OAKLAND -- Opening statements in the trial of computer science engineer Hans Reiser on charges he murdered his wife, Nina Reiser, have been delayed by at least a week because of concerns about potential prejudicial information in an upcoming national television show about his case.

Reiser's attorney, William DuBois, said Tuesday another reason for the delay is that Alameda County Juvenile Court officials refused to turn over the file of the custody case involving the Reisers' children, 8-year-old Rory and 6-year-old Nio.

DuBois said Juvenile Court officials turned down repeated requests for the file from prosecutor Paul Hora but finally agreed to hand it over Tuesday after Superior Court Judge Larry Goodman, who is presiding over Reiser's trial, asked them to comply.

Opening statements had been scheduled to be presented next Monday but now have tentatively been set for Nov. 5, three days after the high- profile case is to be featured on ABC's 20/20 program on Nov. 2, which is the beginning of sweeps month, a period when networks try to increase their viewership so they can boost their ad rates.

Nina Reiser, 31, disappeared Sept. 3, 2006, after dropping off the couple's two children at Hans Reiser's home at 6979 Exeter Drive in Oakland's Montclair District.

Hans Reiser, 43, and Nina Reiser, who was trained as a gynecologist in her native Russia, married in 1999 but separated in May of 2004. They were undergoing contentious divorce proceedings at the time she disappeared but the divorce wasn't finalized.

Nina Reiser was awarded both legal and physical custody of their children, but Hans Reiser was allowed to have them one weeknight a week and every other weekend.

Although Nina Reiser's body hasn't been found, in October 2006 prosecutors charged Hans Reiser 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. He's being held in custody without bail.

The children were placed in foster care after Nina Reiser disappeared. They currently are living with Nina Reiser's mother in Russia.

DuBois said the 20/20 team interviewed Hans Reiser with his permission and he sat in on the interview, although he wasn't interviewed on camera himself.

DuBois said, "I'm not concerned about the show. We have nothing to hide."

DuBois said the program will mention Sean Sturgeon, an Oakland man who dated Nina Reiser after the couple separated.

According to testimony at Hans Reiser's preliminary by Antonios Zografos, an Oakland man who dated Nina Reiser for about eight months before she disappeared, as well as court declarations by Hans Reiser, Sturgeon was into sadomasochism.

Wired Magazine said in an article posted May 3 that Sturgeon has confessed to killing eight people unrelated to Nina Reiser's case.

In a phone interview in May, Sturgeon, who hasn't been charged with any crimes and was reached at his Oakland home, told Bay City News Service that he didn't kill Nina Reiser.

Hora said Tuesday that DuBois and Reiser would be in violation of a gag order barring discussion of Sturgeon if they talked to 20/20 about Sturgeon.

Hora said the television program is only "an incidental reason" for the delay in Reiser's trial and a bigger reason is the long wait for the child custody file.

He said it has about 400 pages of documents that the attorneys in the case need time to review.

DuBois said he wants to review the file because it contains about 70 letters that Reiser has exchanged with his children and has many comments about the case.

Rory Reiser testified at his father's preliminary hearing last Dec. 11 but it's unknown if he will return from Russia to testify at his father's trial.

Hora said that's confidential information that he won't disclose.

Reiser is scheduled to return to court Wednesday morning for the final jury selection in his case and for a hearing on several pretrial motions.