The tech is still incredibly impressive, I just wish they'd rename it.
Why? That’s just a name. If people are that reluctant to use a technology just because a murderer used to develop some parts of it, what would they think of current developers who renamed the project just to conceal that historical fact? Wouldn’t they initiate a grand purge once they learn that somethingelsefs is actually a project that uses code and ideas of reiserfs?
The very first thing I thought about when I saw the headline was Hans Reiser's crime. The first thing I then expected in the comments was a lengthy discussion about that. I am fairly certain that this is fully in line with how most people react.
I don't see how your proposed hypothetical following a name change would take hold. I don't think a name change would be perceived as "concealing", just understandably moving away from a name that has become unfortunate. I think people are more surprised that they haven't.