Where's the body? June 27, 2007 8:51 AM Subscribe
This guy is like the OJ for white nerds.
posted by phaedon at 9:30 AM on June 27, 2007 [2 favorites]
posted by phaedon at 9:30 AM on June 27, 2007 [2 favorites]
That was a weird coy essay.
I start scouring the 80,496 lines of the Reiser4 source code. Eventually I stumble across a passage that starts at line 78,077. It's not part of the program itself — it's an annotation, a piece of non-executable text in plain English. It's there for the benefit of someone who has chosen to read this far into the code. The passage explains how memory structures are born, grow, and eventually die. It concludes: "Death is a complex process."posted by jessamyn (staff) at 9:35 AM on June 27, 2007
His buddy confesses to killing 8 people and is still walking around? What. The. Fuck.
posted by IronLizard at 9:39 AM on June 27, 2007
posted by IronLizard at 9:39 AM on June 27, 2007
Man oh man do I wish that hadn't been written for Wired. Note: article about geek accused of murder does not need to be rendered as a series of awkward, strained analogies to file systems. The folks who don't give a shit about FS stuff won't give a damn, and those of us who do will just be kind of annoyed an insulted.
posted by cortex (staff) at 9:45 AM on June 27, 2007
posted by cortex (staff) at 9:45 AM on June 27, 2007
Yeah, I was really put off by the strained murder->FS analogies in the Wired piece. Really hackneyed.
posted by the dief at 9:46 AM on June 27, 2007
posted by the dief at 9:46 AM on June 27, 2007
So what happened to his kids?
It's in the article, they went to stay with a relative in Russia and at the time of the writing of the article, hadn't come back.
It's in the article, they went to stay with a relative in Russia and at the time of the writing of the article, hadn't come back.
After Nina disappeared, the Alameda County social services agency put Rory and Niorline in a foster home at the urging of police. Two weeks later, the county family court released them to Nina's mother, who took them to Russia for the holidays. It's now late January. They were supposed to return weeks ago. Instead, a letter arrived from a lawyer in Russia, explaining that the kids were terrified of the US and would not return.posted by jessamyn (staff) at 9:47 AM on June 27, 2007
That was pretty god awful, even for wired.
posted by boo_radley at 9:49 AM on June 27, 2007
posted by boo_radley at 9:49 AM on June 27, 2007
I didn't like the file system segues, either, but the story - about people who are much smarter, and much, much crazier than me - was a good read in my opinion.
I especially liked the small details, like his mother being off to Burning Man while her son's and grandchildrens' lives are flying apart.
Totally think he did it.
posted by M.C. Lo-Carb! at 10:10 AM on June 27, 2007
I especially liked the small details, like his mother being off to Burning Man while her son's and grandchildrens' lives are flying apart.
Totally think he did it.
posted by M.C. Lo-Carb! at 10:10 AM on June 27, 2007
I'm here because his defense lawyer thinks I will understand Reiser. [...] Just because he doesn't behave like the rest of us — and just because he evaded police surveillance and bought a book titled Masterpieces of Murder shortly after his wife's disappearance — doesn't mean he's guilty. I have been asked to try to understand this, to try to understand the man.
The lawyer who gave this writer access was clearly hoping for a sympathetic story, and I bet he's not too happy right now. I hadn't heard of this case until today, and I generally start reading stories like this with hopes that the accused turns out to be innocent, but man . . . this article does not portray Reiser in a good light.
posted by vytae at 10:20 AM on June 27, 2007
The lawyer who gave this writer access was clearly hoping for a sympathetic story, and I bet he's not too happy right now. I hadn't heard of this case until today, and I generally start reading stories like this with hopes that the accused turns out to be innocent, but man . . . this article does not portray Reiser in a good light.
posted by vytae at 10:20 AM on June 27, 2007
Okay, so (1) There are irregularities in the books of Namesys; (1) Nina, the CFO of Namesys, is from Russia, and has suddenly gone missing; (2) Within weeks of Reiser's arrest in connection with the disappearance, Nina's children are spirited off to Russia, and U.S. authorities are informed that they will not be returning.
Huh.
Well, if I were Reiser's defense attorney, I know what I'd be pursuing.
posted by palmcorder_yajna at 10:26 AM on June 27, 2007 [1 favorite]
Huh.
Well, if I were Reiser's defense attorney, I know what I'd be pursuing.
posted by palmcorder_yajna at 10:26 AM on June 27, 2007 [1 favorite]
A good read, even if it wasn't that well written. I do wish that writers would forgo the urge to end on a clever little beat like this guy did.
posted by OmieWise at 10:27 AM on June 27, 2007
posted by OmieWise at 10:27 AM on June 27, 2007
Well, if I were Reiser's defense attorney, I know what I'd be pursuing.
That she was killed by the Russian mob?
You know it's interesting. How hard would actually have been to frame Hans if you wanted to kill his wife. I mean, it would be pretty easy.
1) Hack his amazon account and buy some books on murder, etc.
2) steal his car, kidnap his wife with it, making sure to leave a reasonable amount of DNA evidence and then dump the car somewhere.
And that would be it. Hans is a pretty intense guy, and everyone kind of knows it, so suspicion would fall on him pretty easily.
I guess most murder cases really rely on the 'sincerity' of the evidence.
posted by delmoi at 10:33 AM on June 27, 2007
That she was killed by the Russian mob?
You know it's interesting. How hard would actually have been to frame Hans if you wanted to kill his wife. I mean, it would be pretty easy.
1) Hack his amazon account and buy some books on murder, etc.
2) steal his car, kidnap his wife with it, making sure to leave a reasonable amount of DNA evidence and then dump the car somewhere.
And that would be it. Hans is a pretty intense guy, and everyone kind of knows it, so suspicion would fall on him pretty easily.
I guess most murder cases really rely on the 'sincerity' of the evidence.
posted by delmoi at 10:33 AM on June 27, 2007
The lawyer who gave this writer access was clearly hoping for a sympathetic story, and I bet he's not too happy right now. I hadn't heard of this case until today, and I generally start reading stories like this with hopes that the accused turns out to be innocent, but man . . . this article does not portray Reiser in a good light.
