Mar 19, 2008

Reiser admits misleading jurors

Bay City News

Prosecutor Paul Hora began his highly anticipated cross-examination of murder defendant Hans Reiser by getting Reiser to admit that he misled jurors about a key issue in his trial on charges that he murdered his estranged wife Nina.

In his opening statement in Reiser's lengthy trial, which began Nov. 6, Hora said Reiser may have removed the battery from his cell phone so that his movements couldn't be traced.

Hora also said that the battery in Nina's cell phone had been removed when police found the phone in her minivan on Sept. 9, 2006, six days after she disappeared.

In his first question Tuesday, Hora asked Reiser if he was willing to admit that under questioning from his defense attorney, William DuBois, earlier this month, "You willfully concealed the fact that you routinely removed the battery from your cell phone after Nina disappeared?"

Reiser said, "Yes, and I feel badly about it."

Asked by Hora if "that was a willfully false or misleading statement of material fact," Reiser agreed.

A standard instruction in criminal trials is that jurors can disregard all of a witness' testimony if he makes even one willfully false or misleading statement, so in his closing argument Hora may tell jurors to disregard Reiser's testimony that he didn't have anything to do with Nina's disappearance and didn't kill her.

Later in his cross-examination, Hora accused Reiser of "lying under oath" and Reiser admitted, "I felt it was deceptive of me."

Nina Reiser, who was 31 at the time, was last seen alive on Sept. 3, 2006, when she dropped off the couple's two children at the house in the Oakland hills where Hans Reiser lived with his mother.

Nina, who was born in Russia and was trained as a physician there, and Hans married in 1999 but she filed for divorce in 2004 and was awarded legal custody of their children, although he had visitation rights.

Nina's body has never been found, despite extensive searches in the Oakland hills and elsewhere. But in October of 2006 Hans Reiser was charged with murdering her because prosecutors believe that DNA and blood evidence prove that he killed her.

He has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him.

DuBois has said that Nina may still be alive and be in hiding somewhere, possibly in Russia.

The couple's children ultimately were placed in the custody of Nina's mother and they currently are living with her in St. Petersburg, Russia.

In an intense exchange with Hora today, Hans Reiser said he didn't kill Nina or even touch her when he saw her at his house for about an hour on Sept. 3, 2006.

Hora asked Reiser if there was a sudden quarrel, if his passions were aroused, if he struck her, if he applied any physical force on her and if he assaulted her.

Reiser emphatically answered "No" to all of Hora's questions.

"I didn't kill Nina," he said.

Hora and Reiser were combative with each other during much of the cross-examination, which is expected to continue when the trial resumes Wednesday morning, although the defense may put a DNA expert on the witness stand at some point.

At one point, Reiser said he didn't want Oakland police to seize his car after Nina disappeared even though they had a legal search warrant for it because "I don't have a great desire to give the government anything - not my underwear, not my car, definitely not my children."

Hora shot back, "And not information about where Nina is?"

Reiser gave the prosecutor a withering look and told him, "Your question is ridiculous."

Reiser also refused to answer several of Hora's questions, saying, "You're asking me for a legal conclusion."

But Alameda County Superior Court Judge Larry Goodman directed Reiser to answer all of Hora's questions, and Reiser reluctantly complied.

Reiser admitted that he has a black belt in judo and would have been capable of killing Nina with his bare hands part because he was bigger and stronger than she was.

But he said, "any man my size could have" killed her.

Hora showed jurors an email exchange between Hans and Nina on June 24, 2005, about their divorce proceedings and what was in the best interest of their children. Nina accused Hans of creating "a loyalty conflict" for their son by saying bad things about her.

At the end of the exchange, Hans told Nina, "Those who anger slowly cool slowly."

Hora asked Reiser today, "What did you mean?"

Reiser replied, "What the words said."

Court then adjourned for the day.