Hans Reiser Guilty! Justice finally.. Thank goodness!

[Brock Samson]

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/04/29/BAKU10DLNG.DTL&tsp=1

I have been following this local story and I'm so glad to see this arrogant SOB get his reward.
finally!
               

Reiser juror: "Never showed sympathy" for Nina

     (04-29) 07:07 PDT OAKLAND --

Computer programmer Hans Reiser was arrogant while testifying in his murder trial and never showed any compassion for his estranged wife, one of many factors that led to his conviction on first-degree murder, a member of the jury said today.

In an interview today with The Chronicle, Vince Dunn, 61, said although Reiser had been going through a bitter divorce, "He never showed any kind of sympathy for the fact that she was the mother of his kids."

Reiser's coldness on the stand and a phone call to his mother in which he basically justified the reasons that he hated his wife were among the reasons that led the seven-man, five-woman jury on Monday to find him guilty of murdering her even though her body has not been found, Dunn said.

"He was always making her the bad person," Dunn said. "He just focused on his belief that she was unfit, a thief, not a good mother, on and on and on, but everybody else was talking about what a nice person she was."

Jurors believed Reiser was "very arrogant," Dunn said.

Reiser, 44, will be back before Judge Larry Goodman of Alameda County Superior Court this morning to set a sentencing date. A first-degree murder conviction carries a sentence of 25 years to life in prison.

Dunn acknowledged that the case had no body, no murder weapon and no eyewitnesses, making it "tough" at times during deliberations. But Dunn said he and his fellow jurors "all came to the conclusion that there was so much circumstantial evidence" and that "all the evidence pointed to him as the culprit."

Nobody has heard from Nina Reiser since Sept. 3, 2006, when she dropped off the couple's children at his Oakland hills home. "We were convinced that she was dead because she would never have left her children," Dunn said.

Dunn said one of the most compelling pieces of evidence for him was Reiser's wiretapped phone call to his mother, Beverly Palmer, on Sept. 20 in which he railed against his wife, saying, "She looked for every possible way to screw me and did it." Reiser said.

Palmer told her son, "no matter all these things that she did, she didn't deserve whatever it is that's happened to her." Reiser replied, "I think my children shouldn't be endangered by her."

The panel took at least four votes during three days of deliberations and never considered acquitting Reiser, said Dunn, who teaches the fifth grade at Lafayette Elementary School in Oakland and was juror No. 7.

The panel had its share of disagreements, including deciding between first- and second-degree murder, Dunn said. "We fought like a family," he said. "We had our share of infighting, but in the end we came out in agreement."

Dunn declined to discuss the opinions of other jurors.

But he said as a group, the jury was convinced that Nina Reiser's murder was the result of deliberation because he suddenly stopped using his Visa card in August 2006 and repeatedly called county Supervisor Gail Steele in the days before he killed his wife. Reiser believed Steele could help change the family court system, the supervisor testified during the trial.

Dunn said the jury noted that both Hans and Nina Reiser's cell phone batteries had been removed after she disappeared, making it impossible to track their locations. A computer expert would immediately be familiar with the implications of removed batteries, he said.

Dunn said he found it disheartening that poor people can't serve on a jury. The county pays each juror $15 a day to serve, and many of the 300 prospective jurors were dismissed because they couldn't afford to be on the panel, he said.

Dunn said the fact that Nina Reiser's blood was found in her husband's car and home "didn't in the end play as big a part as I thought it would." Instead, the jury found that it was suspicious that he had removed the front passenger seat and rear assembly area of his mother's Honda CRX, the car that prosecutors believe he hosed out after using it to transport his wife's body somewhere.

Dunn called prosecutor Paul Hora "a real hero" for his work on the case. "He really worked hard to put on the best possible case," Dunn said.

In contrast, defense attorney William Du Bois, who compared his client to the strange-looking duck-billed platypus, appeared to rely on "a lot of drama. It just seems like he was going uphill. It was an uphill battle all the time."

[Goodz]

You know, this is gonna be awkward when she comes back from Saint Martin with her new boyfriend/gardener Fernando. 

::edited, because Brock is right, never funny::

[Brock Samson]

this will never be funny. 

[Goodz]

Well, the guy is going to jail, so if he did it, justice served, right?  If she IS alive, and she just ran away from him because she couldnt take it anymore, then yeah... it's funny.  If she is dead, youre correct, never funny.  Dont want it to seem funny if that truly is the case.  If what I read is correct though, it looks like too many coincidences and this guy went through a lot of trouble to hide a dead body.  Yeah, he deserves what he gets if it's all accurate.  Didnt meant to offend you, but what if his wife suddenly pops up?  Not saying its going to happen, but how would you feel if it does?

[Neal_J]

The only surprise was that jury deliberations took three days...seems about 2-1/2 days too long.   

Enjoy Q, Hans!

Neal

Henry Lee's trial blog on sfgate was riveting.  Do you know him, Dave?

[Brock Samson]

 Yeah, i do know Henry Lee who's a great no nonsense reporter, and yes i was gonna suggest the blog as it gives the back story of the trial...
I'd have to put the court/police beat reporters as some of the most focused, hardest working journalists I've had the pleasure to know.

BTW:  http://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/general-10/what-if-hans-reiser-is-innocent...-550691/

[Charger_Fan]

This is the first I've heard of the case, but from the sound of it, I hope he rots in hell.
I feel bad for their kids.

...defense attorney William Du Bois, who compared his client to the strange-looking duck-billed platypus...

Nice.