Full Notification

(To see PHOTOS, click on the hyperlink at the bottom of this message)


Today, Tuesday March 15, 2011, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office filed murder charges on Christian Karl Gerhartsreiter for the 1985 murder of 26 year old John Sohus.

Suspect Gerhartsreiter is a German national who is also known as Christopher Chichester or Clark Rockefeller.

In February of 1985, John (26) and Linda Sohus (28) disappeared from their home in the 1900 block of Lorain Road in San Marino, California.

In 1981, prior to their disappearance, Gerhartsreiter arrived in San Marino. He eventually rented a guest house from Ruth Sohus, the mother of John Sohus.

Shortly after John and Linda’s disappearance, Gerhartsrieter also disappeared.

On May 5, 1994, during a swimming pool excavation on the Lorain Road property, unidentified human remains were unearthed by the construction crew. San Marino Police were called to the scene, followed by Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau personnel and Los Angeles County Coroner’s personnel. Those remains were eventually identified as John Sohus.

Linda Sohus was never heard from or seen again, and her remains have not been found.

Efforts to locate Gerhartsreiter in 1994 failed and the case went cold. From 1994 to 2008, Gerhartsreiter was still a suspect in this case.

On July 27th, 2008, Gerhartsreiter kidnapped his daughter in Boston, Massachusetts. He was sentenced to prison in June of 2009 and is currently serving time in Gardner State Prison in Gardner, Massachusetts. He will be eligible for parole in 2012.

Once Gerhartsreiter was found in 2008, Detectives Tim Miley and Delores Scott from the Cold Case Unit of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Homicide Bureau, reopened the investigation into the murder of John Sohus.

Through the use of modern technology combined with evidence gained at the crime scene, as well as recent investigative leads, Sheriff’s Cold case homicide detectives presented the evidence to the Office of the Los Angeles County District Attorney for consideration for filing an allegation of murder against Suspect Gerhartsreiter. The D.A. filed the case Tuesday alleging murder, and the judge issued an arrest warrant.

Sheriff’s Cold Case Homicide detectives are seeking extradition of Gerhartsreiter from the state of Massachusetts.

Sheriff’s Cold Case Homicide detectives are asking for the public’s help dating back to 1985. Linda Sohus has never been found. Possibly someone has information about this case and did not share it because they thought it was minor, yet it may actually be an important link to this case.

If you have any information about this case, contact Sheriff’s Cold Case Homicide investigators (323) 890-5500.

If you have information about this case and want to remain anonymous, contact LA Crime Stoppers by dialing 800-222-TIPS (8477), texting the letters TIPLA plus your tip to CRIMES (274637), or using the website http://lacrimestoppers.org

This investigation has involved the efforts of peace officers from many police agencies including the Cold Case Unit –Homicide Bureau and Scientific Services Bureau (Crime Lab) of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department; San Marino Police Department; Township of Greenwich, Connecticut Police Department; Massachusetts State Police; Boston Police Department; as well as the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). This case also received assistance through a Cold Case Grant funded by the U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice (NIJ).

Wes Sutton
Homicide Bureau – Cold Case Unit
Detective Division
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department

Steve Whitmore
Sheriff's Headquarters Bureau
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department

Mike Parker, Captain
Sheriff's Headquarters Bureau
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department
(323) 267-4800
www.lasd.org

Leroy D. Baca, Sheriff


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(To see PHOTOS, click on the hyperlink below)
Included is a photo of John and Linda Sohus, and three photos of the suspect)