All language subtitles for expedition_files_s3e6_behind_the_myth

On this episode of Expedition File, The
Exorcist, perhaps the scariest horror

film of all time, but behind the terror
is a true story.

For decades, the identity of the real
child said to be possessed by the devil

was buried in mystery.

Now, we reveal all.

Then...

2 ,000 years ago, a hallucinogenic honey
is said to have brought down an entire

Roman army in what is considered
history's first act of biological

For centuries, the deadly recipe was
considered lost, but has it now been

And we expose the shocking story of a
man who posed as a member of America's

richest family, the Rockefellers.

leaving behind a trail of deception,
outrage, and possibly murder.

In the corridors of time are mysteries
that defy

explanation.

Now, I'm traveling through history
itself on a

search for the truth.

New evidence.

Shocking answers.

I'm Josh Gates.

And these are my expedition files.

Did you know Abraham Lincoln was a
licensed bartender? How about that

is wider than the moon?

or that it's illegal to own only one
guinea pig in Switzerland.

Those facts may sound crazy, but they're
all 100 % accurate.

Look them up. And tonight, we embrace
this strange but true concept to the

fullest, delving into three historical
mysteries that all seem too bizarre to

believed. But in each case, real answers
are about to be revealed.

We begin in 1949.

I'm standing on Bunker Hill Road in
Mount Rainier, Maryland, a peaceful,

neighborhood. But something is about to
shatter that silence, something

disturbing.

Inside that house, the young boy who
lives there is anything but at peace.

He's growling in a strange, almost
demonic voice and lashing out

Soon, the Catholic Church will get
involved, leading to a terrifying

The events will inspire a best -selling
novel, which in turn becomes the iconic

horror film The Exorcist. The real child
behind it all will become known to the

public only by the alias Roland Doe. But
who is he really? What becomes of him?

And most importantly, is he actually
possessed by the devil?

In 1971, William Blatty's terrifying
novel The Exorcist hits bookshelves.

Inspired by rumors of a real -life
possession of a young child, it sells

millions of copies and becomes a
cultural phenomenon.

Two years later, the story leaps onto
the big screen and becomes a massive

Audiences scream.

Critics rave. It is widely considered
one of the greatest horror films of all

time.

But none of this would have been
possible without the real boy, known by

nickname Roland Doe.

In 1949, he's 13 years old, an only
child who lives with his parents in the

Maryland suburbs.

Roland loves spending time with his Aunt
Tilly, playing with her spirit board.

She's a spiritualist, someone who
believes the dead can communicate with

living.

It's seen as a bit of harmless fun.

They spend evenings together asking
questions in the dark.

So far, pretty straightforward.

But from here on out, the story will
take terrifying twists and turns, the

details of which are gathered from those
involved.

Is it all true? Is it not?

Well, buckle up, because things are
about to get supernatural.

According to his mother and father, it
starts small.

A phantom dripping sound.

Scratching beneath the floorboards.

And a picture of Christ shaking and
falling to the ground.

The noises continue for ten straight
nights, and then they suddenly stop.

Three days later, a new sound begins.

The phantom creak of shoes pacing softly
around Roland's bed.

Then, in late January, tragedy strikes.

Aunt Tilly dies.

After that, the strange activity only
seems to grow worse.

And Roland's mother begins to wonder if
her sister's spirit has joined the

voices from the beyond.

Aunt Hilly, if that's you, knock three
times.

Or perhaps it's something worse.

The knocking in the night continues, and
the scratching only grows louder.

According to the family, Roland's
behavior also becomes disturbing.

He speaks in a strange, guttural voice,
murmuring Latin phrases he does not

know.

Objects near him move without being
touched.

He lashes out at his family with a
frightening fury, then says

he doesn't remember a thing.

Roland's family is deeply religious, and
so, desperate for help, his mother

turns to Father Edward Hughes, a local
Jesuit priest.

Over the course of two weeks of meetings
with the boy, Hughes grows alarmed as

Roland's condition worsens.

