Betrayal
A Computer Genius, His Russian Bride, The KGB, Intrigue And Murder
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Play CBS Video Video Betrayal In Full: The twisted case of a computer scientist and the death of his Russian bride. 48 Hours correspondent Maureen Maher reports.
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Video Stunning Twist In exclusive video obtained by "48 Hours Mystery," D.A. Paul Hora describes how convicted murderer Hans Reiser led police to the buried body.
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Video Hans Reiser Phone Call Hear a condensed version of Hans Reiser's phone call to his mother Beverly Palmer.
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Hans and Nina Reiser (CBS)
"I don’t think Nina was an angel. There were some things brought out in the trial, having an affair with Hans’ best friend," one of the jurors notes.
Clearly, there is some sympathy for Hans, but one fact is never in doubt. "When it came to Nina being dead, there was nothing that told us she wasn’t," another juror remarks.
Jurors deliberated for three days before reaching a verdict: guilty of murder in the first degree.
"When Hans responded to the verdict by saying, 'I felt like I was the best father I could be,' to me, it just cemented his guilt. That is a response of a man who is trying to explain why he murdered his wife, not the response of a man who has just been wrongly convicted of murder," D.A. Hora notes.
Hora applauds the verdict, but it hits defense lawyer Bill Dubois hard. "I was numb by the trial and the tribulations that we went through to get to that spot," he remembers.
Dubois feels the jury was prevented from hearing the truth about Sean Sturgeon. "We tried to point out during the trial that, as a matter of fact, he was a sadomasochist and had violent tendencies. And the prosecution never accounted for his whereabouts or let the jury know anything about him."
Before the trial, Judge Larry Goodman had ruled that the jury could not hear Sean’s brazen statement about killing 8.5 people, so neither side called him to the stand. In fact there is no proof he has ever killed anyone. Sean says his violent past is behind him and that he has "come to Christ."
"This is a game, this whole ‘8.5 victims’ is a game. It is a game to be lying to the police, particularly in the middle of an investigation and to come up with a really extravagant story. So why not just come clean if not, right here, right now. Have you killed eight-and-a-half people?" Maher asks.
"No. I picked a number, I wanted them to leave me alone," says Sean, who remains a free man and was never charged or arrested.
Produced by Paul LaRosa, Gayane Keshishyan and Allen Alter
© MMIX, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.



insane?
Your old buddy now hates you. He''ll never accept you raising his kids. She''s so scared of losing them she hooks up with another guy that hubby might not hate so much.
Then she disappears. You know in your gut he killed her. You''re a wreck. You know how smart he is. He''s going to try to pin it on you. They want you to testify. You want to be left alone, but that''s not going to happen. Your phone rings all day and all night. The whole thing is driving you
Insane?
But, in time this guy is going to pay for what he did. What gets me is, if he was such a Genius. Why did he take the witness stand? He made a fool of himself. That spelled guilty right there.
That poor Russian woman. These American men she went with were sick and demented. The supposed best friend was just insane. Insane!
American husband. if a woman betrays one man, she will certainly betray another. She played a most dangerous game and payed for it with her life.