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With a picture of Nina Reiser's classified ad in a mail-order bride catalog on the screen, DuBois attacked Deputy District Attorney Paul Hora's picture of Nina as a caring, devoted mother saying it was just that: an image.
"She liked to project the image the prosecution has put before you," DuBois said, pointing to a portrait Hora had set up in front of the jury showing Nina and her baby son Rory. "The actual Nina Reiser is the one being portrayed here by this European Connections magazine."
DuBois spent his half day of opening statements pointing out the character flaws of both Nina and Hans.
He described Nina as a social butterfly who hid an underlying trait of deception. Meanwhile, he said, Hans Reiser is an "egotistical maniac" who is a rock star in the world of computer programming, but someone who is void of social skills and always on the edge of paranoia.
"He's got a real inflated image of himself," DuBois said of his client. "It's kind of like Nina projecting that she is the world's greatest mother; they deserve each other."
The two met after Hans Reiser rejected another mail-order bride he brought back to the United States for a trial run, DuBois said. That woman said she did not want children so Hans took her back to Russia and met Nina.
They liked each other, Dubois said, so Hans Reiser brought Nina back to the United States.
Within two months, Nina Reiser became pregnant to avoid being sent back to Russia, DuBois said.
"(Nina) resolved never to have that happen to her," DuBois said. "Within two months after meeting Hans, she became pregnant. ... Intentionally, she became pregnant."
Although the two maintained a peaceful life together after their marriage in May 1999, Nina Reiser's true colors began to shine five years later, DuBois said.
It was then, in May 2004, when the couple separated. It also happened to be when Nina Reiser officially became a U.S. citizen, DuBois said.
"It was part of her five-year-plan. This is part of a pattern of deception."
DuBois suggested that Nina was sexually active with multiple partners and showed the jury Craigslist personal ads Nina had downloaded to her computer on the day she disappeared. The ads are written by men with children seeking women with children and one depicts sexual acts.
Nina Reiser was cruising the personal ad section of Craigslist even though she was dating another man who she had said that she loved, DuBois said.
"The true Nina, as of the day she is missing, as late as Sept. 2 ... she was combing Craigslist for new male liaisons," DuBois said. "It's just the way she did business."
But why did Hans Reiser act the way he did after her disappearance, DuBois asked.
Because "Hans Reiser is an odd individual," DuBois answered himself.
DuBois said that Hans Reiser was naturally paranoid so when his wife went missing and he realized he was the center of the investigation, he started to act strangely.
"We're talking about odd Hans," DuBois said. "No matter what Hans does it's suspicious. Watching him in court, he's suspicious. That's Hans. You'll see."
DuBois said Hans took the front passenger seat out of his Honda CRX because that is where he began to sleep after police began to follow him everywhere. He also inquired about renting a storage space in Manteca because he was thinking of sleeping there, DuBois said.
Hans Reiser bought two books about police homicide investigations because he wanted to learn as much as he could about what the police might do to him, DuBois said.
"If nothing else, his mind is active," DuBois said. "There is no such thing as a simple idea to Hans Reiser."
Hans Reiser also believed he might have been followed by the Russian secret police or mafia, DuBois said. Nina Reiser's father had worked at a resort in Russia frequented by the KGB, and Hans Reiser thought they might be involved in the disappearance, DuBois said.
In fact, DuBois said, Hans Reiser's personality will probably prevent him from testifying in the trial.
"That's why he won't testify unless he agrees to change his tune," DuBois said. "He is not a real good communicator; he gives the impression that he is paranoid."
But that is just the circumstantial evidence, DuBois said. The facts of the case also prove that his client is innocent, he said.
The DNA found at Hans Reiser's house and on a sleeping bag sack, which matched Nina Reiser's DNA profile, can't be traced to a specific time, he said. That means it could have been deposited years ago, DuBois added.
Also, DuBois pointed to testimony during a preliminary hearing at which the Reisers' son, Rory, testified that he saw his mother leave Hans Reiser's house the day she disappeared. After she left, Rory said during that hearing, Hans Reiser went into the basement with Rory and played video games.
The prosecution maintains that Hans Reiser killed Nina Reiser in his home after she dropped their children off.
DuBois said that Rory might testify Tuesday.
DuBois asked, if Hans Reiser choked Nina Reiser to death as the prosecution has suggested, why would there be blood anywhere?
DuBois urged the jury to look past the images that will be portrayed of Nina Reiser and remember the simple facts of the case.
If they do that, DuBois said, the jury will come to only one conclusion.
"We are convinced you must find Hans Reiser not guilty," DuBois said.
By Paul Rosynsky
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