With no clear answers, in February of
1949, Hughes arranges for him to be

admitted to Georgetown University
Hospital for observation.

But doctors find no medical explanation
for his outbursts.

So, Father Hughes decides to act,
performing an unsanctioned exorcism on

According to Father Hughes, he begins
his ritual by sprinkling holy water and

praying for Roland.

But midway through, the agitated boy
suddenly breaks free.

And strikes Father Hughes, slashing his
arm.

The exorcism is abandoned.

With both doctors and the priest
apparently unable to help, Roland is

Let's be clear, everything we've just
told you is what happened according to

Roland's family.

Weeks later, it is said the
manifestations take a disturbing new

Roland apparently wakes with scratches
on his skin. At first, they're just

lines. But then, an enigmatic word
appears.

Louis.

To the family, the message is
unmistakable.

They have relatives in the city of St.
Louis. They need to go there now.

They leave Maryland and make the trip
west, staying with family in the quiet

suburb of Belnor.

But the frightening disturbances
continue, and soon word reaches local

priest, Father Bowdern.

At 52, Bowdern is a scholar and seasoned
Jesuit priest.

who served as a military chaplain in
World War II.

But what he hears from the family is
serious enough that he takes it straight

the Archbishop of St. Louis, who agrees
the child must undergo a second exorcism

immediately.

It will become one of the most well
-documented exorcisms in U .S. history,

it is one of the rare times the Church
formally sanctions the rite on American

soil.

Father Baudern prepares to leave the
deliverance, joined by his assistant,

Father Bishop, who documents the ordeal
in a handwritten journal.

To guide the exorcism, Baudern turns to
the church's ancient manual, the Rituale

Romanum, a book of rites written in
Latin, unchanged for centuries.

He memorizes the prayers.

and gathers what is required, a
crucifix, holy water, and the relic of a

saint. Because once the ritual begins,
there's no turning back.

Much of the event takes place here, in a
secluded psychiatric wing.

Astoundingly, the exorcism goes on for
over a month, as Bowdern battles what he

believes is the devil himself.

Mother of God.

Pray for us.

The session grows ever more violent,
more profane.

Bowdern and his assistant recount the
litany of the saints.

Pray for us.

Saint Michael, pray for us.

As they invoke the saints, it's recorded
that the bed begins to shake.

Our Christ compels you.

Roland lashes out, breaking the priest's
nose.

But the men continue their prayers.

Then Father Bowdern notices a shift. The
boy grows suddenly calm, almost himself

again. Seizing the moment, Bowdern acts.

Will you accept this baptism?

Yes. Almighty and ever -loving God. To
their surprise, Roland agrees. He

renounces Satan.

According to the priest's diary, what
happens next is unforgettable.

Roland cries out, declaring himself to
be the archangel St.

Michael, wielding a fiery sword.

And after a hellish month of ritual,
violence, and perceived possession, just

like that, it's over.

Roland themes at last to be a thief.

Whatever dark presence had haunted him
now appears to be gone.

After the ordeal, Roland returns home to
Maryland.

He and his parents never speak publicly
of what happened.

The only record of all of this is the
remarkable diary kept by Father Bishop.

For the next 70 years, two huge
questions will remain unanswered. Who

real boy behind this incredible story?

And was he truly possessed by the devil?

Now, we may finally have the answer.

For 70 years, the true identity of
Roland Doe, the boy who inspired the

exorcist, was shrouded in secrecy. What
was his real name, and was he actually

possessed by the devil?

Now, Reverend Anthony Holmes, who's
spent years studying and observing first

-hand cases of exorcism, pulls back the
curtain on this spine -chilling story.

Roland was a teenager.

He was in an emotional place.

He was grieving his aunt. And in the
middle of his grief, strange things

happening. While it's impossible to know
whether or not something supernatural

took place, when you step back and look
at it, the events don't necessarily

point to the supernatural.

They point to stress, trauma, and
isolation.

They are psychological conditions that
could explain what the family and priest

believe they saw.

