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Hans Reiser

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Hans Reiser
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Hans Thomas Reiser (born December 1963) is an American computer programmer residing in Oakland, California who specializes in operating systems and file systems. Since 1997 Reiser has headed Namesys, a company through which he primarily develops and supports the ReiserFS and Reiser4 filesystems.

On October 10, 2006, he was arrested and subsequently charged with the murder of his wife, Nina Reiser.

Biography

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (January 2007)

Hans Reiser was born to Ramon Reiser and Beverly Palmer in the 1960s. He grew up in California and dropped out of his junior high school before he was 14, citing disagreements with the conventional schooling system. He was accepted at the University of California, Berkeley at the age of 15 where he received a BA in Systematizing (an individualized major dealing with physics, math and related topics). Though preferring higher education, Reiser chose not to pursue a Ph.D. for the same reasons he dropped out of high school. He was therefore unable to pursue a career in academia and did a variety of part time jobs before eventually setting up a company using funding from his mother.

Wife's disappearance

Reiser's estranged wife Nina Reiser, a Russian-born doctor studying to become an OB/GYN, was reported missing in early September of 2006. She was last seen on September 3, when she dropped the couple's two children off at Hans' house.

The two were in the midst of acrimonious divorce proceedings, and Nina Reiser had obtained a temporary restraining order against Hans in December of 2004 after he allegedly pushed her. In September 2006, and again in October, police searched Hans Reiser's home in Oakland, California. Police brought cadaver dogs during one search. Neighbors reported that they had seen him rinsing something off of the driveway and that his beat-up car was gone, replaced by his mother's car.

Nina Reiser had sole custody of the couple's children. Following the disappearance, Hans Reiser was unsuccessful in an attempt to obtain custody. Oakland police testified against him at the custody hearing, though they did not reveal the evidence they based their concerns on.

Oakland police briefly detained Hans Reiser in September, served him with a search warrant on his person, and obtained a DNA sample. On October 10, 2006, following the second search of his home (in which Oakland police and FBI investigators removed a number of items), police announced that they were now treating the disappearance as a homicide case, and Reiser was arrested for the murder of Nina Reiser and subsequently charged.

On October 11, 2006, law-enforcement officials said that splatters of blood had been found in Hans Reiser's house and car. DNA tests could not rule out Nina Reiser as the source of the blood. Officials have not located the passenger seat of his 1989 Honda CRX Si hatchback. They also indicated that they had seized a number of books on homicide investigation purchased by Reiser on September 8—five days after his wife's disappearance—including "Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets," by David Simon, and "Masterpieces of Murder," by Jonathan Goodman. Daniel Horowitz, a high-profile defense attorney joined the defense team but dropped the case on November 28, citing Reiser's inability to pay for his services. Namesys employees state that he felt the police would suspect him from the start. Reiser was arraigned on Thursday, October 12, where he delayed entering a plea until his next court appearance on November 28. He is currently being held without bail. On November 28, Reiser entered a not guilty plea and invoked his right for a speedy trial, forcing the state to schedule a preliminary hearing for December 11.

On December 2, at the request of the Oakland police, search and rescue teams combed a wooded area less than three miles from Hans Reiser's house, but no new major findings were immediately announced.

The preliminary hearing opened on December 11, 2006 with Reiser being represented by attorney William Du Bois. At the hearing a forensic technician testified that blood matching Nina Reiser's DNA was found on a bag in Hans Reiser's car, and on a pillar in Palmer's house, where he has been living since the separation. Police also testified that they found a 40-piece socket set which may have been used to remove the passenger seat, a receipt for the purchase of the socket set from Kragen Auto Parts, as well as four seat bolts and a wrench with a socket in it, suggesting that the seat may have been removed recently. So far Reiser did not provide any alternative explanations why the seat was missing.

On January 17, 2007 Hans' children Rory and Nio were scheduled to testify, but failed to appear. Prosecutor Greg Dolge testified that Rory is under the care of a therapist in Russia and the therapist wants him to stay in Russia for further treatment. It was also revealed that Nina Reiser obtained Russian citizenship for her son two months before she disappeared.

Judge Julie Conger said that on Feb. 23 she will hold closing arguments and rule on whether there's enough evidence to order him to stand trial.

Software community reaction to arrest and charges

Following his arrest, some persons in the Linux community expressed concern over the future of Reiser's filesystem. A Slashdot thread on the subject of his arrest garnered 1500 comments, significant numbers of which discussed the future of the filesystem. On December 21, 2006, it was announced that Hans Reiser was going to sell his company due to increasing legal costs.

References

  1. ^ Byfield, Bruce (2006-10-12). "Reiser filesystem development to continue". Linux.com. Retrieved 2006-10-23. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  2. ^ Harris, Harry (October 11, 2006). "Missing woman's blood found in husband's house". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved 2006-10-11. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  3. Andrews, Jeremy (2005-09-13). "Interview: Hans Reiser". KernelTrap.org. Retrieved 2006-10-10. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  4. ^ Lee, Henry K. (September 14, 2006). "Man's home searched — wife is missing". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2006-10-10. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  5. Shuttleworth, Jeff (September 13, 2006). "Authorities Search Home of Missing Woman's Husband". CBS 5. Retrieved 2006-10-10. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  6. Lee, Henry K. (October 10, 2006). "Oakland police mum about house search in missing mother case". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2006-10-10. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  7. Wang, Lee (September 14th, 2006). "Woman Missing; Husband's Home Searched". KGO-TV. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  8. "Attorney: Hans Reiser 'Distrustful' of Oakland Police". CBS 5. September 19, 2006. Retrieved 2006-10-10. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  9. "Investigators Take DNA Sample From Hans Reiser". CBS 5. September 29, 2006. Retrieved 2006-10-10. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  10. Dearen, Jason (October 6, 2006). "Oakland police briefly detain missing hills woman's husband". Contra Costa Times. Retrieved 2006-10-10. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  11. Leff, Lisa (October 10, 2006). "Oakland police arrest missing woman's estranged husband". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2006-10-10. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  12. "Police: 'All Avenues Led Back To Mr. Reiser'". NBC11. October 10, 2006. Retrieved 2006-10-10. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  13. "Police Charge Hans Reiser With Murder". CBS 5. October 10, 2006. Retrieved 2006-10-11. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  14. ^ "Reiser pleads not guilty to killing estranged wife".
  15. "Blood evidence revealed in Reiser case". San Francisco Chronicle. October 12, 2006. Retrieved 2006-11-23. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  16. "County combs new location in Reiser hunt". Inside Bay Area. December 3, 2006. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  17. "Reiser wants speedy trial". Inside Bay Area. November 28, 2006. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  18. "DNA match of bloodstains in case of missing wife". San Francisco Chronicle. 2006-12-21. Retrieved 2006-12-21.
  19. ^ Judge lifts request for boy to testify in alleged killing / Reiser child's grandmother seeking custody in Russian courts, Henry K. Lee, San Francisco Chronicle, Jan 19, 2007
  20. "As suspect, Hans Reiser is hot topic in software world". Contra Costa Times. October 18, 2006. Retrieved 2006-11-08. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  21. "Murder Suspect Selling Namesys". Wired. 2006-12-21. Retrieved 2006-12-30.

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