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Reiser Murder Case Gets Stranger

Fahrvergnuugen writes "Wired is running a story about how an ex-lover of the missing wife of accused spouse killer Hans Reiser has confessed to killing eight people unrelated to the case. While Reiser will still stand trial for the murder, this development will undoubtedly complicate things."

18 of 500 comments (clear)

  1. hmmmm by uberjoe · · Score: 5, Funny

    Does this mean I don't have to reformat after all?

    --

    The days of the digital watch are numbered.

    1. Re:hmmmm by Tackhead · · Score: 5, Funny
      > Does this mean I don't have to reformat after all?

      Nope. Heck, kill -8 is just a floating point exception. It's kill -9 that Hans has to worry about.

      On the other hand, the guy making the confession did fsck her...

      /does anyone else smell brimstone, or is it just me?

  2. Bad line wrapping! by Kelson · · Score: 5, Insightful

    When I saw this story, I skimmed the first line, then got to the second, which read: "Hans Reiser has confessed to killing eight people unrelated to the case." It was a bit of a jolt. Then I went back and realized that it was referring to his wife's ex-lover, not to Reiser himself.

    This is why you don't put a giant 10-word prepositional phrase between a subject and verb, especially if that phrase ends with something that could plausibly by a subject.

    1. Re:Bad line wrapping! by solevita · · Score: 5, Funny

      I tried reading the summary aloud and the kill count almost went up a notch. Short sentences help readers breath.

    2. Re:Bad line wrapping! by Iamthefallen · · Score: 5, Funny

      When I saw this story, I skimmed the first line, then got to the second, which [...] was a bit of a jolt. Then I went back and realized that it was referring to [...] a giant [...] p [...] e [...] n [...] i [...] s

      Summarizing like a Slashdot editor is more fun.
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  3. just to be clear by seanadams.com · · Score: 5, Informative

    in case you mis-read the summary like I did at first: it was not Hans Reiser who confessed, but Sean Sturgeon, someone his wife previously dated. It is also unclear from TFA when they say "a one-time friend of Reiser's" whether they are talking about Hans or his wife.

    Irrespective of whether Hans is really guilty, if this isn't enough to show a reasonable doubt I don't know what is. In light of this, it would seem quite plausible that he was framed.

    Interesting tidbit at the end of TFA:According to testimony in preliminary hearings in the case, Nina Reiser had once dated Sturgeon, but broke off their relationship in January 2006 because she was unhappy with his lifestyle and taste for sadomasochism.

    Sounds like they're all a bunch of real whackos!

    1. Re:just to be clear by vandan · · Score: 5, Funny

      I've thought he'd been framed from day one. He had some Department of Defense contracts for developing resier4. I wouldn't put it past them ( or the US administration ) to get bitchy over such a contract. Of course this is highly speculative, but what if, say, they asked him to implement something he didn't feel comfortable with? It's not like these guys have a problem with killing or imprisoning innocent people ( think Guantanimo Bay ). This is how they do business.

    2. Re:just to be clear by X0563511 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Wow, how delightfully shallow! If we found out that Newton murdered someone we should all drop newtonian physics!

      Honestly, whatever he has done on a social level (killing could be considered social interaction) has NOTHING to do with the technical merit/achievements... and we should not abandon his work merely because he (may have) killed his wife.

      </bitter>

      --
      For large sets, this will be our guide even unto death, for the LORD will work for each type of data it is applied to...
  4. Re:Reasonable doubt by Man+On+Pink+Corner · · Score: 5, Funny

    If your wife's ex-lover is a confessed serial killer, the evidence against you has to be pretty damning for you not to create reasonable doubt.

    Well, either that, or she was just into psychos.

  5. Reiser's attorney speaks out by L.+VeGas · · Score: 5, Funny

    "Look law, no Hans."

  6. Hans Reiser has not confessed to killing anybody! by Omnifarious · · Score: 5, Informative

    Change the wording of the article! Yes, it's from the original article. But it's very clearly misleading and needs to be changed.

  7. Wow, what are the odds? by HeavensBlade23 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    If Hans Reiser is guilty, that means Nina Reiser went from dating one killer to another killer... What are the odds of someone just happening to date two murderers?

    1. Re:Wow, what are the odds? by Opportunist · · Score: 5, Funny

      Probably the same of two bombs being on one plane. That's why I never travel without one.

      But try to discuss the laws of statistics with the ground personnel dimwits at airports...

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  8. Death Yogi by delire · · Score: 5, Interesting

    By confessing to something really horrible you aquire a curious kind of trust in people: if he says that he didn't kill Nina then who would doubt him now that he so flippantly admitted to the killing of 8 others?

    This of course can be a strategy in itself, it's a card he's earnt by confessing and can play against Reiser, someone he clearly wants to see lose everything (re 2004 case for attempted seizure of Reiser's business, Namesys Inc.).

  9. Re:The bus factor of OpenSOurce by Overly+Critical+Guy · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I think you're missing the point, which is that the OSS philosophy that someone will just come along and pick up the project is quite different from reality, as evidenced by the cratering of ReiserFS since this happened. If you're using a product from a business, it's a different story since a business can hire someone experienced enough to replace the previous developer. You're right that a business could pick up the project since the code is out there, but then why isn't that happening with ReiserFS?

    --
    "Sufferin' succotash."
  10. Re:I do? by Darby · · Score: 5, Funny

    .into the latest, most expensive, least-desirable version of Windows yet, a product that makes ME look enchanting by comparison.

    Come on Dude, don't be so hard on yourself.

  11. Re:What are the odds? by kestasjk · · Score: 5, Funny

    I'd like to hear the "People bleed, it happens" defense used in court. It might work well if you give a menacing look at the jury when you say "it happens".

    --
    // MD_Update(&m,buf,j);
  12. Still alive? by Skinkie · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Quote from wikipedia:
    It was also revealed that Nina Reiser obtained Russian citizenship for her daughter 2 years before and surreptitiously obtained Russian citizenship for her son two months before she disappeared.

    Now how likely would it be that she is somewhere is big Russia :)

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