Much of what we know about Roland's case
comes from the religious perspective of

Father Bishop's diary.

Skeptics argue that those strange
events, the banging sounds in the house,

the scratches on Roland's skin, could
have been produced by a boy in the

of despair.

But how does that explain the fact that
he was speaking Latin, a language he

didn't know?

Some believe it was a case of impressive
mimicry.

echoing terms he'd previously heard in
the church and during the exorcisms

themselves.

The power of suggestion could deeply
take play in this case.

The family was deeply religious.

The priests were around him at all
times, people speaking about God or the

and things of this nature around him and
the family.

For Roland's religious family, the devil
is seen as a real and terrifying force.

And once strange things started
happening, they prioritized seeking help

the church over the medical community.

Being exposed to that kind of influence
at a young age, while also processing

the loss of his beloved Aunt Tilly,
could have conditioned Roland's mind to

believe he was possessed.

If your family believed it, If your
pastor believes it, if the church

it, then you might end up believing it
too.

Reverend Holmes is convinced that
Roland's ordeal may have been less about

demons and more about the fragile
boundaries of the human mind.

In 1999, the Vatican revisited its
understanding of possession.

Priests must first rule out mental
illness.

But in the case of Roland, another huge
mystery still remains.

Who was he?

and what became of him after his
harrowing experience.

In 2021, more than 50 years after the
ordeal, the man once known as Roland Doe

dies at the age of 86.

And at that point, journalists around
the world reveal his name, Ronald Edwin

Hunkler.

After the exorcism, Ronald Hunkler went
on to live a seemingly ordinary life.

He graduated from high school in 1954.

He pursued an engineering career and
worked at NASA for over 40 years.

He was even part of the team that helped
develop technology for the Apollo

missions. But he never spoke publicly
about the exorcism. To colleagues, he

just another engineer.

While the detailed accounts in Father
Bishop's diary firmly suggest a

supernatural culprit, we now know this
infamous story may be more about

childhood grief than the dangers of the
devil.

Ronald Hunkler built a quiet, grounded
life, raising three children and

distancing himself from those events in
the Maryland suburbs in 1949.

And who can blame him when your most
terrifying childhood experience becomes

of Hollywood's biggest blockbusters?

Who wouldn't want to stay out of the
spotlight?

From a demonic mystery to something
strangely sweeter.

The year is 65 B .C., and we are deep in
the hills of the Pontic Kingdom, what

will eventually be called Turkey.

The Pontics are at war with the Romans,
and they are vastly outnumbered. But not

to worry, they've got a plan to strike
back, which brings us to these clay

So what's inside?

Weapons? Maybe explosives.

Actually, it's honey. And soon it will
be deployed into one of the wildest

military maneuvers of all time. One that
ends in the complete massacre of a

thousand attacking Roman soldiers.

So how does honey kill an army? To find
out, we comb through the evidence to

finally reveal the secret of history's
stickiest trap.

Two thousand years ago in ancient
Turkey, two great armies are battling

dominance, the Romans and the Pontics.

Rome at this time is a mighty republic,
controlling a vast swath of the globe.

Practically every piece of land that
touches the Mediterranean Sea is Roman,

except for a rather large chunk known as
the Pontic Kingdom.

For the next several years, the Romans
and the Pontics violently clash over

valuable territory.

under the command of two opposing and
legendary leaders.

On one side is Pompey, a notorious
general in the Roman army. He cultivates

reputation for ruthlessness and is known
as the teenage butcher, after winning

several great victories as a young man.

On the opposite side is the Pontic king
Mithridates, a legend in his own right,

and not about to go down without a
fight.

After all, he's resisted the Romans
since before Pompey was born.

But who is Mithridates? To really
understand him, we need to rewind a bit.

Mithridates ascends to the throne as a
boy after his father's sudden and

suspicious death.

Widely believed to be the work of
poison, administered by none other than

Mithridates' own mother.

Talk about family drama.

