June 3, 2008
Betrayal
A Computer Genius, His Russian Bride, The KGB And The Ultimate Betrayal
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Hans and Nina Reiser (CBS)
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Play CBS Video Video Hans Reiser Phone Call Hear a condensed version of Hans Reiser's phone call to his mother Beverly Palmer.
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Nina's friends continued the massive search and hoped for the best; there was even a billboard campaign to highlight her case.
Then, six days later, police found Nina's minivan just three miles from Hans' house.
Asked what she thinks happened to Nina there, Ellen tells Maher, "I think that's for Hans to answer.
But Hans is a tough guy to pin down. The cops began following Hans, but, says writer Josh Davis, Hans was afraid because he had no idea who was after him. "His father called him and said, 'Who knows why Nina disappeared? Maybe she was involved with the KGB. They could be some Russian mafia involved and now they may be following you. You should do everything in your power to ditch them,'" Davis explains.
"Hans became aware of our presence and did his own counter surveillance by speeding up on the freeway, getting off suddenly at an exit, parking his car, getting out, walking, running. So, he was pretty crafty in terms of trying to avoid our surveillance," Jordan says.
As police tailed him, they realized that Hans was no longer driving his 1988 Honda CRX and they couldn't find it anywhere.
Meanwhile, the couple's two young children were placed in foster care by authorities who were unwilling to have them live with the number one suspect in Nina's disappearance-their own father.
Within a week, Nina's mother Irina flew all the way to Oakland from St. Petersburg, Russia. Irina and the children moved into Ellen's house after Ellen had become their foster parent.
Asked what they told the children had happened to their mother, Ellen says, "We kept telling them that she got lost and everyone's searching for her."
But five weeks after Nina had gone missing, Hans was charged with Nina's murder. When authorities picked him up, he was carrying almost $8,000 in cash and his passport.
Investigators said the search of Hans' house turned up a small smear of Nina's blood on a wooden post. And that's not all: "Eventually, the police followed Hans long enough that they tracked him to his car which had been previously missing," Davis explains.
In their search of Reiser's Honda CRX, police also found blood on a sleeping bag stuff sack and two books Reiser purchased just after Nina went missing.
"He's buying books about murder. Hans' point of view is that he knew that he was a suspect in her disappearance and so he wanted to try understand how the police operated," Davis explains.
Even more bizarre is what was not found in the car: "When they find the car, they find that it’s missing the front passenger seat and that the floor boards are soaked with water as if they had been recently cleaned," Davis says.
But then, just when all the evidence pointed directly at Hans, the case suddenly took a dramatic turn: Sean Sturgeon, Hans’ former friend and Nina's ex-lover made a startling confession. "Sean confessed to the district attorney that he had killed eight and a half people," Davis says. "He wasn’t sure if the last person was dead when he left him."
Produced by Paul LaRosa, Gayane Keshishyan, and Allen Alter
© MMVIII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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See all 25 CommentsSee the wikipedia entry
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_Reiser#Recovery_of_Nina.27s_body_and_sentencing
pretty conclusive. Sean was apparently a "red sturgeon"
i don''t remember ever seeing any news about that. Well if that''s true he probably did do it.
nothing conclusively points out a definitive answer on weather or not he killed her. if i was a juror i would have to put myself in his shoes and look for actual evidence. i could imagine how much it must suck to be imprisoned for something you didn''t do. that''s why there has to be definitive evidence, which i don''t believe they had any of that. just feelings and wishy washy weirdness is all they used to convict him.
Are you on drugs or just cannot speak english fluently. Your posts are only babble. I can''t see what point you are trying to make.
.. .. ..
That say''s it all.
What nailed it for me was the testimony of the son. He drew a picture of his father possibly carrying his dead mother down the stairs. That explains the mother''s blood on the beam. Plus, that phone call to his mother was pretty cold and he talked about his ex-wife in a past tense sort-of-way.
It''s too bad. This woman surrounded herself with weird men. Her lover, who claimed he had killed 8 women, I think that was a made up story to throw suspicion away from Hans.
Pfleger for the 100th time, just won%u2019t cut it. We want him removed, he is a
disgrace to the Catholic church and everything Holy%u2026
Petition site%u2026please pass it on%u2026
www.thepetitionsite.com/1/removable-of
-father-michael-pfleger
So I am discussing this issue in japan also inter nationally. I know what''s to happen to me.
I was sleeping in our bed , suddenly my partner started to be temper called 911. Could police arrest me at that time? Thank you for America, you are so kind. And some japanese people talk about these selfish Americans sometime do this way. They don''t care they tell lies or call 911 to proceed their own way. They don''t care if they hit a car and claim victimized to sue real victims etc...
Even Japanese embassy note attention about those crazy Americans involve innocent Japanese in trouble in USA.
www.thepetitionsite.com/1/removable-of-father-michael-pfleger
Please sign the petition to get "Father" Pfleger removed permanently. He is a disgrace to the Catholic church.
I had a finger mark he has grabbing my both arms he was pretty excite by himself. But even police did not see any thing to me. Only doctor in Jail listened to me. I believe it was abuse. However he apologized to me and he proceeded to destroy my arrested record but Oakland police rejected. I have never had such a crazy incident in my life. I am a Japanese protected by Japanese police for 38 years, suddenly abused by Oakland police officers who are racists do not ask me anything what'' s happened.
I don''t really believe USA police system, I did not do anything wrong, the crazy boyfriend did not want to stay with me and temporary wanted to take me away from his house. Anyway I hired a lawyer to take back my right status"destroy arrested record"
But I really get upset about this USA system.
IF the charge happened to me at that time, some racists might attack me as a criminal woman who attacked him.I was a successful in Japan, I was better live in japan more than proceed to get marry with temper horrible guy.
But I really felt strange if he had motivation to kill wife more than his successful business life.
By the way, Oakland Police does wrong way sometime.
When I was victimized in small argument, my boyfriend called 911 and told lies to police. Then police came to our house and took me away. It was horrible.Because I had no idea when my boyfriend started to get up set.Police did not listen to me at all. And they asked me "You hit him, scratched him."
Was torture to me. I did not charged (Of corse I did not touch him and I was afraid of him.) But amazingly He had scratch mark. I guess he got a mark from branch of trees or the corner of tray.
I know what'' really happened to me. I asked him "When will you get marry me?" He started to go out of the room and called police and told lies. I stayed at two nights in Oakland jail from his lies.
He insisted on even if he did not lie to police, police could take me away from his house. Yes, he was so mean to me. I had option to go back my own house but he did not let me go.
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