Murder trial against tech consultant in Cash App founder Bob Lee’s stabbing death goes to jury | National News

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Closing arguments in the high-profile murder trial of a technology consultant charged in the stabbing death of Cash App founder Bob Lee ended Tuesday, with both sides urging jurors to use their common sense to vote for to ensure justice.

The case is expected to go to the jury for deliberations on Wednesday.

Prosecutors, who made their closing statement Monday, say Nima Momeni planned the attack in April 2023 after hearing that the tech mogul had introduced his younger sister to a drug dealer who they say gave her GHB and other drugs then sexually abused her in his apartment.

Momeni lured Lee to a secluded spot on the Bay Bridge, stabbed him three times with a knife from his sister’s kitchen set and drove off in his car, they say.

Defense lawyers say Lee was on a multi-day cocaine and alcohol spree and attacked Momeni at knifepoint over a bad joke, forcing the aide to defend himself. Momeni testified during the trial that Lee later walked away and showed no signs of injury.

If convicted, Momeni, 40, faces 26 years to life in prison. The trial began on October 14th.

One of his five lawyers, Saam Zangeneh, said Tuesday that Momeni was not angry with Lee and therefore had no motive to kill him. And even if he had a motive to kill, Zangeneh asked, why would he use an old “worn out” paring knife after leaving a high-security apartment with Lee, knowing there were surveillance cameras everywhere?

“They have to prove to you beyond a reasonable doubt that it wasn’t self-defense,” Zangeneh said.

Surveillance video shows the two men leaving the posh apartment of the defendant’s sister, Khazar Momeni, around 2 a.m. and getting into Momeni’s BMW. Other surveillance footage then shows them getting out of the car near the Bay Bridge, where the stabbing occurred.

Lee was found staggering on a deserted street in downtown San Francisco at 2:30 a.m., leaving a trail of blood behind him and calling for help. He later died in a hospital.

Omid Talai, an assistant district attorney, said in court Tuesday that Lee, 43, died far too early.

“But it doesn’t always have to be a man who died without justice. He was begging for help, he was dying and screaming for help while the defendant drove away,” he said. “Help Bob by following the law and using common sense.”

The murder weapon – a paring knife with a blade about 10cm long – had Momeni’s DNA on the handle and Lee’s DNA on the blade. Defense attorneys said the DNA evidence was not conclusive and that at a minimum, both the blade and handle should have had DNA from both men.

The afternoon before the stabbing, Lee and Khazar Momeni had been taking drugs and drinking at the home of a drug dealer Lee knew. Lee left before Nima Momeni went to pick up his sister, who told him she had been attacked.

A friend of Lee testified that Momeni then questioned Lee on the phone about what happened to his sister while he was at the drug dealer’s apartment. Zangeneh attacked the friend’s credibility and also played surveillance video that showed Lee had once been angry and not the peaceful “teddy bear” that family and friends had described him as.

Video and text messages show Momeni then met with Lee at his sister’s apartment. She finally threw her out and said she needed to sleep. The men left.

Momeni testified that he stopped his car after hitting a pothole, causing Lee to spill the beer he was holding. Momeni said he then joked and suggested that Lee spend the last night of his visit with his family instead of trying to find a strip club to keep the party going.

Then, he says, Lee pulled the knife out of his jacket pocket and attacked.

“I was afraid for my life,” Momeni said in an earlier statement that was at times rambling and controversial.

Prosecutors ridiculed Momeni’s story, pointing out that he never called police to report Lee’s alleged attack, not even after learning that Lee was suffering from stab wounds on the street where he last saw him had died.

Prosecutors showed text messages Khazar Momeni sent to her brother in which he asked where he dropped Lee off – a question he dodged. She also texted Lee to ask if her brother had “tough on you” and to thank him for “handling things with class.” On the witness stand, she said she couldn’t remember much about that time.

Finally, the prosecution showed a video of Lee leaving the apartment with Momeni, his jacket flapping to show there was no knife hidden inside.

Finally, the defense showed a video of Lee and his friend several hours earlier squirting traces of cocaine from the tip of a knife that they said was the exact size and shape of the murder weapon.

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