the caretaker
of the daughter.
605
00:29:45,044 --> 00:29:48,525
So he was Mr. Mom
while she went to work.
606
00:29:48,525 --> 00:29:51,180
Clark Rockefeller,
financially, didn't contribute
607
00:29:51,180 --> 00:29:53,617
anything to their household.
608
00:29:53,617 --> 00:29:56,838
He told her the family
was tied up in litigation
609
00:29:56,838 --> 00:29:58,579
over a submarine contract
610
00:29:58,579 --> 00:30:01,712
and can't access his money
for a while,
611
00:30:01,712 --> 00:30:05,281
but any day now, the millions
would come rolling in.
612
00:30:05,281 --> 00:30:07,240
And the whole time
they were married,
613
00:30:07,240 --> 00:30:09,633
he had full control
of her money.
614
00:30:09,633 --> 00:30:12,419
Investigators learn
that after years
615
00:30:12,419 --> 00:30:15,291
of funding her husband's
extravagant lifestyle,
616
00:30:15,291 --> 00:30:18,468
Sandra eventually
filed for divorce.
617
00:30:20,035 --> 00:30:22,603
During the divorce process,
Sandra Boss found out
618
00:30:22,603 --> 00:30:25,388
that Clark Rockefeller
didn't exist.
619
00:30:27,695 --> 00:30:29,305
She's hired
a private detective
620
00:30:29,305 --> 00:30:32,743
who cannot find a trace
of Clark Rockefeller.
621
00:30:32,743 --> 00:30:37,052
So they're in a custody battle
in the city of Boston,
622
00:30:37,052 --> 00:30:39,359
and she's very insistent
with the judge
623
00:30:39,359 --> 00:30:41,143
that he not have visitation,
624
00:30:41,143 --> 00:30:43,102
'cause he will disappear
with his daughter
625
00:30:43,102 --> 00:30:45,756
and she will never be able
to find him.
626
00:30:45,756 --> 00:30:47,933
So he gives up
the battle for custody,
627
00:30:47,933 --> 00:30:50,152
and he is bought off
for $800,000
628
00:30:50,152 --> 00:30:52,372
by Sandra Boss in the divorce.
629
00:30:52,372 --> 00:30:55,723
The judge orders
monitored visitation.
630
00:30:55,723 --> 00:30:58,030
During one
of those monitored visits,
631
00:30:58,030 --> 00:31:00,162
he kidnapped his daughter
632
00:31:00,162 --> 00:31:02,643
right in front of the monitor
and drove away
633
00:31:02,643 --> 00:31:07,213
and took on a new identity--
Chip Smith.
634
00:31:07,213 --> 00:31:10,477
And then he is arrested
for parental kidnapping.
635
00:31:12,392 --> 00:31:14,263
As investigators
piece together
636
00:31:14,263 --> 00:31:16,918
decades' worth
of aliases and cons,
637
00:31:16,918 --> 00:31:21,183
identifying John Sohus's body
still remained an obstacle.
638
00:31:22,315 --> 00:31:25,274
John Sohus was adopted.
639
00:31:25,274 --> 00:31:29,278
We had to unseal
the adoption records.
640
00:31:29,278 --> 00:31:31,280
But then
his biological mother--
641
00:31:31,280 --> 00:31:34,066
she had since passed
and was cremated.
642
00:31:34,066 --> 00:31:36,242
The father
on the birth certificate--
643
00:31:36,242 --> 00:31:38,592
track him down...
644
00:31:38,592 --> 00:31:40,115
take his DNA.
645
00:31:40,115 --> 00:31:42,335
However, it was not a match.
646
00:31:42,335 --> 00:31:47,166
So then found a half-sibling
647
00:31:47,166 --> 00:31:49,646
with the same
biological mother.
648
00:31:49,646 --> 00:31:52,954
She agreed to provide
DNA samples.
649
00:31:52,954 --> 00:31:58,003
The DNA from the half-sibling
matched the skull.
