ReiserFS creator arrested over missing woman

[Fred]

On Thursday 12 October 2006 08:43, Ben Scott uttered thusly:
> On 10/11/06, Fred <puissante at lrc.puissante.com> wrote:
> > Oh boy, his kids were grabbed by the child-snatchers according to this
> > article, and I assume they are in foster-care. If you know anything
> > about the foster-care system, it's a crap-shoot at best.
>
>   So is life in general.  The theory is it's better to put them in
> protected custody then let them run loose in the streets.

Better to place them with family members. No indication that even an attempt 
was made.

> > I will go out on a limb and say that I don't think Hans offed his wife
> > ...
>
>   I could as easily say he did it.  Or that you killed her.  Or OJ did
> it.  I'm pretty sure I've got as much evidence as you do.  :)

Speaking of OJ, I guess this is the OJ case for nerds. :-)

...
> > ... I am appalled that her alleged death is already presumed before any
> > evidence is found.
>
>   Well, the news reports are very limited at this point.  There is
> reportedly some evidence; of what, and the nature of the evidence, is
> unclear.  Lacking information one way or the other, all we can do is
> speculate groundlessly.  From everything I've read so far, all I know
> is that Nina Reiser is missing, Hans and Nina Reiser are estranged,
> and Hans Reiser has been arrested on charges of her murder.  That's
> about as close to "nothing" as one can get and still have a
> discussion.

Well, there's no body. Until Nina shows up -- or her body -- there is no real 
evidence on what truly happened beyond the circumstantial.

>   If the police lack any evidence, presumably the case won't even make
> it beyond the indictment stage.  If evidence exists, it will go to
> trial, where a jury will decide if the evidence is sufficent, beyond a
> reasonable doubt, to say he is guilty.  If so, a judge will decide how
> to sentence him.  If the jury finds him not guilty, he cannot be tried
> for the offense again.  That's how the justice system works in this
> county.  I state all this because it appears most everyone (here and
> elsewhere) discussing the matter have forgotten, and prefer to engage
> in a guessing game.

No, I have not forgotten. But I also note that the "Justice" System is full 
of flaws and has at many times convicted innocent people, some of which 
received the death penalty. 

Even if he is "found guilty" does not necessarily mean he did it. And I don't 
know about you, but I would not want to trust my life and liberty to a -- 
more or less -- randomly-selected group of people off the street that is the 
jury.

And CSI-style and level of investigations, as far as I can tell, is still 
only the stuff of Hollywood. We all saw how "wonderfully" the OJ case was 
handled. And I don't think you could get much more high-profile than that.

>   Personally, I reserve judgement until I actually have some
> information on which I can base it.

Of course, the judgment is not up to us at all, but to the "justice" system 
in CA. All we can do is sit on the sidelines and watch and comment. 

> > From the looks of it, some lousy thug must've assaulted this man's wife
> > and kidnapped her.
>
>   No, it was space aliens!

Is there a comet passing near us? Perhaps they should be looking for purple 
triangles as well.

<ducking>

In all seriousness, if I were in Hans' place -- and innocent -- I would want 
support, not "reserved judgment". I truly don't think it's likely he did it. 
Just too amateurish, with too many obvious loose ends. Even if it were a 
thoughtless "crime of passion", the venue is all wrong. If this was 
premeditated, it's not what one would expect of someone with the brains of 
Hans.

Yes, smart people can say and do stupid things sometimes -- William Shockley 
and Orson Scott Card come immediately to mind -- but not this stupid, where 
the basic assumptions would lead right back to you -- and deprive you of 
your freedoms and liberties. Hans has connections in Russia and could have 
easily left the country before the proverbial feces hit the blades, and 
could have picked a better way to pull this off as well. Like ditching 
Nina's van somewhere where it couldn't be so quickly found, etc. Also, on 
the presumption that he cares for his kids, I would think he would've set 
something up so that they would not wind up in foster care. Or, better yet, 
decide the risks to all were too great and not do something this stupid.

Idle speculation? Perhaps. But not so idle, I don't think. We can discuss the 
realms of possibility and see if any of this makes any sense. 

And in the long run, the truth will -- hopefully -- attend to itself. If it 
does turn out that Hans really is guilty, I'll be the first to eat my hat. 
But I will go out on a limb and say that -- based on greater circumstantial 
evidence -- it is extremely unlikely that Hans did this.

And since I've gone out on the limb to say Hans is most likely innocent, in 
for a penny, in for a pound -- I'll state the most likely scenario, that 
some thug tricked Nina into getting out of her van, overcame her somehow

-Fred