Intellectual Property Law

OAKLAND, California -- Jurors weighing whether Linux programmer Hans Reiser killed his wife checked in about 10 a.m. for their third full day of deliberations here Monday.

The seven-man, five-woman jury could reach a conclusion at any time. The 44-year-old developer of the ReiserFS filesystem is accused of killing wife Nina Reiser on Sept. 3, 2006. The 31-year-old woman, who was in a bitter divorce and custody battle with the open source developer, was last seen at his house in the Oakland hills, where she brought the couple's two young kids to stay for the Labor Day weekend.

She has not been seen since.

For his part, the defendant, who remains jailed without bail, has pleaded not guilty and maintains his wife abandoned their children and moved back to Russia, where the couple met in 1998 while he was overseas hiring programmer for his Namesys software company. He claims she left after he accused her of embezzling from Namesys.

THREAT LEVEL is providing gavel-to-gavel coverage. Trial began Nov. 6 and saw more than 70 witnesses. Stay tuned for the outcome.

Readers have declared him not guilty. Vote here.

See Also:

• Reiser Jury Deliberating; Readers Voting 'Not Guilty'
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• Hans Reiser Jury Finishes First Full Day Deliberating
• Hans Reiser Jury Leaves Without Verdict
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