With her husband dead, Mithridates' mom
rules in his place until the boy comes

of age and claims what is rightfully
his.

Fearing that his mom might now poison
him, he imprisons her where she dies.

With his power secured, King Mithridates
becomes famed for his shrewd

intelligence, supposedly speaking 22
languages.

He also turns all that poison -related
childhood trauma into a lifelong

Toxicology becomes Mithridates' true
expertise, learning how to create

poisons and measure the perfect dose.

He often tests out deadly ingredients
like nightshade, hemlock, arsenic, and

lead on criminals, observing their
effects and looking for potential

Over the years, Mithridates becomes so
engrossed with elixirs of death, at

he even tests them on himself.

Kids, don't try this at home.

But his obsession with poisons doesn't
end there. He also turns his lethal

recipes into weapons of war.

From venom -tipped arrows and flaming
oils to unleashing wasps and wild beasts

into enemy tunnels, he fights dirty and
brilliantly.

Which brings us back to his war with the
Romans and General Pompey, and a

poisonous plan to take the general out.

In 65 BC, more than a thousand of
Pompey's Roman soldiers trudged through

treacherous Caucasus Mountains on their
way to attack the Pontic Kingdom.

Starving and spent, they stumble upon
what looks like a gift from the gods,

bowls of delicious golden honey.

left out in the open near a quiet
village.

Too hungry to question it, the Romans
dig in.

But this is no sweet treat. It's a trap.

And soon, the Roman army will be dead.

But how?

Modern science finally has the answer.

In 65 BC, an army of soldiers under the
mighty Roman general Pompey stumble into

a literal honey trap laid by enemy king
Mithridates.

Over the next few hours, the men dip
into the sugary bounty.

But then they begin to feel strange.

Some hallucinate.

Others become physically ill. And soon
they grow weak, collapse.

and slip into unconsciousness.

With the Romans helpless, Mithridates'
forces face no resistance at all.

Sources say around a thousand
legionnaires are all wiped out in a

ambush.

As for their leader, Pompey, he survives
the trap, but is purportedly enraged,

swearing revenge.

Over the next two years, he unleashes
hell.

crushing the last of Mithridates' forces
one by one.

Realizing defeat by Pompey is
inevitable, Mithridates decides to take

life with, you guessed it, poison.

But in a cruel twist, his suicide
attempt doesn't work.

Turns out years of testing small doses
of poison on himself has made him

With poison off the table, he asks his
loyal bodyguard to do what no toxin

could, finish him with a sword.

Despite losing the war and his life,
Mithridates' honey trap becomes one of

greatest triumphs and an enduring
historical mystery.

For centuries, experts have wondered
exactly how he managed to concoct a

so deadly that it alone incapacitated
the Roman army.

But in 2023, historian and emergency
doctor Matthew D. Turner discovered the

truth about what turned this sweet
nectar into a biological weapon.

Given Mr. Davey's wide knowledge of
poisons and his reputation for

you might think that he had spiked the
honey with something, something like

arsenic, which he was fond of using.

This was not actually the case.

After combing through the historical
records, I found that the valley where

Mithridates is said to have laid its
trap contains a large amount of plants

called Rhododendron ponicum, also known
as Mountain Rose, a plant which is well

known for the poison in its nectar.

And what's more, the bees in this valley
only pollinate a tiny two square miles

around their beehive. And what flower do
the bees pollinate in this valley?

Mountain Rose.

When the bees consume the nectar of the
mountain rose plant, the toxins make

their way into the honey.

Locals call it mad honey, but science
calls it granotoxin poisoning.

This stuff doesn't mess around.

It hijacks your nervous system, slows
your heart, and blurs your vision. The

result? Up to 24 hours of wild, woozy
misery with vomiting and diarrhea.

Sounds fun.

Essentially, when you're poisoned by
granotoxins, your body is unable to

stop or slow down any of its processes.

You just keep sweating and sweating and
sweating. Your body is just unable to

stop itself.

Granotoxins can have wildly different
effects at very different dosages.

