A 40-year-old technology consultant has been found guilty of second-degree murder in the stabbing death of Cash App founder Bob Lee in San Francisco last year.
The verdict read Tuesday came more than a year after Lee was found bleeding to death on a street in downtown San Francisco.
The jury heard more than six weeks of testimony about a drug vendor, sexual assault and ultimately early morning stabbing in San Francisco in April 2023.
During closing arguments, prosecutors played the 911 call Lee made after Nima Momeni stabbed him, leaving him dead in the street, according to the Associated Press.
The jury heard Ms Lee repeatedly ask for help on the phone.
Lee, 43, was found bleeding downtown around 2:30 a.m. on April 4, 2023, and later succumbed to his injuries.
Momeni, angry that Lee had introduced her sister, Hazar Momeni, to the man who allegedly gave her GHB, known as the date rape drug, accused Lee of killing her three times near the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. Stung. Hazar Momeni testified that Lee’s friend Jeremy Boivin, who prosecutors say is a drug dealer, drugged and sexually assaulted her, ABC7 news station reported. Boivin has not been charged in connection with the incident, authorities said.
Lee’s family spoke to reporters after the verdict was read, thanking the jury and prosecutors for securing a guilty verdict.
Lee’s brother, Timothy Oliver Lee, acknowledged the jury was presented with a difficult case.
“It was the contrast between Nima’s words and my brother’s words. He’s not here for anyone to hear those words,” he told CBS news station KPIX. “I think justice was served here today.”
Lee would have turned 45 on Friday, her family said. His murder and trial haunted them for over a year. Family members said Tuesday’s verdict brought some closure.
“This is where our family begins to heal,” said Timothy Oliver Lee. “What has happened over the last 18 months is that this has been an open wound for our family, because of the intense scrutiny and because the whole situation surrounding us has been very difficult for us. It was very difficult. This marks the point where Nima Momeni is held accountable for his actions.”
Momeni could be sentenced to up to 16 years in prison.
His mother, Mahnaz Tayarani Babai, expressed her condolences to Lee’s family, saying both families were victims of drug abuse.
She told reporters outside court that she was disappointed.
“He’s the kindest person. Every mother would want to have a son like him. I know my son and he would never do that,” she said. spoke. “This is not a fair trial.”
She told Lee’s family to set up an organization to address drug use to honor his memory and “so that no other family in the future has to face such a difficult time.” I suggested raising it.
Tony Blass, one of Momeni’s lawyers, said he would consider the case for appeal.
“These were hard-fought battles, and many decisions were made during these battles, some of which we did not think were right,” Blass told news station KRON. He mentioned the evidence.
The trial, which began on October 14, marks the end of a chapter in a murder case that has shocked the Bay Area. The jury reached its verdict after seven days of deliberations.
Initial reports about Lee’s death sparked fear and criticism in San Francisco of rampant crime, but the story surrounding the incident began to change after police announced Momeni’s arrest and revealed details about a possible motive. changed quickly.
Assistant District Atty. Dane Reinstedt summed up the circumstances that led to the stabbing in closing arguments Monday.
Hours before the stabbing, Lee met Nima Momeni at Momeni’s sister’s Mission Street apartment, where Momeni asked Lee about what had happened to her. Nima Momeni grabbed a paring knife from the kitchen and walked out the front door with Lee.
Video from the elevator shows the men leaving the building around 2 a.m. and driving away in Momeni’s BMW.
According to the Associated Press, Momeni testified on stage during the trial that Lee attacked him after telling him a “bad joke” while they were in the car.
“My life was in danger,” Momeni told the jury.
Momeni testified that he drove his car over a pothole and Lee spilled the beer he was carrying, so he pulled over in a quiet area of the Bay Bridge. According to his testimony, Momeni then joked to Lee that instead of finding a strip club, he should spend his last night in town with his family.
Momeni’s lawyer argued that Lee became upset and attacked Momeni, forcing his client to use his Krav Maga martial arts skills to defend himself, according to the Associated Press. Momeni did not realize Lee had been stabbed, his lawyer told the jury during closing arguments.
But prosecutors said the stab wounds were precise and clean and not caused by someone in self-defense.
Reinstedt said Momeni called the police even though Lee had attacked her with a knife and that Lee was reportedly found with stab wounds on the street and later died. He says he didn’t.
An autopsy report said alcohol, ketamine and cocaine were found in Lee’s system.
Defense attorneys argued that Mr. Lee had been in bed for several days on drugs, which is why he became agitated and violent on the night of his death.
In his closing argument, defense attorney Sahm Zangeneh played surveillance video showing Lee and a friend outside the Battery, a private social club in San Francisco. In the video, Lee is seen inhaling drugs from an object that Zangeneh claims is the knife used to kill him, ABC7 reported.
Assistant distribution accordingly. Atty. Mr Omid Tarai asked the jury to consider why Mr Lee’s DNA was not found on the object if it was the knife used in the killing. Prosecutors said only Momeni’s DNA was found on the knife.
Prosecutors showed a video of Mr. Lee before he was stabbed. At one point, the jacket was open and Reinstedt said he could not see the knife. Another, albeit grainy, video showed men on the bridge, showing Momeni as the aggressor, the Associated Press reported.
San Francisco area Atty. After the verdict was read, Brooke Jenkins thanked prosecutors, jurors and Lee’s family. Jenkins said her office was satisfied with the sentence, even though she was seeking a first-degree murder conviction.
“While nothing can bring Mr. Lee back, we hope this sentence provides some closure for his family and friends as they work to recover from this devastating loss,” she said in a statement. mentioned in.
She reminded the public that Mr. Lee’s murder was not random and that police were able to find the culprit.
“Who did Elon Musk really try to shame San Francisco on Twitter after Bob Lee was killed and make it seem like this is illegal activity in San Francisco and something that’s happening in our city?” I knew it was something different,” she said, referring to Tesla’s chief executive.
