Murder Case Against Con Artist Hinges on Bones

California police who looked into the disappearance of a married couple in 1985 have testified in a hearing for a man accused of murdering the husband while living in a guesthouse under one of many aliases employed to hobnob with high society.

Christian Gerhartsreiter

AP

FILE - In this July 8 2011 file photo,... View Full Caption
FILE - In this July 8 2011 file photo, Christian Karl Gerhartsreiter, a German man who masqueraded as a member of the famous Rockefeller family, appears in an Alhambra, Calif. court. Gerhartsreiter faces a preliminary hearing Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2012 in the cold case murder of John Sohus, 27, who disappeared from San Marino, Calif. in 1985. (AP Photo/Sarah Reingewirtz, Pool, File) Close

Christian Gerhartsreiter is accused of killing 27-year-old John Sohus, whose bones were dug up in 1994 from a backyard in the wealthy Los Angeles suburb San Marino. Gerhartsreiter has a kidnapping conviction in Boston, where he posed as a member of the Rockefeller family.

Officers testifying Thursday say relatives of the missing pair initially were unconcerned because they believed the couple was doing some type of secret work, but then grew uneasy.

Authorities say Gerhartsreiter was their tenant who also vanished.

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