Even today, very small amounts of mad
honey are actually used for medicinal

purposes, for treating high blood
pressure, diabetes, and even low libido.

even a tiny change in the dosage can be
very toxic and deadly.

It seems Mithridates had perfected his
own secret formula.

If the poisoned honey had been too weak,
the Roman soldiers could have fought

back. But if the mix was too strong, the
first few to drink it would have fallen

ill immediately, warning off their
comrades from taking a taste.

Mithridates diluted the poison just
enough so that the Roman soldiers all

the honey, but had a high enough
concentration so that they were poisoned

honey. This was very much a Goldilocks
scenario of poisoning.

So, according to Dr. Turner, we now know
how Mithridates pulled off his honey

trap so effectively.

But one question still lingers. How did
Pompey not anticipate this kind of

attack? Given Mithridates' reputation
for using poison against his enemies,

you'd think Pompey would have seen this
coming a mile away.

It seems pretty unlikely that Pompey
would not have been unaware of this as a

possibility. However, it's possible he
simply didn't care.

I think part of it may have been
arrogance on Pompey's part. At this

seemed inevitable that Pompey's
resistance would soon be crushed, as it

Mithridates actually sent Pompey a peace
offer, but Pompey refused it because he

wanted, like, a total crushing victory.

And he got it, even at the cost of
thousands of his own men.

Although the Romans claimed ultimate
victory on the battlefield, no one will

ever forget the deadly sweet legacy of
their enemies.

Mithridates masterfully created a blend
of honey that wiped out an army. But he

also did something else. He laid the
groundwork for the concept of biological

warfare. From poison -tipped arrows and
plague -ridden corpses tossed over

medieval castle walls, all the way to
the 2001 anthrax attack, biological

warfare has long been a tragic fixture
of human conflict. And it all stems from

a simple pot of honey.

Sickly sweet, indeed.

It's August 2nd, 2008, and I'm in front
of an apartment complex in Baltimore,

Maryland. This man has just been told
over the phone that his boat is sinking,

but it's a trap. The call came from
these officers, and they're arresting

for kidnapping his 7 -year -old
daughter.

So who is he? Well, he claims to be
Clark Rockefeller, fine art collector,

Street phenom, and a guy with a last
name that makes him heir to one of the

powerful families in the nation.

But in the weeks that follow...

Investigators and the world will
discover this Rockefeller is in fact an

imposter, one of the most prolific
fraudsters in American history. And

new details reveal he may also be a cold
-blooded murderer.

The man who would claim to be a
Rockefeller is born in 1961 in Germany

very different name.

Christian Carl Gerhardsreiter. His
childhood is unexceptional, growing up

modest working -class family.

Then, as a young man, he moves to the
United States, landing in Connecticut as

an exchange student.

He develops a passion for acting, but
for him, life itself is a performance.

His first lie sets the stage.

He convinces his American host family he
comes from wealthy German nobility.

When in truth, his background is
anything but.

Two years later, he heads to the Midwest
and briefly enrolls as a film student

at the University of Wisconsin.

There, he adopts his first new persona,
naming himself Christopher Gerhardt.

In 1981, the so -called Christopher hits
a bump in the road. His visa is about

to expire.

so he comes up with a manipulative
scheme.

He persuades a woman named Amy into
marrying him just so he can get his

card. He's now a permanent U .S.
resident, and before the ink is dry on

wedding certificate, he skips town.

Ultimately, Amy will file for divorce,
never hearing from Christopher again.

In 1982, Christian lands in the wealthy
suburb of San Marino, California.

Using a fake ID under a new alias,
Christopher Chichester, he cons his way

the city's elite social circle, claiming
to be descended from British

royalty, with ties to Lord Mountbatten
and Sir Francis Chichester.

To strangers, he's posh, but his living
arrangements are far from upper crust.

Still, with charm and cunning, he
manages to land a rent -free spot in the

house of Ruth Sohus, a wealthy widow he
meets through San Marino's high society.

