Defense attorneys want ‘Clark Rockefeller’ name used in client’s Boston kidnapping trial

‘Rockefeller’ wants to use that name at trial

BOSTON — The man who calls himself Clark Rockefeller wants to use that name at his upcoming kidnapping trial.

His lawyers argued Monday that jurors shouldn’t hear him called by his real name — Christian Karl Gerhartsreiter (GAYR’-hahrtz-ry-tur) — because one of the charges against him is providing a false name to police. His attorneys say it would be unfair for his client to be called Gerhartsreiter when he hasn’t been convicted of the false-name charge.

Prosecutors say Gerhartsreiter kidnapped his 7-year-old daughter during a supervised visit in Boston in July after losing custody to his ex-wife. He and his daughter were found six days later in Baltimore. His daughter was unharmed.

Authorities say the German national has used false names since moving to the United States in the 1970s.