San Francisco prosecutors made opening statements Monday within the homicide trial of a tech guide charged within the stabbing demise of Money App founder Bob Lee, previewing a timeline of occasions earlier than the demise and makes an attempt afterward by the defendant to cover what he did.
Lee’s demise at age 43 — after staggering on a abandoned downtown San Francisco road searching for assist — shocked the tech group, and fellow executives and engineers penned tributes to his generosity and brilliance. Lee was chief product officer of cryptocurrency platform MobileCoin when he died. He was a father to 2 youngsters.
Prosecutors say Nima Momeni, 40, deliberate the April 4 assault after a dispute over his youthful sister, Khazar, with whom Lee was buddies. They are saying Momeni took a knife from a singular set in his sister’s rental, drove Lee to a secluded space and stabbed him thrice, then fled.
“Stabbed through his heart and left to die,” mentioned Omid Talai, assistant district legal professional, “our victim was stabbed repeatedly, once in his chest, once in his hip and literally one puncturing his heart. Robert Lee. Known as Bob.”
Protection attorneys disagree, and so they say that Lee, excessive on medication, attacked Momeni. They plan to make their opening assertion after lunch.
“Our theory is that Bob had the knife, and that Nima acted in self defense,” legal professional Saam Zangeneh informed The Related Press final week.
He mentioned his consumer is raring to inform his facet of the story, however they haven’t determined whether or not Momeni will testify in his protection. Momeni, who lives in close by Emeryville, California, has been in custody since his arrest days after Lee died at a San Francisco hospital.
On Monday, Momeni was seated along with his attorneys, sporting a darkish go well with.
His mom, who has been a steadfast presence at hearings, was in courtroom alone Monday morning. On the opposite facet of the courtroom sat members of Lee’s household, together with his ex-wife, father and brother.
Talai, the assistant district legal professional, mentioned jurors will hear from a good friend of Lee’s, who frolicked with him and Momeni’s sister the day earlier than Lee was stabbed.
The good friend will testify that Momeni angrily grilled Lee on the cellphone that evening over his sister, medication and “girls getting naked,” appearing like “an overprotective, wannabe tough guy” whereas Lee was being mellow and blissful, Talai mentioned.
Surveillance video of Lee’s last evening exhibits him coming into the luxury Millennium Tower downtown, the place Momeni’s sister lives together with her husband, a outstanding San Francisco plastic surgeon.
Talai mentioned jurors will see video of Lee and Momeni leaving the constructing after 2 a.m. and driving off collectively in Momeni’s automotive. Different video will present the 2 males getting out of the automotive in a remoted spot by the Bay Bridge, after which Momeni stabbing Lee thrice, tossing the knife from his sister’s kitchen set and shortly driving away.
Talai mentioned the prosecution will share textual content messages through which Momeni, the next morning, tells his sister he didn’t know what occurred to Lee that evening.
The lawyer mentioned video recorded by a San Francisco police detective trailing Momeni earlier than his arrest exhibits him reenacting the three stabbing motions outdoors his earlier lawyer’s workplace, however no reenactment of a battle over the knife that his attorneys say Lee wielded first.
Police recovered a knife with a 4-inch (10-centimeter) blade within the secluded space the place Lee was stabbed. Prosecutors mentioned checks confirmed Momeni’s DNA on the weapon’s deal with and Lee’s DNA on the bloody blade. However the protection has mentioned police ought to have examined the deal with for fingerprints, particularly Lee’s.
Lee was discovered round 2:30 a.m. within the Rincon Hill neighborhood of San Francisco, which has tech places of work and condominiums however little exercise within the early morning hours.
He known as 911 as he staggered, bleeding out and begging dispatch for assist, Talai mentioned.
Relations for Momeni and Lee declined remark Monday.
Momeni, who has pleaded not responsible, faces 26 years to life in jail if convicted.
San Francisco Superior Court docket Choose Alexandra Gordon has informed jurors the trial might final till mid-December.
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