Rockefeller impostor, Christian Gerhartsreiter, charged with murder in California

(CBS/AP) LOS ANGELES - A German con man who refers to himself as Clark Rockefeller was charged with murder, Tuesday, in the disappearance of a Southern California man more than 25 years ago, the Los Angeles District Attorney's office said.

Christian Gerhartsreiter became notorious after his arrest several years ago in Baltimore for kidnapping his daughter. That's when police discovered he had used a string of aliases since the 70s to work his way into wealthy circles in New York, Los Angeles and Boston.

Now, Gerhartsreiter is being charged with killing 27-year-old John Sohus in 1985 when he was living at the home of Sohus' mother in San Marino, a wealthy Los Angeles suburb, the district attorney's office said.

Sohus' body was dug up from the backyard of the house in 1994. An investigation determined he was killed by blunt force trauma to the head. Sohus' wife, Linda, is still missing.

Gerhartreiter vanished shortly after Sohus disappeared, according to prosecutors. While he was in San Marino he went by several different aliases, including Christopher Chichester.

In 2009 Gerhartsreiter was convicted in the kidnapping of his 7-year-old daughter. He is serving a four-to five-year sentence in a Massachusetts prison.

After his arrest in 2008, Los Angeles authorities quickly named him a person of interest in the disappearance and presumed slayings of the Sohus couple. District Attorney's spokeswoman Jane Robinson said he has been tied to the disposal of a pickup truck owned by the couple.

Robinson said it could take as long as two months to extradite him to Los Angeles to face the murder charge. Gerhartsreiter could face 26 years to life in prison if convicted.

Complete Coverage of the Christian Gerhartsreiter case on Crimesider.