Intellectual Property Law

Prosecution Rests in Hans Reiser Murder Trial; Defense Moves for Acquittal

By Ryan Singel, Kevin Poulsen, Sarah Lai Stirland, Kim Zetter, and David Kravets

OAKLAND, California -- Three-plus months and more than 50 witnesses later, the prosecution in the Hans Reiser murder trial rested its case Thursday.

Hans Reiser is the popular open source programmer from Oakland. He is accused of killing his wife, Nina Reiser, in 2006. The 31-year-old woman, who was divorcing him, was last seen Sept. 3, 2006 when she dropped off the couple's two young children at her husband's house in the Oakland hills for the Labor Day weekend.

The 44-year-old defendant claims his estranged wife abandoned their two young children, and moved back to Russia, where the couple met while the programmer was on business. It was part of what the defense has described as the "five-year plan."

After jurors were excused until Tuesday, when the defense begins its case, defense attorney William DuBois filed a motion asking the judge to acquit his client under a California Penal Code section that authorizes judges to dismiss charges if evidence doesn't point to a defendant's guilt. That motion, which is routinely filed in murder cases, is pending.

The authorities claim Nina Reiser never left her husband's Oakland hills residence alive.

(The Reisers' young son, now 8, testified in a preliminary hearing before the jury was picked that he saw his mother drive away after she left him and his younger sister, now 6, with their father. In testimony before jurors, the boy said he saw his father that night carrying a bag that might have held somebody curled up in a ball, and he never said he saw her leave. Jurors are aware of the discrepancy.)

The Linux guru remains jailed here without bail. He faces a life sentence if convicted.

Opening statements began Nov. 6.

The defense's first witness will be Ramon Reiser, the defendant's father, who will take the stand Tuesday.

Whether the defendant will testify is unclear. His lawyer, DuBois, said his client is insistent on it, but only time will tell.

The prosecution's 50-plus witnesses included police officers, neighbors, friends, the defendant's mother, Nina Reiser's mother and officials at the Reiser children's schools. The kids now live in Russia with Nina Reiser's mother, who was the last witness for the prosecution.

The case, People v. Hans Reiser, rested largely on circumstantial evidence.

Forensic evidence included blood found on a pillar at the Oakland hills house and Nina Reiser's blood on a sleeping bag cover in Hans Reiser's car. A crime scene technician, however, testified she could not say for sure whether Nina Reiser's blood was on that column.

Some of the circumstantial evidence included the defendant being detained with $9,000 and his passport; the passenger seat of his two-seater Honda CRX went missing; the vehicle's inside was drenched when the authorities discovered it.

A neighbor said he saw Hans Reiser, wearing heavy clothes on a hot fall night, washing something on the front driveway; a social services worker testified that Hans Reiser, days before his wife vanished, called the agency to protest allegations he was behind in child support; a police officer testified that he told Nina Reiser to get a gun to protect her from her husband.

THREAT LEVEL is providing gavel-to-gavel coverage.

Courtroom sketches by Wired's Norman Quebedeau.

Full post as published by Threat Level on February 14, 2008 (boomark / email).