Yeah. I think a good bit of that is because of the quotes from the family law pleadings, wherein the guy comes across as a total asspetunia. But the thing is, if you examine the pleadings in any really litigious family law proceeding, pretty much everyone comes across as an asspetunia. I wish they'd quoted some of Nina's, too, for balance.
posted by palmcorder_yajna at 10:34 AM on June 27, 2007 [1 favorite]
Yeah. I think a good bit of that is because of the quotes from the family law pleadings, wherein the guy comes across as a total asspetunia. But the thing is, if you examine the pleadings in any really litigious family law proceeding, pretty much everyone comes across as an asspetunia. I wish they'd quoted some of Nina's, too, for balance.
posted by palmcorder_yajna at 10:34 AM on June 27, 2007 [1 favorite]
This line from the last page of the article pretty much summed this case up for me:
While he launches into the intricacies of database science, I'm thinking, "Where is the front passenger seat of your car?"
It's buried with his fucking wife because it was catastrophically soaked with blood. Next.
posted by nanojath at 10:35 AM on June 27, 2007 [1 favorite]
While he launches into the intricacies of database science, I'm thinking, "Where is the front passenger seat of your car?"
It's buried with his fucking wife because it was catastrophically soaked with blood. Next.
posted by nanojath at 10:35 AM on June 27, 2007 [1 favorite]
1) Hack his amazon account and buy some books on murder, etc.
Or just put a certain AskMe comment in his browser history.
posted by Aloysius Bear at 10:35 AM on June 27, 2007
Or just put a certain AskMe comment in his browser history.
posted by Aloysius Bear at 10:35 AM on June 27, 2007
That she was killed by the Russian mob?
No, that she had reason to flee the U.S., and that she disappeared herself and took the children with her. But the Russian mob angle might work, too.
posted by palmcorder_yajna at 10:35 AM on June 27, 2007
As soon as the police investigating learned she had a restraining order as part of their divorce proceedings, they closed the case. No idea if he's guilty, but as far as case is concerned, it's over. [/thankful i'm no longer a defense attorney]
posted by crush-onastick at 10:46 AM on June 27, 2007
posted by crush-onastick at 10:46 AM on June 27, 2007
Heck, I see three angles for reasonable doubt--the Russian mob, alive in Russia with kids, or the creepy ex-friend guy-on-the-side who confessed to multiple killings.
Can anyone with experience relate whether it's better to pursue one "alternate-theory" defense, or multiples, in order to sow reasonable doubt? I'm curious as (thankfully) the closest brush I've had with the criminal justice system is Law & Order reruns.
posted by stevis23 at 11:01 AM on June 27, 2007
Can anyone with experience relate whether it's better to pursue one "alternate-theory" defense, or multiples, in order to sow reasonable doubt? I'm curious as (thankfully) the closest brush I've had with the criminal justice system is Law & Order reruns.
posted by stevis23 at 11:01 AM on June 27, 2007
Guilty or not, Hans Reiser is a crazy fucker.
posted by Pope Guilty at 11:08 AM on June 27, 2007
posted by Pope Guilty at 11:08 AM on June 27, 2007
Can anyone with experience relate whether it's better to pursue one "alternate-theory" defense, or multiples, in order to sow reasonable doubt? I'm curious as (thankfully) the closest brush I've had with the criminal justice system is Law & Order reruns.
During my brief tenure as a public defender, they emphasized to us that the best thing to do was to pick one theory, tell a very coherent story about it, and sell it hard. But my dad, who's about 750 times the criminal defense attorney I ever was, does sometimes put forth "kitchen sink defenses" wherein he focuses on poking holes in the prosecution's theory and bringing up as many alternate theories as he possibly can.
I think it really depends on the facts of your particular case, the attorneys involved, etc.
posted by palmcorder_yajna at 11:11 AM on June 27, 2007
During my brief tenure as a public defender, they emphasized to us that the best thing to do was to pick one theory, tell a very coherent story about it, and sell it hard. But my dad, who's about 750 times the criminal defense attorney I ever was, does sometimes put forth "kitchen sink defenses" wherein he focuses on poking holes in the prosecution's theory and bringing up as many alternate theories as he possibly can.
I think it really depends on the facts of your particular case, the attorneys involved, etc.
posted by palmcorder_yajna at 11:11 AM on June 27, 2007
God this writing is horrid
posted by delmoi at 11:34 AM on June 27, 2007 [2 favorites]
For the past two decades, he has struggled to create a different method of organizing data. His approach, known as ReiserFS, is a file system unlike any other. Rather than assign data a fixed location on a hard drive, it uses algorithms to frequently reposition information, including the code that makes up the file system itself. It elegantly maximizes storage space, but it can also complicate data recovery when a computer crashes. If the algorithms are corrupted, the file system will be unable to locate its own position. All the data it organizes disappears into an indistinguishable mass of 0s and 1s. The contents of that hard drive will be irretrievably lost.If the "Algorithm is corrupted"? That's one step away from the dialog of the movie Hackers. Actually I don't know much about how ReiserFS works (maybe I should look into it) but that phrase is entirely meaningless. Then we get this.
In Reiser's case, a critical piece of data — the location of Nina Reiser — has gone missing.It's just a slap in the face to the very concept of writing
posted by delmoi at 11:34 AM on June 27, 2007 [2 favorites]
God this writing is horrid
Huh. I read that exact same paragraph and thought, hey, that's some great writing. This worries me, as I supposedly write for a living myself.
Perhaps you are being sarcastic. Or more likely, I'm a non-techie reader who found this explanation of a very complex concept delightfully simple.
posted by M.C. Lo-Carb! at 11:39 AM on June 27, 2007
Huh. I read that exact same paragraph and thought, hey, that's some great writing. This worries me, as I supposedly write for a living myself.