But tensions start to rise when Ruth's
family comes to stay, her son John, a

computer programmer, and his wife Linda,
an artist.

John grows uneasy.

The more time he spends around him, the
more questions John has about this so

-called Christopher Chichester, a man
who claims he has noble British roots,

lives in a pool house with no clear job
and, stranger still, no clear past.

After a year of rising tension, John and
Linda apparently head out of town,

leaving a message for Ruth that they've
taken a business trip to New York.

When they don't return, Ruth grows
anxious.

Until postcards arrive claiming the
couple is now traveling through Europe.

Two months go by and there's no further
communication.

Distraught, Ruth files a missing persons
report.

John and Linda are never seen again. And
the man living with Ruth, known as

Christopher Chichester, vanishes soon
after.

Questions swirl.

Did he have something to do with the
couple's disappearance?

The Trail of Clues will lead us to one
of the richest and most famous families

in American history.

After the suspicious disappearance of
his landlord's son and daughter -in

conman Christian Gerhartsreiter ditches
his alias Christopher Chichester and

moves across the country.

He pops up in Greenwich, Connecticut as
Christopher Crowe, a smooth -talking

finance guy. That is, until his lack of
business experience gets him fired. In

the mid-'90s, he lands in New York,
where he takes on his most outrageous

persona yet.

Meet Clark Rockefeller, eccentric heir
to the affluent Rockefeller family.

The Rockefellers are one of the
wealthiest dynasties in America's

Patriarch John D. Rockefeller founded
Standard Oil.

His grandson Nelson would go on to be U
.S. Vice President.

Governor Nelson Rockefeller of New York
dominates the scene in the early hours.

To be clear, Christian has no actual
connection to the Rockefellers.

Instead, leaning on his charisma,
thorough research, and keen ability to

questions to make his adopted persona
work.

And he has a fake social security number
and forged documents handy just in

case.

But living life like a Rockefeller, all
while avoiding actual Rockefellers, is

expensive. Christian needs to find a
source of funding fast.

In 1993, while hosting a party, he meets
Sandra Boss, a Harvard Business School

graduate earning over a million dollars
a year at a global management consulting

firm. Christian makes Sandra laugh, and
Sandra makes Christian rich.

They're married in Nantucket in 1995.

None of his relatives attend, as he
claims to have disinvited them over an

undisclosed family drama.

After tying the knot, the honeymoon ends
fast.

Christian seizes total control over
their lives, from their finances to

social lives, even dictating what Sandra
can eat.

Honey, that's enough calories for today.

Then, in 2001, Sandra gives birth to a
daughter, Ray, who they nickname

Snooks.

Ironically, for a man always living a
lie, Christian's love for his biological

daughter seems to be the one true thing
in his life.

But that love will also be his undoing.

As years pass, Sandra grows suspicious
of why she's never met any of her

husband's Rockefeller relatives.

After they relocate to Boston in 2006,
she hires a private investigator.

I'm so sorry, Miss Boss. I've got some
bad news for you. Although her husband's

true identity remains unknown, she
learns one undeniable truth.

He is not Clark Rockefeller, because
there is no Clark Rockefeller. He

exist. In shock, Sandra divorces him and
wins custody of Snook.

Losing his beloved daughter apparently
devastates Christian.

At the end of his rope, during a
supervised visitation on July 27, 2008,

kidnaps seven -year -old Snooks,
triggering a nationwide manhunt that

days, until a Maryland resident
recognizes the fugitive's face on the

calls police.

He's got a boat at the local marina, and
authorities fear he's about to use it

to flee with his daughter.

Which brings us back here, August 2nd,
2008, outside the Baltimore apartment

where so -called Clark Rockefeller has
finally been found and is being placed

under arrest.

After 30 years of living lie after lie,
for serial impersonator Christian Carl

Gerhartsreiter, the jig is finally up.

In June of 2009, he's sentenced to five
years in prison for custodial

kidnapping.

