By Aimee Strain
April 15, 2008
Prosecutor asks jurors to convict Reiser of murder
Hans Reiser
Police Photo
A prosecutor told jurors today that the only reasonable conclusion they can draw from the mountain of circumstantial evidence in computer engineer Hans Reiser’s trial is that he murdered his estranged wife Nina, even though her body has never been found.
In his closing argument in Reiser’s trial, Alameda County Deputy District Attorney Paul Hora said “there’s no doubt” that Nina, who was 31 when she disappeared on Sept. 3, 2006 after dropping off the couple’s two children at Hans Reiser’s house in the Oakland hills, is dead because she never would have abandoned her children.
Speaking in the packed courtroom of Superior Court Judge Larry Goodman and displaying photographs of Nina with her children, Hora said, “There’s no way she leaves these kids. No way.”
Hora said the fact that Nina was a devoted mother was proved when police found three books on parenting in her car when it was discovered a week after she disappeared.
Hora said Nina “vanished from the face of the earth” and Sept. 3, 2006, and it has now been “591 days without a trace and counting.”
Nina and Hans Reiser met in Russia, where she was born and was trained as a physician, and where he often spent time doing business for his computer file system company.
They married in 1999, but she filed for divorce and separated from him in 2004. Nina was awarded legal custody of their children, but Hans had visitation rights. Their divorce case, which Hans Reiser has admitted was acrimonious, was still pending when she disappeared.
Hans Reiser has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him.
DuBois, who will give his closing argument later this week, has said that he thinks Nina may still be alive and be in hiding somewhere, possibly in Russia.
Rodeo Beach hiker identified
The Marin County coroner’s office identified 20-year-old Phoebe Washer of San Francisco as the woman who died Monday afternoon after falling from a coastal trail at Rodeo Beach in an unincorporated part of Marin County, a spokeswoman with the Golden Gate National Recreation Area said.
Coroner’s spokesman Jeff Sherman said an autopsy is scheduled for Wednesday. Washer was pronounced dead at the scene shortly after 3 p.m. and foul play is not suspected, Sherman said.
At about 2:45 p.m., Washer was hiking with a 22-year-old man along a coastal trail when she slipped and fell from a cliff, spokeswoman Golden Gate National Recreation Area spokesperson Ozola Cody said.
The man had been following Washer up the trail and did not see her fall, but heard the sounds of her scream and a falling rock, according to Cody. The man hiked down toward the Washer, getting close enough to realize that she was unresponsive.
He then used a cell phone to call authorities, however the phone line was garbled due to poor reception in the area.
At 2:56 p.m., the National Park Service was notified of the incident. National Park rangers and U.S. Park police searched the area and located the victim.
The U.S. Coast Guard sent a helicopter to the site of the fall, however Washer had died before the helicopter reached her.
Cody said the man was not hurt during the incident.
The relationship of the hikers was not immediately available.
Man dies after vehicle plunges 250 feet off Highway 1
A 48-year-old man died Monday night on the coast of unincorporated Monterey County south of the Carmel Highlands after his vehicle plunged 250 feet off of state Highway 1 and landed on its roof near the beach’s surf line, officials said.
At about 9:05 p.m., the victim was driving southbound on state Highway 1 in the area of Garrapata State Park, about 10 miles south of the Carmel Highlands, when the accident occurred, according to Cal Fire spokeswoman Jan Bray.
The man apparently lost control of the vehicle, crossed into the northbound lane and applied his brakes, attempting to get back into the southbound lane when his vehicle exited the roadway, the CHP reported.
Cal Fire, the CHP and a sheriff’s rescue team responded to the area, however the man was pronounced dead at the scene. A U.S. Coast Guard air ambulance was called off when it was determined the man had died.
The victim’s identity is being withheld pending notification of his family.
Woman who died after being struck with Redwood tree branch identified
A 50-year-old woman who suffered fatal injuries when a Redwood tree branch fell on her Monday in San Francisco has been identified today by the San Francisco medical examiner’s office.