650
00:31:58,003 --> 00:32:01,832
Finally, we had
a positive identification
651
00:32:01,832 --> 00:32:03,660
on John Sohus.
652
00:32:10,624 --> 00:32:13,279
More than two decades
after he disappeared,
653
00:32:13,279 --> 00:32:16,499
the remains found
in Didi Sohus's backyard
654
00:32:16,499 --> 00:32:19,938
had finally been identified
as her son, John.
655
00:32:27,075 --> 00:32:30,426
It was pretty apparent
that Christian Gerhartsreiter,
656
00:32:30,426 --> 00:32:32,385
also known
as Clark Rockefeller,
657
00:32:32,385 --> 00:32:36,171
killed this couple
to protect his lifestyle.
658
00:32:36,171 --> 00:32:39,435
They were a young couple,
recently married,
659
00:32:39,435 --> 00:32:41,698
living in Mom's home,
660
00:32:41,698 --> 00:32:43,657
when there's a guesthouse
just a few feet away
661
00:32:43,657 --> 00:32:45,789
that they could be living in.
662
00:32:45,789 --> 00:32:48,879
And he occupied
that guesthouse,
663
00:32:48,879 --> 00:32:52,100
and I'm sure he felt challenged
that he might lose
664
00:32:52,100 --> 00:32:54,798
that residence in San Marino.
665
00:32:54,798 --> 00:32:58,019
He loved his position
in San Marino.
666
00:32:58,019 --> 00:33:01,849
He loved being
the 13th Baronet of England.
667
00:33:01,849 --> 00:33:04,460
And John and Linda Sohus,
668
00:33:04,460 --> 00:33:06,897
who likely wanted to live
in that guesthouse,
669
00:33:06,897 --> 00:33:09,988
challenged his status
in that community.
670
00:33:09,988 --> 00:33:13,513
And that likely played
into this confrontation
671
00:33:13,513 --> 00:33:15,297
which led to death.
672
00:33:17,299 --> 00:33:20,041
There was no DNA,
no fingerprints,
673
00:33:20,041 --> 00:33:23,262
no hair fibers,
no forensic evidence whatsoever
674
00:33:23,262 --> 00:33:26,308
connecting this man
to the crime.
675
00:33:26,308 --> 00:33:27,831
That's not surprising.
676
00:33:27,831 --> 00:33:30,182
Too much time had passed.
677
00:33:30,182 --> 00:33:33,272
What we did find
is that whoever
678
00:33:33,272 --> 00:33:35,317
wrapped this body
in plastic
679
00:33:35,317 --> 00:33:38,451
used two bags
to cover the body's head.
680
00:33:38,451 --> 00:33:40,192
One of the bags was from
681
00:33:40,192 --> 00:33:43,586
the University of Wisconsin
at Milwaukee bookstore,
682
00:33:43,586 --> 00:33:47,634
and the other
was from the USC bookstore.
683
00:33:47,634 --> 00:33:52,204
Only one person lived
at 1920 Lorain Road,
684
00:33:52,204 --> 00:33:54,858
attended the University
of Wisconsin
685
00:33:54,858 --> 00:33:57,035
and attended USC.
686
00:34:00,081 --> 00:34:02,083
I believe the clear motive
in this killing
687
00:34:02,083 --> 00:34:04,564
was to protect his status
and his identity
688
00:34:04,564 --> 00:34:06,522
in the San Marino neighborhood.
689
00:34:06,522 --> 00:34:08,916
I believe
Christian Gerhartsreiter
690
00:34:08,916 --> 00:34:12,659
killed John and Linda Sohus
in cold blood.
691
00:34:12,659 --> 00:34:17,185
He then fled, and he entered
a new life of deceit,
692
00:34:17,185 --> 00:34:20,884
manipulation, and greed.
693
00:34:20,884 --> 00:34:23,191
The Los Angeles County
Sheriff's Department
694
00:34:23,191 --> 00:34:25,063
charged
Christian Gerhartsreiter
695
00:34:25,063 --> 00:34:27,065
for the murder of John Sohus.