Perhaps you are being sarcastic. Or more likely, I'm a non-techie reader who found this explanation of a very complex concept delightfully simple.
posted by M.C. Lo-Carb! at 11:39 AM on June 27, 2007
Heh.
posted by delmoi at 11:42 AM on June 27, 2007 [1 favorite]
Sturgeon feels that Reiser has cast aside their friendship because of greed. "You find out who your true friends are when you stop giving them money," he says. Sturgeon believes that Reiser's judgment has become clouded by megalomania and the belief that he is the world's greatest programmer. The friendship is over.Greed, but not the part where he was sleeping with his wife?
posted by delmoi at 11:42 AM on June 27, 2007 [1 favorite]
IronLizard: His buddy confesses to killing 8 people and is still walking around? What. The. Fuck.
Seriously! I mean, the cops sure had the resources to send car and aircraft surveillance to tail Reiser as soon as his wife went missing, but here's some lupine-obsessed tweaker confessing to mass murder and we can't even get a pair of handcuffs on a motherfucker?
posted by cobra_high_tigers at 11:48 AM on June 27, 2007 [2 favorites]
Seriously! I mean, the cops sure had the resources to send car and aircraft surveillance to tail Reiser as soon as his wife went missing, but here's some lupine-obsessed tweaker confessing to mass murder and we can't even get a pair of handcuffs on a motherfucker?
posted by cobra_high_tigers at 11:48 AM on June 27, 2007 [2 favorites]
The problem that arises way too often—and is by its very nature undetectable by the folks the writing is targeted at—is when the delightfully simple explanation of a very complex concept is actually pretty much stupid and wrong. But it's compelling, and it makes the naive reader feel like they've cracked their way into the guts of something they're otherwise unfamiliar with, and so it gets a pass and even praise.
Not everybody is Feynmann. Even Feynmann wasn't always Feynmann.
posted by cortex (staff) at 11:50 AM on June 27, 2007 [1 favorite]
Not everybody is Feynmann. Even Feynmann wasn't always Feynmann.
posted by cortex (staff) at 11:50 AM on June 27, 2007 [1 favorite]
Or more likely, I'm a non-techie reader who found this explanation of a very complex concept delightfully simple.
Well maybe it wound seem that way if you wern't really familiar with technology. As it is, the paragraph means almost nothing and doesn't make any sense whatsoever. The phrase "Algorithm is corrupted" describe something that is basically completely impossible It would be like describing driving like this:
Well maybe it wound seem that way if you wern't really familiar with technology. As it is, the paragraph means almost nothing and doesn't make any sense whatsoever. The phrase "Algorithm is corrupted" describe something that is basically completely impossible It would be like describing driving like this:
"The heart of the car is the wheel, not the wide rubber-clad steel wheels that kiss the ground, but the fifth and inner wheel, the steering wheel. Turn the wheel 20° and you enter a slow wide arc, -20° and you'll arc back in the same direction. On some roads though, a 45° twist of the wheel is too much, and a simple 8th of a turn of the steering wheel will end thousands or millions of turns of the road wheels. The car will careen of the road, but the same wheel that takes also gives back. The steering wheel will quickly inflate Filling the space between your face and death. So long as Toyota isn't corrupted!"posted by delmoi at 11:50 AM on June 27, 2007 [8 favorites]
Friendly plea to any aspiring tech writers: If you're going to use snippets of code as adornments, don't copy and paste them from a diff file with the leading +, and, for the love of god, don't center-justify them. It just comes off looking entirely clueless.
posted by Rhomboid at 11:53 AM on June 27, 2007 [3 favorites]
posted by Rhomboid at 11:53 AM on June 27, 2007 [3 favorites]
The tree rebuild process of ReiserFS's fsck has attracted much criticism: If the file system becomes so badly corrupt that its internal tree is unusable, performing a tree rebuild operation may further corrupt existing files or introduce new entries with unexpected contents [7]. But this action is not part of normal operation or a normal file system check and has to be explicitly initiated and confirmed by the administrator.^
I think you're reading into the statement "the algorithm is corrupted" the wrong way. Granted, the equation itself is not corrupted. But the idea that ReiserFS has this weakness - that if the metadata is corrupted in any way, it can stall the rebuild process - appears to be valid.
FEYNMAN LIVES!
posted by phaedon at 11:58 AM on June 27, 2007
I think you're reading into the statement "the algorithm is corrupted" the wrong way. Granted, the equation itself is not corrupted. But the idea that ReiserFS has this weakness - that if the metadata is corrupted in any way, it can stall the rebuild process - appears to be valid.
FEYNMAN LIVES!
posted by phaedon at 11:58 AM on June 27, 2007
Not everybody is Feynmann. Even Feynmann wasn't always Feynmann.
Hell, he was Feynman.
posted by atrazine at 12:37 PM on June 27, 2007
Hell, he was Feynman.
posted by atrazine at 12:37 PM on June 27, 2007
I especially liked the small details, like his mother being off to Burning Man while her son's and grandchildrens' lives are flying apart.
Well, there was no way for her to know Nina had gone missing the day before the festival ended. The only phone service out there is by satellite. So I'm not sure it's accurate (though possibly a bit sensational) to say that in the day or two before she gets home her offspring's lives are "flying apart"- the kids would still be with Hans, and he doesn't actually get arrested for another month.
posted by oneirodynia at 12:39 PM on June 27, 2007
Well, there was no way for her to know Nina had gone missing the day before the festival ended. The only phone service out there is by satellite. So I'm not sure it's accurate (though possibly a bit sensational) to say that in the day or two before she gets home her offspring's lives are "flying apart"- the kids would still be with Hans, and he doesn't actually get arrested for another month.
posted by oneirodynia at 12:39 PM on June 27, 2007
I think he did it. A drop of his blood and her blood mixed together was in his mom's house, her blood was in his car, and their son's initial version of the story of an altercation are all bad. Her car being found three miles from his house with cash and the groceries still inside implies that robbery wasn't a motive and that she was attacked right after the argument at his mom's house.
posted by kirkaracha at 12:51 PM on June 27, 2007
posted by kirkaracha at 12:51 PM on June 27, 2007
Granted, the equation itself is not corrupted. But the idea that ReiserFS has this weakness - that if the metadata is corrupted in any way, it can stall the rebuild process - appears to be valid.
