Original URL: https://www.theregister.com/2008/07/08/body_found_reiser/
File system killer leads police to wife's bones
Reiser's desperate bid for a reduced sentence
Posted in Legal, 8th July 2008 05:53 GMT
Convicted murderer and, er, file system whiz Hans Reiser today led police to the buried body of his wife Nina Reiser.
In an apparent bid to reduce his sentence, Reiser agreed to drag police into Redwood Regional Park and disclose the location of his wife's remains. Police found a grave four feet by four feet by four feet filled with bones placed just three blocks from the home Reiser shared with his mother. Reiser apparently went right to the grave located on the side of a hill.
"It was a difficult, emotional trip," Reiser's attorney William Du Bois told a local news station.
During his trial, Reiser maintained his innocence, and his attorneys suggested that Nina might still be alive and living in Europe. But with only two days remaining before sentencing, Reiser agreed to assist authorities, likely hoping for a more lenient sentence.
His first-degree murder conviction could be reduced to a second-degree murder charge. Such a shift would result in a 15 years to life sentence instead of a 25 years to life sentence.
While Reiser's lawyers may have made a deal seeking the reduced charge, a judge will have the ultimate say in Reiser's sentencing. As a result of the recent events, Reiser's sentencing has been postponed indefinitely.
Reiser is a well-known open source programmer who concocted the ReiserFS file system. His murder trial was a regular feature during Silicon Valley news reports throughout his six-month trial.
Police had searched the area where Nina Reiser's body was recovered with cadaver dogs. Volunteers also covered the same ground looking clues as to Reiser's location. ®