Rockefeller Impostor Has Day in Court

The early stages of the trial of Christian Karl Gerhartsreiter—better known as Clark Rockefeller—introduced new details about the mysterious man’s life, including a marriage lasting only one day. Gerhartsreiter, who claimed to be an heir to John D. Rockefeller since 1993 and allegedly kidnapped his own daughter Reigh last year, left jail today after 10 months for the jury selection in his abduction trial. Prosecutors revealed that Gerhartsreiter, a German immigrant, married Amy Jersild Duhnke in 1981 to get his green card and then left her a day later. It was also disclosed that Gerhartsreiter’s second wife—Reigh’s mother—knew nothing of her husband’s real identity, even asking the police, “Who is he? Did you find out who Clark really is?” Gerhartsreiter’s lawyer, who asked that his client be referred to as Clark Rockefeller in court, hopes to prove that his client is insane.