But those are completely different things! And that's my point. The writing is, when it comes to the technology, complete nonsense, dripping with metaphor to make it sound interesting.
Anyway, on reading the whole article, damn. All of these people seem pretty fucked up.
posted by delmoi at 12:59 PM on June 27, 2007
But those are completely different things! And that's my point. The writing is, when it comes to the technology, complete nonsense, dripping with metaphor to make it sound interesting.
Anyway, on reading the whole article, damn. All of these people seem pretty fucked up.
posted by delmoi at 12:59 PM on June 27, 2007
Ever do that thing where you can't remember which of two variants is the correct spelling, so you go and look it up and resolve the question and then somehow end up fixing upon and deploying the incorrect one anyway?
Because I've heard that that happens to people sometimes and I'm guessing it's kind of embarassing, especially if they end up using that incorrect variant three times in the same pithy assertion.
posted by cortex (staff) at 1:01 PM on June 27, 2007
Because I've heard that that happens to people sometimes and I'm guessing it's kind of embarassing, especially if they end up using that incorrect variant three times in the same pithy assertion.
posted by cortex (staff) at 1:01 PM on June 27, 2007
I think he did it. A drop of his blood and her blood mixed together was in his mom's house, her blood was in his car, and their son's initial version of the story of an altercation are all bad.
He either did it or was framed. if you read the article, Nina's new boyfriend Now claims to have killed eight people (but he won't say who they are)
It sets up an interesting defense narrative. So this Sturgeon guy and Nina plot to frame Hans. After she drops him off Sturgeon steals his car, and picks her up from her minivan. They sneak her out of the country, then Sturgeon dumps those 'murder books' (and come on, why the hell would he leave those books in his car if he had really done it). He drops a little bit of blood around the mom's house.
Then later Nina's mom gets the kids and Sturgeon flies to Russia to live happily ever after with 'em after the trial. The only question is: How did Hans know where his car was? Perhaps someone tipped him off, and he's not sharing that information yet.
Of course that's all rather fanciful, and he probably did it, but It's easy to imagine him being framed. I don't think there's enough of a motive though. Nina could have simply flown back to Russia, never to return without all that drama.
posted by delmoi at 1:10 PM on June 27, 2007
He either did it or was framed. if you read the article, Nina's new boyfriend Now claims to have killed eight people (but he won't say who they are)
It sets up an interesting defense narrative. So this Sturgeon guy and Nina plot to frame Hans. After she drops him off Sturgeon steals his car, and picks her up from her minivan. They sneak her out of the country, then Sturgeon dumps those 'murder books' (and come on, why the hell would he leave those books in his car if he had really done it). He drops a little bit of blood around the mom's house.
Then later Nina's mom gets the kids and Sturgeon flies to Russia to live happily ever after with 'em after the trial. The only question is: How did Hans know where his car was? Perhaps someone tipped him off, and he's not sharing that information yet.
Of course that's all rather fanciful, and he probably did it, but It's easy to imagine him being framed. I don't think there's enough of a motive though. Nina could have simply flown back to Russia, never to return without all that drama.
posted by delmoi at 1:10 PM on June 27, 2007
Anyway, on reading the whole article, damn. All of these people seem pretty fucked up.
Yeah, I have to say I'm most sympathetic to the grandma who spirited the kids off to Russia. Especially after reading that bit about teaching a six year old about "the culture of manhood" through graphically violent video games, as if it's some sort of preparation for the New World Order.
posted by oneirodynia at 1:10 PM on June 27, 2007
Yeah, I have to say I'm most sympathetic to the grandma who spirited the kids off to Russia. Especially after reading that bit about teaching a six year old about "the culture of manhood" through graphically violent video games, as if it's some sort of preparation for the New World Order.
posted by oneirodynia at 1:10 PM on June 27, 2007
But those are completely different things
Well I for one took the use of the word "corrupted" to signify that he was talking about the data in which the algorithm was stored in. Not to come off like a Linux nerd, which I'm not. But your ill comment towards Hackers will be a wound that takes some time to heal.
posted by phaedon at 1:12 PM on June 27, 2007
Well I for one took the use of the word "corrupted" to signify that he was talking about the data in which the algorithm was stored in. Not to come off like a Linux nerd, which I'm not. But your ill comment towards Hackers will be a wound that takes some time to heal.
posted by phaedon at 1:12 PM on June 27, 2007
About a million years ago, my mom snuck one of her students (grad student) out of the country to get her away from a batshinsane abusive boyfriend. She managed this by buying the ticket in her own name, and getting the student into Canada, and from there to points beyond, all on names that were not the student's.
I suppose if Nina Reiser is hooked into the Russian mafia, she could have gotten out of the country easily enough, but at the airport these days you have to show your ID about every 60 seconds, and if it's an international flight, your ticket, ID, and passport better have the same names on them, or you're probably in for a long chat with security at the very least.
As for the friend/boyfriend confessing to multiple murders: I imagine that the reason the cops haven't locked him up is because they don't believe him.
I think the husband did it.
posted by rtha at 1:51 PM on June 27, 2007
I suppose if Nina Reiser is hooked into the Russian mafia, she could have gotten out of the country easily enough, but at the airport these days you have to show your ID about every 60 seconds, and if it's an international flight, your ticket, ID, and passport better have the same names on them, or you're probably in for a long chat with security at the very least.
As for the friend/boyfriend confessing to multiple murders: I imagine that the reason the cops haven't locked him up is because they don't believe him.
