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Nina Reiser's Mom Sobbing on Witness Stand -- UPDATE

By Ryan Singel, Kevin Poulsen, Sarah Lai Stirland, Kim Zetter, and David Kravets

OAKLAND, California -- Nina Reiser's mother broke down at her son-in-law's murder trial here Monday, moments after taking the stand and testifying that Nina Reiser was her only child.

Irina Sharanova is the final of more than 50 prosecution witnesses in the 3-month-long trial in which the authorities accuse Nina Reiser's husband, Hans Reiser, of killing his wife to end a bitter divorce and child custody battle.

"Are you OK to continue," prosecutor Paul Hora asked the 59-year-old woman, who lives in Russia and has custody of the Reisers' two young children, now 6 and 8.

"Yes," she said through a Russian-language interpreter.

She broke down again, moments later, when she testified that she named her only child after her mother.

"Nina," Sharanova said. "Nina," the interpreter parroted.

The husband, 44, is a popular open source programmer of file systems for the Linux operating system. She was last seen Sept. 3, 2006, after brining over the divorcing couple's two young children to Hans Reiser's residence in the Oakland hills.

(Click here for the day's earlier testimony.)

The authorities allege she never left alive. The defendant, jailed without bail, claims his wife, at age 31, abandoned her children and moved back to Russia, where the couple met.

UPDATE I

Sharanova is regaining her composure. It does not appear she is looking at the defendant, who is sitting at the defense table 20 feet away. Hans Reiser gazed at her a few times, but was mostly taking notes. Jurors, too, were taking plenty of notes and were listening intently to Sharanova's testimony.

"She was in love," the mother said of her daughter, as she described Nina Reiser's courtship with Hans Reiser. The two married in 1999.

UPDATE II

She broke down in tears when prosecutor Paul Hora asked when her only grandson was born.

"Sepember 28, 1999," she said as she removed her large-framed glasses to wipe away the tears.

Hora asked what Nina thought of her two young children. "She loved them. She loves them. They are beautiful children."

She testified her only granddaughter was born "May 26, 2001."

Testimony concluded for the day and resumes Wednesday. Trial is dark Tuesday in celebration of Lincoln's birthday.

THREAT LEVEL is providing gavel-to-gavel coverage.

Courtroom sketch by Norman Quebedeau.

See Also:

• Nina Reiser's Last Phone Call Was to Hans Reiser on Day She ...
• Hans Reiser Murder Trial Refocusing on Nina Reiser -- UPDATE
• Cops Find $9000 and Passport on Hans Reiser
• Cop Testifiying About Mysterious Associate of Nina Reiser ...
• Defense Seeks Mistrial in Hans Reiser Murder Case
• Reiser Prosecution Wobbles Under Police Forensics Gaffe -- Update
• Criminalist Testifies That Blood Was Found In Reiser House -- Update

Full post as published by Threat Level on February 11, 2008 (boomark / email).