Hans Reiser leads cops to wife's body

Hoping for a shorter sentence

CONVICTED MURDERER Hans Reiser led prosecutors and police in Oakland, California to his missing wife's body Monday afternoon, just two days before he was scheduled to be sentenced to prison, possibly for life.

The former software entrepreneur and principal developer of the ReiserFS Linux filesystem reportedly agreed to show authorities the location of his estranged wife's body in exchange for a shorter prison term. Reiser also admitted that he had strangled his wife Nina during a fight at his Oakland home in September 2006.

Reiser and his attorneys apparently negotiated a deal with prosecutors that could find him sentenced for second-degree murder instead of the jury's verdict of first-degree murder that was returned against him at the conclusion of his trial in April. His maximum sentence for second-degree murder would be 15 years to life, rather than the 25 years to life term that is mandated under California law for first-degree murder.

The body was found at about 4 pm Monday, buried in a shallow grave on the side of a steep hill, just beside a deer trail running between a couple of parklands in the Oakland hills and less than 200 yards behind a house, said lawyer William Du Bois, who accompanied his client. The remains were about a half mile from Reiser's house, where Nina was last seen.

Reiser's sentencing that had been set for Wednesday will likely be delayed while prosecutors work out details with defence attorneys and the judge.

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