I think the husband did it.
posted by rtha at 1:51 PM on June 27, 2007
and come on, why the hell would he leave those books in his car if he had really done it
That was my first thought & the whole framing/fake death scenario too, but it's all a bit too hollywood/farfetched. I dunno. I'm leaning towards him being guilty, but there's certainly enough for reasonable doubt there given that they don't have a body. Someone clumsy enough to leave all that stuff in the car couldn't reasonably be expected to have successfully hid the body in a way that it won't ever be found.
posted by juv3nal at 2:36 PM on June 27, 2007
That was my first thought & the whole framing/fake death scenario too, but it's all a bit too hollywood/farfetched. I dunno. I'm leaning towards him being guilty, but there's certainly enough for reasonable doubt there given that they don't have a body. Someone clumsy enough to leave all that stuff in the car couldn't reasonably be expected to have successfully hid the body in a way that it won't ever be found.
posted by juv3nal at 2:36 PM on June 27, 2007
and come on, why the hell would he leave those books in his car if he had really done it
in my experience with people who commit murder, as well as those who appear to be wrongly accused of committing the murder although present at the time, simply do not hide evidence. that happens in books and on tv. real murderers just go on with their lives. sometimes they try to concoct alibis or excuses. generally, they don't think they'll get caught. there's a huge break that happens in people's minds when they kill someone. think about it.
you've just killed someone. whether you intended to, or not, you are now something wholly different than you ever were before or could ever really have intended to be.
even if you aren't smart enough, or self-reflective enough to consciously notice that you are now wholly different, you are and you feel it. your relationship to humanity is now fundamentally broken. hiding evidence is irrelevant.
one of the most maddening things about criminal defense is that you never ever never know what really happened. never. so, you can sometimes figure your client was guilty, sometimes reason it, sometimes feel it, sometimes believe it, but you'll never know it. nonetheless, they usually stuff the bloody shirt in the laundry or toss the knife under the seat of their car.
posted by crush-onastick at 2:48 PM on June 27, 2007 [2 favorites]
in my experience with people who commit murder, as well as those who appear to be wrongly accused of committing the murder although present at the time, simply do not hide evidence. that happens in books and on tv. real murderers just go on with their lives. sometimes they try to concoct alibis or excuses. generally, they don't think they'll get caught. there's a huge break that happens in people's minds when they kill someone. think about it.
you've just killed someone. whether you intended to, or not, you are now something wholly different than you ever were before or could ever really have intended to be.
even if you aren't smart enough, or self-reflective enough to consciously notice that you are now wholly different, you are and you feel it. your relationship to humanity is now fundamentally broken. hiding evidence is irrelevant.
one of the most maddening things about criminal defense is that you never ever never know what really happened. never. so, you can sometimes figure your client was guilty, sometimes reason it, sometimes feel it, sometimes believe it, but you'll never know it. nonetheless, they usually stuff the bloody shirt in the laundry or toss the knife under the seat of their car.
posted by crush-onastick at 2:48 PM on June 27, 2007 [2 favorites]
in my experience with people who commit murder, as well as those who appear to be wrongly accused of committing the murder although present at the time, simply do not hide evidence.
Looks to me like someone managed to hide a whole hell of a lot of evidence just to miss a book and some garbage bags. Replacing a seat on short notice can be difficult, but the rest? Hiding evidence is not only relevant, it's apparently the whole point of trying to get away with it.
posted by IronLizard at 3:20 PM on June 27, 2007
Looks to me like someone managed to hide a whole hell of a lot of evidence just to miss a book and some garbage bags. Replacing a seat on short notice can be difficult, but the rest? Hiding evidence is not only relevant, it's apparently the whole point of trying to get away with it.
posted by IronLizard at 3:20 PM on June 27, 2007
crush-onastick writes "in my experience with people who commit murder, as well as those who appear to be wrongly accused of committing the murder although present at the time, simply do not hide evidence."
Well, somebody did something with the body....
posted by mr_roboto at 4:08 PM on June 27, 2007
Well, somebody did something with the body....
posted by mr_roboto at 4:08 PM on June 27, 2007
Someone clumsy enough to leave all that stuff in the car couldn't reasonably be expected to have successfully hid the body in a way that it won't ever be found.
Well, it hasn't been found yet.
He could just be dumb, and lucky.
posted by rtha at 4:15 PM on June 27, 2007
Well, it hasn't been found yet.
He could just be dumb, and lucky.
posted by rtha at 4:15 PM on June 27, 2007
You know, I read this article, and here's what I think: I'm glad nothing in this story resembles anything that has ever happened in my life.
posted by davejay at 4:33 PM on June 27, 2007
posted by davejay at 4:33 PM on June 27, 2007
I did read the article. If the crazy boyfriend really killed eight people, who are they and why hasn't he been arrested?
Reiser bought the books after Nina disappeared. Was he in on framing himself?
posted by kirkaracha at 5:17 PM on June 27, 2007
Reiser bought the books after Nina disappeared. Was he in on framing himself?
posted by kirkaracha at 5:17 PM on June 27, 2007
Maybe he was just trying to gain insight on the inner workings of his former best friend, the serial killer.
posted by IronLizard at 5:29 PM on June 27, 2007
posted by IronLizard at 5:29 PM on June 27, 2007
Or maybe he killed her without malice aforethought, and afterwards figured he'd better learn how to get or keep himself out of the arms of the law.
Stupid to leave them in the car, though.
posted by rtha at 6:18 PM on June 27, 2007
Stupid to leave them in the car, though.
posted by rtha at 6:18 PM on June 27, 2007
In addition, Reiser alleged that Sturgeon wrote into a contract that Reiser must participate in "Death Yoga," which he said has the purpose of "slowing down one's heart to the point of death."
Hmmmmm.
posted by potsmokinghippieoverlord at 6:41 PM on June 27, 2007
Hmmmmm.
posted by potsmokinghippieoverlord at 6:41 PM on June 27, 2007
Why didn't he buy the books before she disappeared? Lack of fore-thought on his part, I should think. Little late to go getting books with a corpse bleeding into your car seat already.
posted by misha at 6:45 PM on June 27, 2007
posted by misha at 6:45 PM on June 27, 2007
Here's the questions I find myself left with after scouring the coverage:
What happened to the money lent to Reiser by his friend, Sturgeon, and what about the father-in-law's concern over Nina's financial dealings? I find it hard to believe she actually fell for Sturgeon, who dressed up as a woman for her wedding. More likely, this is a cunning woman who is playing these two men against each other and using the money for drugs, which she and Sturgeon admittedly used.
What is with Reiser and his mother's weird fascination with fear and violence?
If Nina and Reiser's blood were found together in the house, were they both routinely violent towards each other? Was the restraining order she filed just a tactic in a messy divorce custody battle? Reiser likes violent videogames but seems squeamish about BDSM and body modification--is he capable of murdering someone?