Kathleen Bolton of San Francisco was letting her dog into her Suburu Outback in a parking lot off Sloat Boulevard at Sigmund Stern Grove when the branch fell and struck her and the car around 11:30 a.m., fire Lt. Mindy Talmadge said.
Paramedics performed CPR and she was transported to a local hospital where she was pronounced dead at 12:14 p.m., police Sgt. Wilfred Williams said.
The dog reportedly jumped out of the car and was retrieved, unharmed, by animal control officials.
Talmadge said Monday that she wasn’t sure if the wind was to blame but “it was quite windy out there.”
Sebastopol City Council decides not to contract with Sonic.net for free Wi-Fi
The Sebastopol City Council’s decision not to contract with Sonic.net for free Wi-Fi service downtown because of health concerns about electromagnetic waves from wireless devices is getting a bad reception.
Wi-Fi proponents, including students at Analy High School, plan to present as many as 1,000 signatures on petitions supporting the network to the City Council tonight.
The students don’t see the logic of spurning a free Wi-Fi network downtown when city residents already are using cell phones and private wireless Internet networks that also emit non-ionizing radiation. They say the World Health Organization considers electromagnetic radiation safe,
compared to ionizing radiation from ultra-violet light, X-rays and Gamma rays.
The City Council rescinded its agreement with Santa Rosa-based Sonic.net March 18 after Sandi Maurer and others expressed their health concerns. Maurer gathered 400 signatures against Wi-Fi and said she, like others, is electro-sensitive and suffers health issues.
The issue is not on the council’s agenda and no action is expected tonight.
Councilwoman Linda Kelley asked the item be discussed last month in support of the “precautionary principle.” She also said supporting Wi-Fi raises a social justice issue because some residents cannot afford DSL.
Wi-Fi opponents site literature from the BioInitiative Working Group that claims studies show electromagnetic fields are linked to increased risk of childhood leukemia and may lead to cancers in adults.
At the March 18 meeting, Sonic.net founder Dane Jasper said his company provides one-tenth of one watt from light poles and the coverage is small and has a small power level. He said the KZST and KJZY radio stations broadcast with 6,000 watts, according to minutes of the March meeting.
He said he did not know if businesses will disconnect their existing Wi-Fi if new, free Wi-Fi is available in the city and that Sonoc.net has a variety of services for low-income residents.
Jasper said if the city does not want Sonic.net’s Wi-Fi services he would not challenge the decision.
Two-alarm Richmond fire causes estimated $500,000 damage
A two-alarm fire in a vacant Richmond home Monday evening caused an estimated $500,000 damage, Richmond Fire Chief Michael Banks said today.
The fire department received a 911 call from a neighbor at 7:23 p.m. reporting that a home at 1206 Greenway Drive was on fire.
Engine No. 68 was the first to arrive at 7:30 p.m., Banks said.
The fire went to a full second alarm before firefighters could get it under control at 8:15 p.m.
Smoke and fire destroyed the garage, at least half the roof and portions of the upstairs, Banks said.
The home had been vacant since the tenants were evicted, but it was not immediately clear when that occurred.
Neighbors didn’t report seeing any suspicious activity around the home, but one neighbor said she heard a loud pop shortly before seeing the fire, Banks said.
A Richmond fire investigator went to the home Monday night, but wasn’t able to determine a cause. She is planning to go back to the home today to look at the damage in the daylight, Banks said.
Commuters asked to avoid intersection of Monterey Highway and Curtner
The San Jose Police Department is advising motorists to avoid the intersection of the Monterey Highway with Curtner Avenue and Tully Road until 8 p.m. tonight.
A police dispatcher said that traffic signals at the intersection are not working due to construction in the area.
Officials are directing traffic at the intersection, however police are advising commuters to use alternative routes if possible.
Traffic signals in the area are expected to be back on at about 8 p.m.
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