696
00:34:31,504 --> 00:34:34,072
I knew that Linda
had disappeared with John
697
00:34:34,072 --> 00:34:37,249
and was never seen again,
698
00:34:37,249 --> 00:34:39,120
but I didn't have her body.
699
00:34:39,120 --> 00:34:44,169
We made a tactical decision
not to charge the defendant
700
00:34:44,169 --> 00:34:46,040
with the murder
of Linda Sohus.
701
00:34:50,044 --> 00:34:55,136
This is just a small fraction
of what our large poster wall
702
00:34:55,136 --> 00:34:58,183
would have looked like
when we were unraveling
703
00:34:58,183 --> 00:35:01,186
these identities.
704
00:35:01,186 --> 00:35:02,709
So this man went
705
00:35:02,709 --> 00:35:07,279
from German immigrant
Christian Gerhartsreiter
706
00:35:07,279 --> 00:35:09,759
to Christopher Chichester,
707
00:35:09,759 --> 00:35:12,588
the 13th Baronet of England,
708
00:35:12,588 --> 00:35:15,156
to Chris Crowe,
the bond trader
709
00:35:15,156 --> 00:35:18,159
who worked at Kidder, Peabody,
710
00:35:18,159 --> 00:35:21,771
to Clark Rockefeller,
the wealthy scion
711
00:35:21,771 --> 00:35:24,122
of the great
Rockefeller family.
712
00:35:26,036 --> 00:35:28,996
The common thread behind
all of these alter egos
713
00:35:28,996 --> 00:35:30,780
that he took on
714
00:35:30,780 --> 00:35:33,261
is that they were all based
715
00:35:33,261 --> 00:35:36,525
on wealth and power.
716
00:35:36,525 --> 00:35:38,136
This was not a situation
717
00:35:38,136 --> 00:35:40,790
of someone who just wanted
to start a new life.
718
00:35:40,790 --> 00:35:43,184
This is someone who had to run,
719
00:35:43,184 --> 00:35:45,230
who had to change his identity
720
00:35:45,230 --> 00:35:47,145
because he was escaping murder.
721
00:35:51,453 --> 00:35:54,064
The murder trial
of a con man--
722
00:35:54,064 --> 00:35:58,156
he's a German-born scam artist
whose best known alias
723
00:35:58,156 --> 00:35:59,940
is Clark Rockefeller,
724
00:35:59,940 --> 00:36:01,811
and now he's on trial
in California
725
00:36:01,811 --> 00:36:03,900
for a lurid cold-case killing.
726
00:36:03,900 --> 00:36:07,469
The main trial happened
in March of 2013.
727
00:36:07,469 --> 00:36:10,037
So I attended the trial.
728
00:36:10,037 --> 00:36:13,171
There was no way I was going
to look over at Gerhartsreiter,
729
00:36:13,171 --> 00:36:14,650
because I didn't want to ever,
730
00:36:14,650 --> 00:36:16,478
like, mistakenly get
eye contact.
731
00:36:16,478 --> 00:36:18,828
But he hardly ever looked up.
732
00:36:20,787 --> 00:36:23,659
I knew when this case began
that I was going to explain
733
00:36:23,659 --> 00:36:26,836
to this jury that this was
a con man
734
00:36:26,836 --> 00:36:28,838
who thought he was
smarter than them,
735
00:36:28,838 --> 00:36:32,146
a fabulist
who told wild stories
736
00:36:32,146 --> 00:36:35,062
to convince people
of whatever he wanted to,
737
00:36:35,062 --> 00:36:39,327
a master manipulator who always
had a lie in his back pocket
738
00:36:39,327 --> 00:36:42,374
to pull out when he needed to.
739
00:36:42,374 --> 00:36:45,681
But we didn't want to let
the defendant's lies
740
00:36:45,681 --> 00:36:49,207
and who he was overshadow
what had happened.
741
00:36:49,207 --> 00:36:53,341
This was a brutal,
cold-blooded murder.