Where is the missing car seat, and why did Reiser go to the car, hide it and then go to his Mom's? I have to wonder if he wasn't tipped off by someone that this is where the car was. When his Mom asked him to return her car and he didn't, yet his was missing, maybe he just didn't know where it was because Nina and Sturgeon hid it. All the evidence left in one place in the car seems really bizarrely moronic for someone as brilliant as Reiser.
Is Sturgeon a crazy whack job, or did he kill people? (Or is he a crazy whack job who killed people?)
Maybe Nina isn't dead, and Reiser just filed her in his new database system so that she keeps changing positions!
posted by misha at 7:12 PM on June 27, 2007 [1 favorite]
What happened to the money lent to Reiser by his friend, Sturgeon, and what about the father-in-law's concern over Nina's financial dealings? I find it hard to believe she actually fell for Sturgeon, who dressed up as a woman for her wedding. More likely, this is a cunning woman who is playing these two men against each other and using the money for drugs, which she and Sturgeon admittedly used.
What is with Reiser and his mother's weird fascination with fear and violence?
If Nina and Reiser's blood were found together in the house, were they both routinely violent towards each other? Was the restraining order she filed just a tactic in a messy divorce custody battle? Reiser likes violent videogames but seems squeamish about BDSM and body modification--is he capable of murdering someone?
Where is the missing car seat, and why did Reiser go to the car, hide it and then go to his Mom's? I have to wonder if he wasn't tipped off by someone that this is where the car was. When his Mom asked him to return her car and he didn't, yet his was missing, maybe he just didn't know where it was because Nina and Sturgeon hid it. All the evidence left in one place in the car seems really bizarrely moronic for someone as brilliant as Reiser.
Is Sturgeon a crazy whack job, or did he kill people? (Or is he a crazy whack job who killed people?)
Maybe Nina isn't dead, and Reiser just filed her in his new database system so that she keeps changing positions!
posted by misha at 7:12 PM on June 27, 2007 [1 favorite]
Oh, and what about the Zografos guy mentioned in this story, who went into the house after Nina was missing, and actually downloaded stuff from the computer?!
posted by misha at 7:29 PM on June 27, 2007
posted by misha at 7:29 PM on June 27, 2007
I still prefer ext2, but this ain't why.
And Jessamyn, thanks for reading the whole frigging article. Maybe I will will someday, but since all I wanted to know was "what about the kids" I might never. Crazy p00ter nerdz just ain't my bag, y'know.
posted by davy at 8:28 PM on June 27, 2007
And Jessamyn, thanks for reading the whole frigging article. Maybe I will will someday, but since all I wanted to know was "what about the kids" I might never. Crazy p00ter nerdz just ain't my bag, y'know.
posted by davy at 8:28 PM on June 27, 2007
Can anybody explain why the cellphone battery would be removed but present in her purse in the car? That detail just really baffled me. What's the point?
posted by vytae at 8:38 PM on June 27, 2007
posted by vytae at 8:38 PM on June 27, 2007
GPS tracking and paranoia.
posted by IronLizard at 8:50 PM on June 27, 2007
posted by IronLizard at 8:50 PM on June 27, 2007
If the crazy boyfriend really killed eight people, who are they and why hasn't he been arrested?
I've heard before of people making a habit of confessing to things they didn't do. The police were already aware of the buddy's allegations against himself, and had presumably written him off as a loon (or are keeping him in the wings for something). There's an idea: routinely confess to every unsolved murder that comes up, so when you actually do kill someone the police will simply throw you, once again, out of the police station.
The principals in this case all seem to be/have been unusually unpleasant people, but for me the only thing that really pointed to Reiser in the article was his refusal to comment on where his car seat was - if he didn't know what had happened to it, he would surely be saying so loudly and repeatedly. Everything else could come off as Nina trying to spirit herself away (or someone else killing her) and trying to frame Reiser. I don't think drops of blood of uncertain age are either here or there; I'm sure there are small traces of my blood all over my apartment, since I'm very clumsy and constantly whang myself on things.
posted by frobozz at 9:27 PM on June 27, 2007
I've heard before of people making a habit of confessing to things they didn't do. The police were already aware of the buddy's allegations against himself, and had presumably written him off as a loon (or are keeping him in the wings for something). There's an idea: routinely confess to every unsolved murder that comes up, so when you actually do kill someone the police will simply throw you, once again, out of the police station.
The principals in this case all seem to be/have been unusually unpleasant people, but for me the only thing that really pointed to Reiser in the article was his refusal to comment on where his car seat was - if he didn't know what had happened to it, he would surely be saying so loudly and repeatedly. Everything else could come off as Nina trying to spirit herself away (or someone else killing her) and trying to frame Reiser. I don't think drops of blood of uncertain age are either here or there; I'm sure there are small traces of my blood all over my apartment, since I'm very clumsy and constantly whang myself on things.
posted by frobozz at 9:27 PM on June 27, 2007
CTRL-STAB-DELETE
I'm sorry. I'm also surprised that wasn't the title of the Wired piece.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 10:31 PM on June 27, 2007
I'm sorry. I'm also surprised that wasn't the title of the Wired piece.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 10:31 PM on June 27, 2007
vytae: Can anybody explain why the cellphone battery would be removed but present in her purse in the car?
Most/all cellphones have a lock feature that prevents the phone from being used or even turned off unless you enter the correct code. So removing the battery is the only way to turn a locked phone off without the code, other than destroying it or waiting for the battery to run down.
That's the best guess I've got, at least. Maybe someone else has a better idea.
posted by 6550 at 11:02 PM on June 27, 2007
Most/all cellphones have a lock feature that prevents the phone from being used or even turned off unless you enter the correct code. So removing the battery is the only way to turn a locked phone off without the code, other than destroying it or waiting for the battery to run down.
