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Young jury selected in Rockefeller case

E-mail|Link|Comments () May 27, 2009 11:15 AM

By Jonathan Saltzman and Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

A 16-member jury dominated by young, college-age people has been selected to hear the parental kidnapping case against the man who calls himself Clark Rockefeller.

A file photograph of "the defendant."

It took just over a day to select the jury, which is made up of nine women and seven men. Opening statements are scheduled for Thursday morning in the peculiar case that has drawn international media coverage.

Several observers including defense attorney Jeffrey A. Denner have remarked at the youthful composition of the panel. Denner noted that 13 of the 16 jurors are of college age, a demographic that dominated the pool of potential jurors.

"I guess I've never seen a pool of so many college age kids and college kids," Denner said outside the courtroom.

The defense attorney surmised that there were so many young people in the jury pool because most college students defer their jury service until classes have been completed at the end of the semester. Regardless of age, however, Denner expressed confidence that the panel was up to the task.

"I find this jury can definitely do a fair job of assessing the evidence," He said. "That's all we can ask of them."

Rockefeller, 48, is accused of abducting his daughter, Reigh Storrow Mills Boss, during a supervised visit on July 27 following a bitter divorce. After an international manhunt, FBI agents arrested him six days later in Baltimore, and the girl was safely returned to her mother, Sandra Boss. She is an executive for the consulting firm, McKinsey & Co., and lives in London. He has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.

Prosecutors say that the defendant is a Bavarian-born con man named Christian Karl Gerhartsreiter who has used a slew of aliases and upper crust identities over the past 30 years to ingratiate himself into tony circles in the United States. California authorities have also labeled him a "person of interest" in the 1985 disappearance and presumed killings of a California couple, John and Linda Sohus, in San Marino, an affluent Los Angeles suburb. The jury is not expected to hear about that matter, but several prospective jurors said they were vaguely aware of it.

Opening statements have been put off until Thursday because both sides plan to argue a series of motions today. They include a key defense motion to block jurors from watching or hearing separate taped jailhouse interviews with the defendant last August by the Globe and Natalie Morales, a reporter for NBC's "Today Show."

Denner contends that his client could not have voluntarily given the interviews because he was suffering from a mental illness. The defense attorney plans to ask the judge to let him call mental health specialists to the stand today to testify about why the interviews should be excluded.

Legal specialists say Denner wants to keep jurors from watching or hearing the interviews, which were arranged by Rockefeller's previous lawyer, Stephen B. Hrones, because they might undermine the defense's position that Rockefeller was legally insane.

During jury selection, some people were excused after telling the judge they do not believe in the insanity defense. Another was let go because she said she had been kidnapped as a child. Yet another was excused after saying the police are infallible.