Here's an old photo of Hans Reiser from his Stanford days. A San Francisco Chronicle reporter said at his sentencing Friday, however, Reiser's hair was grown out and he looked more like Art Garfunkel.
(Credit: via Stanford University)
In what appears the final chapter of the Hans Reiser crime saga, the Linux programmer convicted of killing his wife was sentenced Friday afternoon to 15 years to life in prison under a deal he worked out with prosecutors in exchange for leading police to his victim's body.
Reiser--known to the technology world as the founder of the ReiserFS file system software--was found guilty in April of first-degree murder in the 2006 killing of his wife, with whom he was undergoing a bitter divorce. The jury convicted him largely on circumstantial evidence and despite the fact that Nina Reiser's body hadn't been found before trial.
First-degree murder carries a sentence of 25 years to life, compared with 15 years to life for second-degree murder. But in anticipation of his sentencing, Reiser, 44, brokered a deal with prosecutors that went generally like so: If he brought police to his wife's body and he gave up his appellate rights, he could plead guilty to second-degree murder and get 15 years.
And that's what happened in an Oakland, Calif., courthouse Friday, after Reiser pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, according to media reports. He'll be eligible for parole in about 13 years, having already served two years since his October 2006 arrest.
Throughout the drama-filled six-month trial, Reiser maintained his innocence. Arguing the so-called geek defense, his attorney said that while Reiser may be strange, arrogant, even abnormal, his odd behavior following Nina's disappearance wasn't evidence of murder. On trial, Reiser smeared the mother of his two children, alleging, among other things, that she was likely hiding out in her native Russia with money she stole from his now defunct company, Namesys.
Nina Reiser's remains were found in Oakland's Redwood Regional Park, about a half a mile from where she was last seen. Click image for full map.
(Credit: Google)Reiser, handcuffed to his attorney, did in fact bring authorities to a grave site Monday containing his wife's remains in a heavily brushed, secluded area about 40 yards off a road in Oakland's Redwood Regional Park. The grave site was located about a half mile from where Nina was last seen in 2006 at Reiser's mother's house, where he was living.
It's unclear whether the cause of death was ever determined through an autopsy. But Wired reported that after the sentencing, prosecutor Paul Hora revealed some of the details from Reiser's confession. Reiser first punched Nina in the mouth, then strangled her to death, Hora said. Hora added that Reiser "stored the body in the bathroom, then moved it to his car, where it stayed for two days while he searched for a place to bury her," according to Wired.
Wired's David Kravets added that before he was formally sentenced, Reiser vowed to make up to society for what he had done and said he was putting Namesys and ReiserFS into a trust fund for his children. Reiser added that he hoped to earn money for his kids while in prison, assuming he's "able to get access to a computer and the Internet," according to Kravets.
OAKLAND, Calif.--The body that Linux programmer Hans Reiser led police to Monday has been positively identified as his estranged wife Nina Reiser, whom he is convicted of killing, police revealed at a press conference here Tuesday afternoon.
That development not only brings some closure to family and friends of Nina Reiser, but also brings Hans Reiser one step closer to a reduced sentence as part of a deal in the works with the prosecution that would still need a judge's approval, according to Alameda County Deputy District Attorney Paul Hora.
Reiser--known to the technology world as the founder of the ReiserFS file system software--was found guilty in April of first-degree murder in the 2006 killing of his wife, with whom he was undergoing a bitter divorce. The jury convicted him largely on circumstantial evidence and despite the fact that Nina Reiser's body hadn't been found before trial.
Hans Reiser
(Credit: via Stanford University)Throughout the drama-filled six-month trial, Reiser maintained his innocence. Arguing the so-called geek defense, his attorney said that while Reiser may be strange, arrogant, even abnormal, his odd behavior following Nina's disappearance wasn't evidence of murder. On trial, Reiser smeared the mother of his two children, alleging, among other things, that she was likely hiding out in her native Russia with money she stole from his now defunct company, Namesys.
Reiser was scheduled to be sentenced Wednesday. But in the meantime, his attorneys had contacted the prosecution with interest in brokering a deal. Under such an agreement, Hora said, Reiser would bring authorities to Nina's body, waive his right to an appeal, and adhere to other conditions not made public, in exchange for a plea to second-degree murder. First-degree murder carries a sentence of 25 years to life, compared with 15 years to life for second-degree murder.
Reiser, handcuffed to his attorney, did in fact bring authorities to a grave site Monday containing his wife's remains in a heavily brushed, secluded area about 40 yards off a road in Oakland's Redwood Regional Park. The grave site was located about a half mile from where Nina was last seen in 2006 at Reiser's mother's house, where he was living.
Nina Reiser's remains were found in Oakland's Redwood Regional Park, about a half a mile from where she was last seen. Click image for full map.
(Credit: Google)Without Reiser directing authorities, "we never would have found" her, said Oakland police homicide commander Ersie Joyner III. The cause of death has not yet been determined, Joyner added. However The San Francisco Chronicle reported Monday, citing a source familiar with the investigation, that Reiser said he had strangled Nina. Of course, Reiser said a lot of things that weren't true.
Hora emphasized that the deal "wouldn't have happened without the support and desire of Nina's family."
"Now the family gets to pick the burial site, not the defendant, and that's important," Hora said.
The prosecutor disagreed that the deal sends a message to defendants that lying under oath could get them lesser sentences. In this case, he said, "it was the right thing to do."
Given this week's developments, attorneys on both sides of the case plan to ask the judge for sentencing to be continued from Wednesday to a later, undetermined date, Hora said.
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