Jury deliberates in Nima Momeni murder trial

San Francisco – A San Francisco jury began deliberations Wednesday after hearing six weeks of evidence in Nima Momeni’s murder trial.

The jury of six women and six men were led out of the courtroom shortly after 10 a.m. by a sheriff’s deputy. They left the courtroom without making a verdict around 4:15 p.m

“We’re all going to be very tense over the next week or two or however long it takes,” said Lee’s ex-wife, Krista Lee. “I’ll keep my fingers crossed again. I want them to take their time, the evidence is there, we have only seen a fraction of what they get in the consultation room.”

Saam Zangeneh, one of Momeni’s five defense lawyers, said in court: “You do what you can, on both sides, the prosecution and the defense. We present our case. They present their case, now we wait. That’s all you can do.” How do we feel? It doesn’t matter what the jury feels.

And the jury is now sifting through a lot of evidence.

Prosecutors say Momeni stabbed Lee because they believed Lee’s dealer had drugged Momeni’s sister Khazar and groped her.

But Momeni testified at the trial, saying it was Lee who came at him with a knife during a drug-related fight and that Momeni reacted in self-defense.

Prosecutors said Momeni never called 911 and his explanation of what happened made no sense. They told jurors that his combativeness on the witness stand was a sign that he could be far more hostile on the street.

But then there was a bang from the defense on Tuesday. During closing arguments, Zangeneh played to the jury’s surveillance video that showed Lee using a knife to snort cocaine with a friend, the same knife Lee used to attack Momeni, according to the defense.

KTVU legal analyst Michael Cardoza says prosecutors did not respond appropriately to this video.

“Now some juror could get into that, and that could be reasonable doubt,” Cardoza said. “I’m really shocked that the government didn’t address this in its trial, in its rebuttal, or in its argument before the defense brought it up. Why did you allow the defense to bring up something so shocking?”

Krista Lee said it was not a knife but a metal collar holder that her ex-husband used. She says the defense is trying to destroy his legacy.

“This is our second Christmas without Bob,” she said. “It is not easy. There will always be a free seat at our dinner table on holidays like this.”

Henry Lee is a KTVU crime reporter. Email Henry at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @henrykleeKTVU and www.facebook.com/henrykleefan