Lawyer for 'Clark Rockefeller' argues for change of venue

April 22, 2009 11:06 AM Email| Comments (0)| Text size – +

By John R. Ellement, Globe Staff

A lawyer for the man who calls himself Clark Rockefeller told a judge this morning that his client will be unable to receive a fair trial in Suffolk County.

Clark Rockefeller

The defense commissioned a poll that found 77 percent of Suffolk residents know about Rockefeller's case, according to attorney Jeffrey Denner. Of that number, 50 percent believe that Rockefeller is guilty of parental kidnapping, Denner said.

In a counter-argument, Assistant Suffolk District Attorney David Deakin said that the defense's poll found that 52 percent of Suffolk residents have not formed an opinion about the case. That number suggests that there is an ample supply of impartial people to serve on the jury, Deakin said.

Suffolk Superior Court Judge Frank Gaziano took the arguments under advisement and did not immediately issue a ruling.

Rockefeller, whose real name is Christian Karl Gerhartsreiter, is accused of kidnapping his 7-year-old daughter last summer during a custody dispute and sparking an international manhunt. Investigators in California have described Gerhartsreiter as a "person of interest" in the disappearance of Linda and John Sohus. Gerhartsreiter rented a guest house from them on their property in San Marino.

Last month, two handwriting specialists told the Globe they were subpoenaed to appear before a California grand jury, presumably to testify about a postcard from Europe purportedly signed by Linda Sohus that arrived in the United States after she vanished from San Marino.