Sep 2, 2008 7:11 pm US/Pacific
Reiser Children Sue Dad For Mom's Wrongful Death
OAKLAND (CBS 5 / AP / BCN) ―
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Hans Reiser during a jailhouse interview after his conviction.
CBS
The children of convicted Oakland wife-killer Hans Reiser have filed a wrongful death suit against their father.
The lawsuit filed in Alameda County Superior Court said the children, 8-year-old Rory and 7-year old Niorline, "have suffered a tremendous loss, including the loss of love, support and companionship, comfort, affection and society" of their mother, Nina Reiser.
The children currently live in Nina's native Russia with their maternal grandmother, Irina Sharanova.
The suit said that Hans Reiser's conduct "negligently inflicted serious emotional distress on Rory and Niorline Reiser" because both were in Hans' house in the Oakland hills when he murdered Nina, "which has resulted in severe emotional distress and psychological trauma."
The suit seeks unspecified general and special damages as well as punitive and exemplary damages.
A judge last week accepted a plea deal that reduced Reiser's conviction to second-degree murder after the software programmer led authorities to his wife's body.
In the unusual deal, prosecutor Paul Hora agreed to allow Reiser to plead guilty to the lesser charge of second-degree murder in exchange for his cooperation on July 7 in leading authorities to the site near his home where he buried Nina.
The reduced charge still carries a potential life sentence, but Reiser will now be eligible for parole after 15 years, compared to 25 years for first-degree murder.
Reiser apologized to his children in court last week and said he started a trust fund for them.
Attorney Arturo Gonzalez of the San Francisco firm Morrison Foerster, who is representing Rory and Niorline pro bono, said Tuesday that he filed the lawsuit to protect their interests because "I don't think anyone, except the defendant, knows how many assets he has."
He said the children "are struggling financially."
Gonzalez said that even if Reiser doesn't currently have much money, his computer file business, Namesys Inc., and various patents might be worth a fair amount of money.
Gonzalez also said Reiser "is a fairly intelligent guy" and might be able to invent a valuable product because he will have a lot of free time while he's in prison.
"We're hoping to resolve this quietly and quickly with a stipulated judgment," Gonzalez said, but noted he would seek a trial if Reiser isn't cooperative.
Lawyers for Hans Reiser couldn't be reached for comment Tuesday.
(© CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. The Associated Press and Bay City News contributed to this report.)
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