<![CDATA[Gawker: valleywag, sean sturgeon]]> http://tags.gawker.com/assets/base/img/thumbs140x140/gawker.com.png <![CDATA[Gawker: valleywag, sean sturgeon]]> http://gawker.com/tag/valleywag/seansturgeon http://gawker.com/tag/valleywag/seansturgeon <![CDATA[Developer accused of murder says S&M-loving wife stole $150,000]]> Software developer Hans Reiser, standing trial for the murder of his ex-wife Nina Reiser, yesterday told jurors he suspects she and her boyfriend stole $150,000 from Reiser's company. Reiser's defense lawyers say Nina had a sadomasochistic affair with Reiser's friend, self-described serial killer Sean Sturgeon, and has now fled to Russia. Judge Larry Goodman thinks all that's irrelevant and has struck much of it from the record. Defense attorney William Du Bois told reporters it's unfair:

I think it's fundamentally unfair for this jury not to know that the woman for two years, lived with a sadomasochist who was also a drug abuser, and she's not just a goody two-shoes that takes her kids to Adventure Time or to little kinder-gyms.
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<![CDATA[Open-source developer's murder trial a laughing matter]]> There's nothing funny about a murder trial. Unless there is. Open-source developer Hans Reiser is being tried in Oakland for the murder of his wife Nina, a mail-order bride. Reiser, who frequently argues with his own defense attorneys in court, is accused of killing his estranged wife to end a contentious divorce and custody battle. The defense alleges Nina, who had an affair with Reiser's friend, Sean Sturgeon, has run away to her homeland of Russia. Sturgeon claims to be a serial killer. With us so far?

In presenting the theory that Nina ran off with some man, defense attorney William Dubois displayed several Craigslist dating pages that the woman had visited just prior to her disappearance. One contained several pornographic images. While Dubois continued his argument, fellow defense lawyer Richard Tamor fumbled with the controls, causing the same image to pop up several times.

"You need to lose that picture," Superior Court judge Larry Freeman quipped. To laughter, he told the jury: "Sometimes low tech is better than high tech."
(Courtroom sketch by Wired/Norman Quebedeau)]]>
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