Software developer Hans Reiser pleaded not guilty Friday to charges that he murdered his wife, Nina Reiser, who was last seen alive on Sept. 3.
Reiser, 43, didn't waive his right to a speedy trial, so Alameda County Superior Court Judge C. Don Clay scheduled his trial to begin on May 7.
SLIDESHOW: Images Of Nina Reiser Reiser remains in custody in the Alameda County Jail without bail.
Two weeks ago, at the end of a lengthy preliminary hearing, Judge Julie Conger ruled that there's sufficient evidence for Reiser to stand trial on charges that he murdered Nina Reiser, who was trained as a physician in her native Russia.
Conger said she was troubled by some aspects of the prosecution's case against Hans Reiser and suggested it's possible that someone else killed Nina Reiser and that he was an aider and abettor.
Conger said there's a "strong suspicion (Hans Reiser), if not personally, had some part in the murder of Nina Reiser."
Conger said she's especially troubled by Reiser's suspicious activity, especially the missing front seat in his car, the books on murder investigations he bought and his actions.
Nina Reiser was last seen about 2 p.m. on Sept. 3 when she dropped off the couple's two children at Hans Reiser's home in the 6900 block of Exeter Drive in Oakland.
The prosecutor said he believes Reiser lured Nina Reiser to the house under the guise it was his weekend to visit the kids, then killed her at or near the house.
Conger said she's not convinced the prosecution's theory about how the killing happened is the right one, however, NBC11's Jodi Hernandez reported.
Hans and Nina Reiser married in 1999 but separated in May 2004. They were undergoing contentious divorce proceedings at the time she disappeared but the divorce wasn't finalized.
Nina Reiser was awarded custody of the couple's 7-year-old son and 5-year-old daughter but Hans Reiser was allowed to have the children one weeknight a week and every other weekend.
Nina Reiser's body hasn't been found, but in October Hans Reiser was charged with murdering her after Oakland police said they found biological and trace evidence suggesting that she is dead as well as blood evidence tying him to her death.
Deputy District Attorney Greg Dolge prosecuted Hans Reiser during his preliminary hearing but Deputy District Attorney Paul Hora will prosecute his trial.
Hora has prosecuted many murder cases. His best-known case was the prosecution of Stuart Alexander, the so-called "Sausage King" who was convicted in 2004 of murdering three meat inspectors at his San Leandro linguisa plant on June 21, 2000.
Alexander was sentenced to the death penalty and died at the age of 44 of a pulmonary embolism in his cell at San Quentin State Prison on Dec. 27, 2005.
Friends and family have set up an education fund for the Reiser children, 7-year-old Rory and 5-year-old Niorline.
6114 LaSalle Ave No. 127
Oakland, CA 94611
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