742
00:36:53,341 --> 00:36:56,170
It's about John Sohus,
743
00:36:56,170 --> 00:36:59,826
who was brutally bludgeoned
repeatedly in the head.
744
00:36:59,826 --> 00:37:01,915
We knew that
from the very beginning.
745
00:37:01,915 --> 00:37:05,875
The defense had one choice,
and that's to tell this jury
746
00:37:05,875 --> 00:37:08,226
that Linda Sohus
was the master killer.
747
00:37:08,226 --> 00:37:11,751
She killed her husband, she
buried him in her backyard,
748
00:37:11,751 --> 00:37:14,014
and she fled to Paris, France,
749
00:37:14,014 --> 00:37:16,538
where she mailed
these postcards.
750
00:37:16,538 --> 00:37:20,063
So I started with Linda,
not the defendant's lies,
751
00:37:20,063 --> 00:37:23,066
and I told the jury
who she was.
752
00:37:23,066 --> 00:37:25,547
This is not a killer,
ladies and gentlemen.
753
00:37:25,547 --> 00:37:29,638
This is a fun, silly,
nonviolent person
754
00:37:29,638 --> 00:37:32,380
with a great sense of humor.
755
00:37:32,380 --> 00:37:34,861
She was all about having fun
756
00:37:34,861 --> 00:37:37,820
with those she loved best,
757
00:37:37,820 --> 00:37:39,866
with John.
758
00:37:39,866 --> 00:37:42,347
This was a happy couple,
ladies and gentlemen.
759
00:37:42,347 --> 00:37:44,262
This was a happy couple.
760
00:37:44,262 --> 00:37:47,830
And I told that story to the
jury from the very beginning,
761
00:37:47,830 --> 00:37:50,137
before I even mentioned
Christian Gerhartsreiter,
762
00:37:50,137 --> 00:37:52,313
because I wanted the jury
to understand
763
00:37:52,313 --> 00:37:56,274
who these people were
and how nonsensical it would be
764
00:37:56,274 --> 00:37:57,623
that Linda Sohus,
765
00:37:57,623 --> 00:38:00,887
when her relationship with John
was blooming,
766
00:38:00,887 --> 00:38:05,587
would just kill him
for no reason
767
00:38:05,587 --> 00:38:08,111
and disappear
and abandon her friends,
768
00:38:08,111 --> 00:38:12,768
abandon her family,
which she loved dearly.
769
00:38:12,768 --> 00:38:15,205
To me, this case was clear--
770
00:38:15,205 --> 00:38:19,122
the vast amount
of circumstantial evidence,
771
00:38:19,122 --> 00:38:23,779
coupled with his manipulation,
lies, and deceit.
772
00:38:23,779 --> 00:38:28,523
Was it Linda Sohus,
the loving wife of the victim,
773
00:38:28,523 --> 00:38:32,440
or was it this
masterful manipulator
774
00:38:32,440 --> 00:38:35,704
who lies incessantly?
775
00:38:35,704 --> 00:38:38,620
Which one of those two
killed John Sohus?
776
00:38:38,620 --> 00:38:40,100
I think the choice was clear.
777
00:38:45,366 --> 00:38:48,761
LA County DA Balian
presented a powerful case
778
00:38:48,761 --> 00:38:51,416
that showed a career con man
covering up
779
00:38:51,416 --> 00:38:54,506
a murder motivated by greed.
780
00:38:54,506 --> 00:38:57,378
To prove it, he highlighted
previous testimony
781
00:38:57,378 --> 00:39:00,381
from Clark Rockefeller's
high-powered ex-wife,
782
00:39:00,381 --> 00:39:01,861
Sandra Boss.
783
00:39:01,861 --> 00:39:03,863
He made a big effort
of borrowing
784
00:39:03,863 --> 00:39:06,518
some expensive jewelry
from his family.
785
00:39:06,518 --> 00:39:07,910
He was very intelligent.
786
00:39:07,910 --> 00:39:09,434
He was one of the most
intelligent people
787
00:39:09,434 --> 00:39:10,783
that I'd ever known.
