Pretrial hearing draws a crowd

But little news in Rockefeller case

Defense attorney Stephen Hrones spoke to reporters yesterday after a pretrial hearing for his client in Boston Municipal Court. (Wendy Maeda/Globe Staff)

More than a dozen reporters crammed into a Boston courtroom yesterday, eager for any new details about the man who calls himself Clark Rockefeller, but who police say is really Christian Karl Gerhartsreiter, a German national and liar with several aliases.

The only update that came out of court, however, was a new charge against the defendant - giving a false name to police.

Rockefeller was in Boston Municipal Court for a pretrial hearing, a routine court proceeding that rarely attracts news media attention.

But the story of Rockefeller, who allegedly told friends and co-workers a series of lies, including that he came from British aristocracy, continues to intrigue even journalists outside Boston.

Reporters from New York newspapers appeared for the pretrial session, during which a judge scheduled a probable cause hearing for Sept. 30.

Suffolk Assistant District Attorney David Deakin said a grand jury investigating the charges was expected to return indictments before the next hearing.

The judge yesterday granted Deakin's request to hold Rockefeller without bail until the next court appearance.

During yesterday's proceeding, Rockefeller, dressed in bright orange pants and a long-sleeved cream-colored shirt, looked disheveled and tired. His hair was mussed and it appeared he had not shaved in days.

Handcuffed, with his legs shackled, the diminutive man said nothing during the session. His attorney, Stephen Hrones, continued to refer to him as Rockefeller.

"He knows himself as Clark Rockefeller," Hrones said after the hearing. Hrones called the new charge, which carries a maximum of a year in a house of correction, "ridiculous."

"It's not going to get anywhere," he said of the charge. "They're desperate to bring up any charges."

Rockefeller, 47, is accused of kidnapping his 7-year-old daughter in July during a supervised visit with a social worker. He had already been charged with kidnapping a minor relative, assault and battery, and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.

California authorities have also named Rockefeller a "person of interest" in the disappearance and presumed killings of young newlyweds in 1985.

Rockefeller lived in the guesthouse of John and Linda Sohus before they were reported missing from their San Marino home. In 1994, workers digging a pool discovered bones believed to be those of John Sohus. No trace of Linda Sohus has been found.

Last Friday and Saturday, as many as 40 investigators from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Office, the county coroner's office, crime lab criminologists, and others scoured the property.

They used ground-penetrating radar and cadaver-sniffing dogs, but declined to say whether they found any information linking Rockefeller to the couple.

Rockefeller has denied playing any role in the disappearance of John and Linda Sohus and said he has no memory of growing up in Germany.

After yesterday's hearing, reporters crowded around Hrones, asking him for any updates. When he told them he had none, they asked how Rockefeller was doing in prison, whether his memory was coming back, whether he had had any visitors, and whether there was any progress on his book. Rockefeller has said he is working on a 40,000-word book about the roots of Zionism.

One reporter asked whether Rockefeller's appearance might indicate he is distressed.

"He doesn't look good because he's in jail," Hrones said. Rockefeller did not shave, he added, because "he just didn't have the opportunity."

Maria Cramer can be reached at mcramer@globe.com.