That's the best guess I've got, at least. Maybe someone else has a better idea.
posted by 6550 at 11:02 PM on June 27, 2007
Wow. This story has it all, doesn't it? Geeks, freaks, a Russian beauty, mysterious financial transactions, BDSM, drugs, betrayal, Russian Mafia, mass murder... If this were a detective novel, an editor would be telling the author, "whoah, there, cowboy: you need to rein this thing in, no reader is going to believe all this."
The cell phone thing is very interesting, because it would suggest that whoever did whatever to Nina didn't want the car found (by pinging the phone), at least for a while. Yet if Reiser did it, why would he leave it parked three blocks from his own house? All very strange.
As far as circumstantial evidence goes, I don't think Reiser left any stone unturned in terms of looking guilty as hell... and it's all so moronic. The murder books after she disappears? The missing car seat is just incredibly absurd, why not drive the whole thing into a lake and report it stolen? But! The police found "a drop" of blood in his car? If he did something so bloody that he needed to get rid of the whole seat, there would certainly be more than a drop of her blood in that car, wouldn't there. Everything is so bizarre.
And, as much as the circumstantial evidence seems to point straight to him, there's nearly as much to mitigate for an argument that she disappeared herself... maybe with the help of a batshitinsane someone who believes he is her "wolf". His father thought she was cooking the books? Only two drops of her blood to be found anywhere? Kids in Russia, not coming back? Hm. And it's interesting that he says she conceived on their very first night together. Wow. Kind of magical. What if there's a babydaddy back in Russia who could use a few hundred thousand dollars? And what if it's more convenient to have Reiser sitting in jail rather than trying to track her down in Russia? When the police found him with his passport and over $8,000, maybe that's just what he was getting ready to do - find his kids, and perhaps her.
The story is probably much more mundane than that, but it's interesting to speculate.
posted by taz at 12:49 AM on June 28, 2007 [1 favorite]
The cell phone thing is very interesting, because it would suggest that whoever did whatever to Nina didn't want the car found (by pinging the phone), at least for a while. Yet if Reiser did it, why would he leave it parked three blocks from his own house? All very strange.
As far as circumstantial evidence goes, I don't think Reiser left any stone unturned in terms of looking guilty as hell... and it's all so moronic. The murder books after she disappears? The missing car seat is just incredibly absurd, why not drive the whole thing into a lake and report it stolen? But! The police found "a drop" of blood in his car? If he did something so bloody that he needed to get rid of the whole seat, there would certainly be more than a drop of her blood in that car, wouldn't there. Everything is so bizarre.
And, as much as the circumstantial evidence seems to point straight to him, there's nearly as much to mitigate for an argument that she disappeared herself... maybe with the help of a batshitinsane someone who believes he is her "wolf". His father thought she was cooking the books? Only two drops of her blood to be found anywhere? Kids in Russia, not coming back? Hm. And it's interesting that he says she conceived on their very first night together. Wow. Kind of magical. What if there's a babydaddy back in Russia who could use a few hundred thousand dollars? And what if it's more convenient to have Reiser sitting in jail rather than trying to track her down in Russia? When the police found him with his passport and over $8,000, maybe that's just what he was getting ready to do - find his kids, and perhaps her.
The story is probably much more mundane than that, but it's interesting to speculate.
posted by taz at 12:49 AM on June 28, 2007 [1 favorite]
he was talking about the data in which the algorithm was stored
The problem is, that doesn't make any sense either.
posted by kindall at 2:58 AM on June 28, 2007
The problem is, that doesn't make any sense either.
posted by kindall at 2:58 AM on June 28, 2007
A drop of his blood and her blood mixed together was in his mom's house, her blood was in his car,
Post-OJ and post rampant problems with my state's crime lab, I'm not so keen on blood evidence. I don't know whether he did it or not, but I think that once cops have settled on a suspect, they often stop looking and start cheating.
posted by Mayor Curley at 5:42 AM on June 28, 2007
Post-OJ and post rampant problems with my state's crime lab, I'm not so keen on blood evidence. I don't know whether he did it or not, but I think that once cops have settled on a suspect, they often stop looking and start cheating.
posted by Mayor Curley at 5:42 AM on June 28, 2007
So, if either my partner or I were to disappear tomorrow, the remaining one would be readily indictable.
I have a collection of murder mysteries, and some omnibus volumes of true crime/homicide accounts. (But the police wouldn't know they aren't his.)
As the result of household mishaps, traces of my blood, his blood, and probably our mixed blood (hey, remember the day I turned too fast and caught you in the nose with my forehead? Man, that was a mess) can be found in the apartment.
No doubt they could find a drop of my blood or his blood in his pickup as well. He's subject to nosebleeds; I'm just klutzy.
We have packing tape, plastic drop cloths, and paper towels handy from when we were moving; six months later, they haven't made their way out of the truck yet.
The heavy-duty plasticized fabric cover for the truck bed got torn in a storm a few months back. Eventually, he's going to throw it out. When the police find it's missing, I hope they don't think one of us wrapped the other's body in it.
Perhaps most damning: my passport is in my handbag right now. Because, doy, my passport is always in my handbag, for ID in lieu of a driver's license.
posted by Elsa at 8:17 AM on June 28, 2007
I have a collection of murder mysteries, and some omnibus volumes of true crime/homicide accounts. (But the police wouldn't know they aren't his.)
As the result of household mishaps, traces of my blood, his blood, and probably our mixed blood (hey, remember the day I turned too fast and caught you in the nose with my forehead? Man, that was a mess) can be found in the apartment.
No doubt they could find a drop of my blood or his blood in his pickup as well. He's subject to nosebleeds; I'm just klutzy.
We have packing tape, plastic drop cloths, and paper towels handy from when we were moving; six months later, they haven't made their way out of the truck yet.
The heavy-duty plasticized fabric cover for the truck bed got torn in a storm a few months back. Eventually, he's going to throw it out. When the police find it's missing, I hope they don't think one of us wrapped the other's body in it.
