Hans Reiser
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Hans Reiser (born December 19, 1963) is an American computer programmer convicted of murdering his wife Nina Reiser in 2006. Before his conviction he created the computer file systems ReiserFS and Resier4 and founded the software company Namesys.
Biography edit
Reiser was born in Oakland, California. He dropped out of school at age 13 because he was bullied by his peers and viewed the schooling system as too rigid, and was accepted to the University of Berkely at only 15. After graduating with a BS in computer science, he founded the software company Namesys. Namesys developed the file systems ReiserFS and Reiser4. Reiser4 was never released due to Reiser's arrest, but ReiserFS has been available in the Linux operating system since version 2.4.1.
Reiser married Russian mail-order bride Nina Sharanova in 1998. They separated in 2004, with Nina initiating divorce proceedings and filing a restraining order against Hans after he pushed her during the proceedings. Hans was banned from going within 100 yards of his wife and was ordered by a judge to pay 50% medical and childcare expenses. In May 2005 Nina complained that Hans had not paid and owed her $12, 000.
In September 5, 2006, before the divorce could be finalized, Nina Reiser was reported missing. She had last been seen alive two days earlier after dropping off the couple's two children at her mother's house. Her empty car, still containing groceries, was found by the motorway on September 9. Neighbours told police that they had seen Hans Reiser hose down something in his driveway for over half an hour after Nina's disappearence, followed by the disappearence of his car; Hans was currently using his mother's car. Hans was placed under surveillance and was ultimately arrested on suspicion of murder in October.
At Hans' trial, police officers testified that Reiser had attempted to avoid surveillance by driving at fast speeds and making sudden and unnecessary turns. Forensic experts claimed that DNA testing had identified blood found in Reiser's mother's home, where Reiser was living after the separation, and on a bag in the car belonged to Nina Reiser. However, it was established that a forensic mistake rendered the blood on the pillar inconclusive. A 40-piece socket set was found, alongside four seat screws and a wrench with a socket on it, which the prosecution argued meant that Reiser had removed the passenger seat from the car to cover up the fact that Nina's blood was on it. This was contradicted by a traffic officer who testified that he had pulled Reiser over nine days after the disappearence and the passenger seat had still been there.
Due to these discrepancies, Reiser would likely have been acquitted had he not insisted on testifying. In his testimony, he delivered a rambling story claiming that as a genius-level programmer he was so emotionally detached that he was not responsible for his actions even if he did kill Nina. To prove this, he produced a complex equation which he claimed proved that it was just as likely that Nina was in Russia, claiming that the judge's failure to understand his argument was proof of his claim. This destroyed his credibility, and he was found guilty on April 28, 2008.
After his conviction, Reiser made a deal with prosecutors. In return for a lighter sentence, he pled guilty to second-degree murder and showed police where he had buried Nina; she was in a shallow grave on a hill between Redwood Regional Park and the Huckleberry Botanic Regional Preserve. He was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison. He was sent to serve his sentence in San Quentin State Prison, later being transferred to Mule Creek State Prison after being attacked by other prisoners. He was transferred to several other prisons before eventually ending up at the California Health Care Facility. During his sentence he was ordered to pay $60 million to his children for the death of Nina Reiser and was denied parole in 2020. His next parole date is March 2023.