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Updated: 6:25 p.m. Tuesday, April 29, 2008 | Posted: 8:12 a.m. Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Jurors Had Few Doubts Surrounding Reiser's Guilt

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OAKLAND, Calif. —

In one of the first interviews granted by a juror in the Hans Reiser case, juror No.7 -- an Oakland fifth grade school teacher -- told KTVU Tuesday that the computer expert's icy demeanor on the witness stand and his actions before the disappearance of his wife portrayed him as a man ready "to explode at any moment."

Vince Dunn said over the six months of testimony in the case his opinion that Reiser was guilty of first-degree murder -- despite the fact that Nina Reiser's body was never recovered -- was formed from the overwhelming amount of circumstantial evidence presented by the prosecution.

"After sitting there for six months, I was ready to vote," he said. "Some of the other jurors wanted to review the notes in regards to everything just to make sure…We had to eliminate whether or not Nina Reiser was dead. Then we had to look at whether or not we thought Hans Reiser did it…Then we had to decipher whether it was manslaughter or first or second degree murder."

"It’s really tough to decide between first and second degree…We had a lot of discussions…Certain members of the jury were convinced it was first degree. Others had to be convinced. We talked, talked and drew charts…It wasn't until the end of the third day that we agreed on first degree."

When asked if there were any jurors who initially voted to acquit Reiser, Dunn said: "There were no votes for acquittal."

Dunn also told KTVU the jurors considered Hans Reiser's actions leading up to Nina Reiser's disappearance in September 2006.

"We had to look at things that occurred in August prior to her disappearance," he said. "We felt like he was operating like a man getting ready to explode at any moment."

Reiser took the stand in his own defense for 10 days and Dunn thought that might have been a mistake.

"I can only speak for myself," Dunn said. "I started to dislike him as he came to talk. He showed so little sympathy for his ex (Nina Reiser, his estranged wife)."

When asked if there was any one piece of evidence that helped him make up his mind, Dunn responded:

"I want to say there wasn't a single thing, but there were a number of things that were very, very significant," he said. "The fact that he showed so little sympathy for the fact that his wife disappeared really bothered this juror."

Dunn also wasn't convinced by defense attorney William Du Bose's ploy to explain Hans Reiser's odd behavior by portraying him as an eccentric with few social skills.

"The attorney tried to portray him as a weird guy who did weird things to cover-up for his behavior after Nina disappeared," Dunn said. "I think it was a tactic to make us think he was weird, but not a murderer… But we began to see his (Reiser's) behavior was a cover-up for the fact a murder had been committed."

Dunn also had high praise for prosecutor Paul Hora.

"If there was a hero in this trial it would be Paul Hora," he said. "We felt he did a good job."

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