788
00:39:10,783 --> 00:39:13,829
He told me that his parents
789
00:39:13,829 --> 00:39:17,398
were George Rockefeller
790
00:39:17,398 --> 00:39:21,271
and Mary Roberts.
791
00:39:21,271 --> 00:39:23,273
Sandra Boss testified
792
00:39:23,273 --> 00:39:25,972
that sometimes people
are vulnerable,
793
00:39:25,972 --> 00:39:28,757
and they can be really smart
in one part of their life
794
00:39:28,757 --> 00:39:31,978
and not as smart in other parts
of their life.
795
00:39:31,978 --> 00:39:35,764
This was
a very brilliant woman,
796
00:39:35,764 --> 00:39:41,204
well-educated, with an
extremely high-powered job,
797
00:39:41,204 --> 00:39:43,772
and she was duped.
798
00:39:43,772 --> 00:39:46,079
But Sandra Boss
was not alone.
799
00:39:46,079 --> 00:39:48,342
There were many others
who had fallen victim
800
00:39:48,342 --> 00:39:50,605
to Gerhartsreiter's
slippery avarice.
801
00:39:50,605 --> 00:39:52,781
It was only a matter of time
802
00:39:52,781 --> 00:39:55,001
before he would trip
over his own lies.
803
00:39:55,001 --> 00:39:58,483
Is there a real name that
we should be calling you?
804
00:39:58,483 --> 00:40:00,223
Clark Rockefeller.
805
00:40:00,223 --> 00:40:02,791
Clark Rockefeller, you say,
is still your real name?
806
00:40:02,791 --> 00:40:04,402
I believe so.
807
00:40:04,402 --> 00:40:06,273
So you believe you grew up
in the United States?
808
00:40:06,273 --> 00:40:07,927
I believe I grew up
in New York.
809
00:40:07,927 --> 00:40:10,233
I'm quite sure I grew up
in New York City.
810
00:40:10,233 --> 00:40:13,802
Clark Rockefeller is
still your real name?
811
00:40:13,802 --> 00:40:15,238
No, it's not.
812
00:40:15,238 --> 00:40:16,718
You're
Christian Carl Gerhartsreiter.
813
00:40:16,718 --> 00:40:18,720
You were born
in Bergen, Germany,
814
00:40:18,720 --> 00:40:20,461
to two Catholic parents.
815
00:40:20,461 --> 00:40:22,724
One was a sign painter.
One stayed at home.
816
00:40:26,119 --> 00:40:27,860
That's where you were raised.
817
00:40:30,079 --> 00:40:32,125
Lies. Lies.
818
00:40:32,125 --> 00:40:34,388
And this is really
the only time the jury
819
00:40:34,388 --> 00:40:38,218
could see him convincingly tell
his bald-faced lies.
820
00:40:38,218 --> 00:40:40,960
Did you kill
John and Linda Sohus?
821
00:40:40,960 --> 00:40:44,529
My entire life,
I've always been a pacifist.
822
00:40:44,529 --> 00:40:46,792
I am a Quaker...
823
00:40:46,792 --> 00:40:49,925
and I believe in nonviolence.
824
00:40:49,925 --> 00:40:54,495
And I can fairly certainly say
825
00:40:54,495 --> 00:40:56,932
that I have never hurt anyone.
826
00:40:56,932 --> 00:40:59,065
In our estimation,
827
00:40:59,065 --> 00:41:02,285
he confessed during that tape.
828
00:41:02,285 --> 00:41:05,332
What did you never hear
in response to that question--
829
00:41:05,332 --> 00:41:07,943
did you kill
John and Linda Sohus?
830
00:41:07,943 --> 00:41:14,080
He couldn't even say no.
And what reason does he give?
831
00:41:14,080 --> 00:41:15,864
Uh-oh.
832
00:41:15,864 --> 00:41:17,779
"I didn't kill them
because I'm a Quaker."
833
00:41:17,779 --> 00:41:18,824
You're not even a Quaker.