But his legal troubles are only
beginning, because soon the path he's

hard to outrun will come back with a
vengeance, exposing a dark secret that

long been buried.

The Exorcist, inspired by the real -life
case of Roland Doe, is one of the most

successful horror movies ever made.

But what's less well -known is that the
film's production was plagued by eerie

events. Two actors who played characters
that die in the movie tragically passed

away in real life shortly after filming.

A mysterious fire also destroyed most of
the set, except, unsettlingly, the room

of the possessed child played by Linda
Blair.

The crew became so concerned that
director William Friedkin brought in a

priest to bless the production.

And the horrors would continue when the
film was released, with multiple viewers

reportedly fainting, and some theaters
even arranging to have ambulances on

standby. We know that art imitates life,
but maybe also the afterlife.

Christian Gerhardt's writer has been
arrested for kidnapping and exposed as a

fraud for assuming the identity of Clark
Rockefeller.

As investigators dig deeper, they begin
to suspect that Christian's past may be

darker than anyone realized.

Vanity Fair journalist Mark Thiel spent
years investigating the story, and he

uncovered the shocking truth about one
of Christian's former lives.

In 1994, workers were digging a hole for
a new swimming pool in this home in San

Marino, California, and the blade hit
something hard.

and it turned out to be a badly
decomposed body.

The authorities later identified the
bones as belonging to John Sohas, who

been missing with his wife, Linda Sohas,
since 1985.

This is the home of Ruth Sohas. That's
right, John Sohas' body was found on the

same property where Christian
Gerhartsreiter lived in the mid-'80s

alias Christopher Chichester.

right before he skipped town and took on
yet another identity.

It's certainly suspicious, but also
circumstantial. And while the police had

tried to track down this Christopher
Chichester for questioning, their search

came up empty.

However, after Clark Rockefeller was
arrested for kidnapping, and his story

image were splashed across the media,

A neighbor of Ruth Sohus noticed
Rockefeller and Chichester appeared to

and the same.

Now that they found the prime suspect in
the John Sohus murder case, they just

needed the evidence to prove it.

And it turns out the key to cracking the
case was a plastic bag.

There were two plastic bags that
contained some of the remains of John

one of them had the logo of the
University of Wisconsin on them, which

odd.

That's where Christian had studied, just
before he moved to California and

reinvented himself as Christopher
Chichester.

The prosecution felt this was the
smoking gun that clearly showed

was the killer.

But what was the motive?

The police investigator later told me
that Christopher needed money to start a

new life and that somehow he figured he
could get some of Ruth's money.

Maybe John and Linda somehow suspected
that things were not right with

Christopher. He really wasn't who he
said he was.

The prosecution's theory was that
Christian realized he was about to be

as a fraud.

A confrontation may have followed,
leading to the murder of John and

Linda as well.

Lawyers argued it was exactly the kind
of manipulative scheme you'd expect from

a career con man. The jury agreed.

They found Christian guilty and
sentenced him to 27 years in prison for

murder of John Soas. As for Linda, she
remains missing.

The tragedy of this whole thing is John
and Linda Soas.

This isn't just a fun story about
somebody who fooled people with a big

It's a tragic story about the loss of a
young man who was in the prime of his

life. And Linda was an artist. And this
young couple, who everyone seemed to

love, are gone.

Christian Gerhart's writer left untold
damage in his wake.

His deceptions ripped lives apart,
including those of the people who loved

the most.

Christian was a master at making people
believe. His wife, Sandra,

said in the trial that she may have had
a blind spot because he was very

charming, very intelligent, had all of
the trappings of sophistication.

Christian just shedded one identity for
another and just kept moving forward.

But that kidnapping of his daughter
caused his whole world to be exposed to

crash.

And as for Christian, to this day, he
insists that while he's guilty of living

borrowed lives, he's innocent of murder.

He fought his conviction on appeal
twice, in 2015 and 2016, but both

were denied.

In the end, the man who fooled so many
couldn't escape himself or his fate.

I'm Josh Gates, and I'll see you on the
next expedition.