'Rockefeller' Murder Hearing Set for Oct. 17

After being delayed once, the preliminary hearing for Christian Gerhartsreiter--the serial impostor who posed as a Rockefeller and is charged with the 1985 murder of San Marino man John Sohus--is set for Oct. 17, Judge Carlos Uranga ruled Tuesday morning at the Alhambra Courthouse.

For a photo gallery of Gerhartsreiter and his attorneys in court Tuesday, click here.

Attorneys for the defense and prosecution both said Tuesday following the date setting that they are looking for the preliminary hearing to take place in mid-January.

“Preliminary setting dates can go for a while—it depends on how much time his team has or wants to get ready,” Los Angeles District Attorney Spokeswoman Jane Robison said Monday.

Gerhartsreiter, who claimed to be royal descendant Christopher Chichester while he rented a San Marino guesthouse from John Sohus's mother Didi on Lorain Road in the 1980s, spoke Tuesday only to answer "yes" a couple short times when asked by Uranga if he waived his right to a speedy preliminary hearing and a speedy trial.

One of Gerhartsreiter's defense attorneys Brad Bailey said in court Tuesday that over 9,400 pages of discovery exist to date and that he and fellow Boston defense attorney Jeffrey Denner have reviewed about 2000 pages.

Numerous DVDs and tapes are also part of the disclosure though Denner said he has not gone over them yet.

"I have a sense of what's on those but I don't know for sure," Denner said. "I think a lot of the forensic evidence is on that."

California attorneys Kenneth Kahn and Stephen Rodriguez joined the defense team within the last week or so since Denner and Bailey practice in the Boston area and needed local counsel.

"We were looking for someone with the kind of experience that he [Stephen] and his partner bring to the table and we felt very lucky to get put together," said Denner.

Rodriguez has met Gerharstreiter while Kahn has yet to meet his client.

California attorney James Hallett, a friend of Denner, participated in the July arraignment, but did so mostly because the Boston defense needed someone quickly.

Findings are presented at a preliminary hearing and a judge determines if enough evidence exists for a case to go to trial. Bailey told Patch in July that he expects the case to go to trial.

To see all previous Patch articles about the Gerhartsreiter case, view the "See More on Patch" column to the right.