Hans Reiser, creator of the ReiserFS open-source journalling file system, has allegedly lead police to his wife's body.

Reiser stood accused of accused of killing his wife, Nina Reiser, during an acrimonious divorce in 2006. Although his wife's body was never recovered, authorities managed to gather enough evidence against Reiser to arrest and convict him.

Since his arrest, Reiser has been protesting his innocence – his legal team have even gone so far as to invent what CNet calls the “geek defence,” where his strange behaviour following the disappearance of his wife was attributed to his being a computer enthusiast and therefore a bit 'special'.

All protestations of innocence have now fallen by the wayside, however, with the San Francisco Chronicle revealing yesterday that Reiser had struck a deal with authorities: the location of his wife's body in exchange for a lessened sentence. Following Reiser's instructions, a police team recovered an as-yet unidentified body next to a deer trail located mid-way between the Redwood Regional Park and the Huckleberry Botanic Regional Preserve – less than half a mile away from Reiser's home, and the place where his wife was last seen alive.

In exchange for his co-operation, Reiser will see his possible sentence reduced from 25 years to life for first-degree murder to 15 years to life for the lesser charge of second-degree murder.

Is this the final nail in the coffin for ReiserFS, or can good code come from a violent sociopath? Share your thoughts over in the forums.