Perhaps most damning: my passport is in my handbag right now. Because, doy, my passport is always in my handbag, for ID in lieu of a driver's license.
posted by Elsa at 8:17 AM on June 28, 2007
As far as circumstantial evidence goes, I don't think Reiser left any stone unturned in terms of looking guilty as hell... and it's all so moronic. The murder books after she disappears? The missing car seat is just incredibly absurd, why not drive the whole thing into a lake and report it stolen? But! The police found "a drop" of blood in his car? If he did something so bloody that he needed to get rid of the whole seat, there would certainly be more than a drop of her blood in that car, wouldn't there. Everything is so bizarre.
These are really excellent points, taz.
In the light of them, if I were the prosecutor, I would be very leery of building my case on the evidence you mention. Reiser is an extremely experienced gamer; it's as if he is begging the prosecutor to base the case on all this evidence.
If the prosecutors do so, then at trial, they will be very vulnerable to the tactic of showing that every single seemingly damning piece of evidence has a totally innocent explanation. An innocent explanation which Reiser so conveniently is in a position to demonstrate in court.
The murder books after she disappears?
I think Reiser may have tipped his hand a bit, here. I would guess he was anticipating the police would have such a 'gotcha' when they found out about the book they would fail to find or note, or note the significance of, the date of purchase, making it possible for Reiser's defense team to argue that it could have nothing to with the murder since it was purchased after the date when the murder would have taken place.
I wouldn't be surprised, for another example, if he has the car seat somewhere, just waiting to be brought out and examined and found free of any incriminating evidence.
I think the prosecutor must use evidence which Reiser could not possibly have set up in advance in order to be reasonably sure of a conviction in this bizarre case.
posted by jamjam at 9:20 AM on June 28, 2007
These are really excellent points, taz.
In the light of them, if I were the prosecutor, I would be very leery of building my case on the evidence you mention. Reiser is an extremely experienced gamer; it's as if he is begging the prosecutor to base the case on all this evidence.
If the prosecutors do so, then at trial, they will be very vulnerable to the tactic of showing that every single seemingly damning piece of evidence has a totally innocent explanation. An innocent explanation which Reiser so conveniently is in a position to demonstrate in court.
The murder books after she disappears?
I think Reiser may have tipped his hand a bit, here. I would guess he was anticipating the police would have such a 'gotcha' when they found out about the book they would fail to find or note, or note the significance of, the date of purchase, making it possible for Reiser's defense team to argue that it could have nothing to with the murder since it was purchased after the date when the murder would have taken place.
I wouldn't be surprised, for another example, if he has the car seat somewhere, just waiting to be brought out and examined and found free of any incriminating evidence.
I think the prosecutor must use evidence which Reiser could not possibly have set up in advance in order to be reasonably sure of a conviction in this bizarre case.
posted by jamjam at 9:20 AM on June 28, 2007
Instinct tells me Reiser killed her. What does it for me is the car. The front seat was removed and, remember, it also showed signs that it had received a thorough interior wash.
That said, instinct is not and should not be enough to convict someone. Too many innocent people get jailed that way. I'd have to admit that if I was on a jury and the evidence in the article was all there was, I'd let Reiser go free.
There's not even enough evidence anybody has been murdered, much less that he did it. For all I know, she framed him, stepping into his car then slashing herself and bleeding all over it, knowing that kind of evidence would damn him. Then she slips off to Russia...
posted by vacapinta at 10:05 AM on June 28, 2007
That said, instinct is not and should not be enough to convict someone. Too many innocent people get jailed that way. I'd have to admit that if I was on a jury and the evidence in the article was all there was, I'd let Reiser go free.
There's not even enough evidence anybody has been murdered, much less that he did it. For all I know, she framed him, stepping into his car then slashing herself and bleeding all over it, knowing that kind of evidence would damn him. Then she slips off to Russia...
posted by vacapinta at 10:05 AM on June 28, 2007
Regardless of what I think happened, I'd have to say that in a murder trial, the absence of a body could be reason enough for a "not guilty" verdict.
posted by misha at 10:19 AM on June 28, 2007
posted by misha at 10:19 AM on June 28, 2007
Remember also that only her prints were in her car. So she willingly parked it only a few blocks away and dismantled the cellphone.
So....She stages an argument with Reiser. Easy. Make sure the kid overhears. Drive away and park nearby. Dismantle cellphone to buy yourself some time, dont they use GPS or something? She cant remember but better safe than sorry.
Ok, now walk back to Reisers car. Either she has the key or she breaks in. Sit in his passenger seat and bleed. Remember, you've learned from that other crazy guy how to cut yourself in a non-fatal way but still release lots of blood.
Ok, now its time to move quickly. Grab your fake passport and spirit yourself off to Russia. Arrive with relatives who help you and also help keep your identity secret over there. Have them convince grandma to come visit and bring the kids.
Now grandma didnt know anything until she arrives in Russia (too risky) but now she knows. Grandma decides suddenly to stay in Russia, with the kids of course.
posted by vacapinta at 10:45 AM on June 28, 2007
So....She stages an argument with Reiser. Easy. Make sure the kid overhears. Drive away and park nearby. Dismantle cellphone to buy yourself some time, dont they use GPS or something? She cant remember but better safe than sorry.
Ok, now walk back to Reisers car. Either she has the key or she breaks in. Sit in his passenger seat and bleed. Remember, you've learned from that other crazy guy how to cut yourself in a non-fatal way but still release lots of blood.
Ok, now its time to move quickly. Grab your fake passport and spirit yourself off to Russia. Arrive with relatives who help you and also help keep your identity secret over there. Have them convince grandma to come visit and bring the kids.
Now grandma didnt know anything until she arrives in Russia (too risky) but now she knows. Grandma decides suddenly to stay in Russia, with the kids of course.
posted by vacapinta at 10:45 AM on June 28, 2007
Or just put a certain AskMe comment in his browser history.
OMG!!!!, Scarabic is Reiser!
posted by BrotherCaine at 12:36 AM on June 29, 2007
OMG!!!!, Scarabic is Reiser!
posted by BrotherCaine at 12:36 AM on June 29, 2007
Seriously though, he did it, but he's not going to get convicted unless he confesses.
posted by BrotherCaine at 12:38 AM on June 29, 2007
posted by BrotherCaine at 12:38 AM on June 29, 2007
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posted by jamjam at 9:27 AM on June 27, 2007