834
00:41:18,824 --> 00:41:20,565
You turned Quaker
to get married
835
00:41:20,565 --> 00:41:22,871
so you didn't have to have
an officiant at your wedding.
836
00:41:22,871 --> 00:41:25,831
He never said no,
because he killed them.
837
00:41:25,831 --> 00:41:28,486
Gerhartsreiter killed them
838
00:41:28,486 --> 00:41:30,966
to preserve the life
he claimed to have at the time
839
00:41:30,966 --> 00:41:32,751
as the 13th Baronet,
840
00:41:32,751 --> 00:41:37,233
and the potential inheritance
of Didi's six-figure estate.
841
00:41:37,233 --> 00:41:40,976
Ladies and gentlemen,
the evidence is clear.
842
00:41:40,976 --> 00:41:42,587
He's gotten away
with it long enough.
843
00:41:42,587 --> 00:41:44,327
I'm asking you--
844
00:41:44,327 --> 00:41:45,938
I'm going to stand here
right now,
845
00:41:45,938 --> 00:41:48,070
on behalf of the people
of the state of California,
846
00:41:48,070 --> 00:41:51,944
and I'm going to ask you,
for once and for all, tell him,
847
00:41:51,944 --> 00:41:56,470
you are accountable
for your actions.
848
00:41:56,470 --> 00:41:58,646
Even though we all know
all of these things,
849
00:41:58,646 --> 00:42:00,169
they're going to say,
850
00:42:00,169 --> 00:42:02,432
yeah, but it doesn't absolutely
make him the murderer.
851
00:42:02,432 --> 00:42:06,915
I got a sense of,
I hope he's proven guilty.
852
00:42:06,915 --> 00:42:10,615
But this is really old stuff,
853
00:42:10,615 --> 00:42:12,225
and it's all circumstantial,
854
00:42:12,225 --> 00:42:14,880
which doesn't necessarily lead
to guilty.
855
00:42:22,148 --> 00:42:23,976
We the jury,
in the above entitled action,
856
00:42:23,976 --> 00:42:26,631
find the defendant...
857
00:42:26,631 --> 00:42:30,025
Christian Gerhartsreiter...
858
00:42:30,025 --> 00:42:32,506
guilty of the crime
of murder in the first degree
859
00:42:32,506 --> 00:42:34,160
of John Sohus.
860
00:42:34,160 --> 00:42:36,118
Christian Gerhartsreiter
was sentenced
861
00:42:36,118 --> 00:42:38,251
to 27 years to life
in state prison--
862
00:42:38,251 --> 00:42:41,254
25 years
for the premeditated murder
863
00:42:41,254 --> 00:42:43,256
and one year
for each of the weapons--
864
00:42:43,256 --> 00:42:45,563
the blunt object and the knife.
865
00:42:45,563 --> 00:42:49,567
I want him to be convicted
on the murder of Linda,
866
00:42:49,567 --> 00:42:52,657
but I don't think
that's going to happen.
867
00:42:52,657 --> 00:42:55,311
But he's going to jail.
868
00:42:55,311 --> 00:42:59,620
You know, he's not a young man,
and hopefully he'll die there.
869
00:42:59,620 --> 00:43:02,580
I'm sorry to be so blunt,
870
00:43:02,580 --> 00:43:04,712
but...
871
00:43:04,712 --> 00:43:06,801
okay.
872
00:43:06,801 --> 00:43:08,542
Every time
I've made an entry
873
00:43:08,542 --> 00:43:11,763
and I thought it was done,
I was proven wrong.
874
00:43:11,763 --> 00:43:13,852
So this is an open book.
875
00:43:13,852 --> 00:43:16,463
This continues until my death.
876
00:43:18,508 --> 00:43:21,294
I still have that little,
itty-bitty spark that says,
877
00:43:21,294 --> 00:43:24,558
you don't see her dead body,
and until you do,
878
00:43:24,558 --> 00:43:28,344
there's always a chance
that she is alive somewhere.
70357
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