The Price of a Lie: When the Con Turns Deadly

For thirty years, a man called himself Clark Rockefeller, claimed to be an heir to one of the most powerful families in American history, and the world believed him. He moved through the most elite circles in the country, he married a Harvard educated millionaire, and charmed everyone he ever met. The only problem? He didn't exist. And somewhere in a California backyard, there were bones that told a very different story. This is Pretty Wicked's very first episode and we are starting with one of the craziest cons ever pulled and the murder hiding underneath it. Welcome to the show! 🖤 FOLLOW PRETTY WICKED New episodes every Wednesday. Subscribe so you never miss one. Instagram: @prettywickedthepodcast  If you loved this episode, leaving a review means the world and helps other listeners find the show. Pretty Wicked is hosted by Megan Alda. 🖤 SOURCES & FURTHER READING If this story got under your skin here is everything we used to research this episode. 🔗 WEB SOURCES History.com overview - https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/rockefeller-imposter-and-convicted-felon-born All That's Interesting full profile - https://allthatsinteresting.com/clark-rockefeller ABC News - murder conviction, April 2013 https://abcnews.go.com/US/clark-rockefeller-impostor-found-guilty-1985-murder/story?id=18924924 ABC News - kidnapping trial opening day https://abcnews.go.com/News/story?id=7672617 CNN - Sandra Boss trial testimony https://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/06/02/massachusetts.rockefeller.trial/index.html CNN - murder sentencing, August 2013 https://www.cnn.com/2013/08/15/justice/rockefeller-impersonator-sentence San Diego Union-Tribune - Sandra Boss cross-examination https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sdut-us-rockefeller-mystery-060209-2009jun02-story.html Boston Herald - Sandra Boss on the stand https://www.bostonherald.com/2009/06/02/rockefeller-lawyer-grills-sandra-boss-on-stand/ Fox News - first wife Amy Jersild-Duhnke testimony https://www.foxnews.com/story/first-wife-of-clark-rockefeller-to-testify-at-kidnap-trial NPR interview with journalist Mark Seal https://www.npr.org/2011/07/10/137624164/30-year-con-from-german-kid-to-rockefeller-scion CBS News 48 Hours - full case profile with jailhouse interview https://www.cbsnews.com/news/unmasking-con-man-and-rockefeller-imposter-christian-gerhartsreiter/ CBS News 48 Hours - did he almost commit the perfect crime? https://www.cbsnews.com/news/rockefeller-impostor-murder-case-did-a-con-man-almost-commit-the-perfect-crime/ Walter Kirn - Pedigree, The New Yorker, June 2013 https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2013/06/10/pedigree-personal-history-walter-kirn RealClearInvestigations - deep dive on the original Vanity Fair investigationhttps://www.realclearinvestigations.com/articles/2018/05/30/investigative_classics_the_con_man_in_the_rockefeller_suit.html Oxygen - full Sohus case breakdown https://www.oxygen.com/blood-money/crime-news/what-happened-to-john-linda-sohus-christian-gerhartsreiter Oxygen - murder conviction details https://www.oxygen.com/a-wedding-and-a-murder/crime-news/christian-gerhartsreiter-convicted-murder-john-sohus Oxygen/Dateline - investigation narrative https://www.oxygen.com/dateline-secrets-uncovered/crime-news/christian-gerhartsreiter-convicted-of-john-sohus-murder Unsolved Mysteries Wiki - John and Linda Sohus case filehttps://unsolvedmysteries.fandom.com/wiki/John_and_Linda_Sohus Boston Globe - interview with Alexander Gerhartsreiter in Bergen, Bavaria https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2008/08/08/the-little-town-and-life-rockefeller-left-for-fame/l20Zs5ZzVbgic07Sf0MB6M/story.html Boston Herald - You found my brother https://www.bostonherald.com/2008/08/09/you-found-my-brother/ WildAboutTrial - murder trial coverage https://wildabouttrial.com/trial-coverage/clark-rockefeller/ 📚 BOOKS MENTIONED The Man in the Rockefeller Suit by Mark Seal (Viking, 2011) The definitive book on the case. Seal's original Vanity Fair investigation is what blew the lid off the story. Blood Will Out by Walter Kirn (Liveright, 2014) Kirn's personal account of his fifteen year friendship with Gerhartsreiter. One of the most unsettling memoirs you'll ever read. 🎬 DOCUMENTARY My Friend Rockefeller (2015), directed by Bernhard von Büttner Features interviews with Gerhartsreiter's Bavarian family and the Americans who knew him. Available on documentary streaming platforms. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices