SAN FRANCISCO — The homicide trial of a tech advisor within the stabbing dying of Money App founder Bob Lee begins Monday, a 12 months and a half after the extensively admired entrepreneur was discovered staggering on a abandoned downtown San Francisco road in search of assist.
Lee’s dying at age 43 surprised 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 associates. They are saying Momeni took a knife from his sister’s condominium, drove Lee to a secluded space and stabbed him thrice, then fled.
Protection attorneys disagree, they usually say that Lee, excessive on medicine, attacked Momeni.
“Our principle is that Bob had the knife, and that Nima acted in self protection,” legal professional Saam Zangeneh mentioned.
He mentioned his shopper is keen to inform his aspect 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. Momeni’s mom has been a steadfast presence at court docket hearings, and he’s near his sister.
Prosecutors have mentioned in court docket paperwork {that a} pal of Lee’s informed murder investigators that they had been ingesting with Momeni’s sister the day earlier than the stabbing.
The pal mentioned Momeni later questioned Lee about whether or not his sister was doing medicine or in any other case participating in inappropriate conduct, and Lee mentioned she had not.
Surveillance video of Lee’s last evening reveals him coming into the luxurious Millennium Tower downtown, the place Momeni’s sister lives along with her husband, a outstanding San Francisco plastic surgeon.
Video then reveals Lee and Momeni leaving the constructing collectively after 2 a.m. and driving off in Momeni’s automotive. 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.
Police recovered a knife with a 4-inch (10-centimeter) blade on the scene.
Prosecutors mentioned assessments confirmed Momeni’s DNA on the weapon’s deal with and Lee’s DNA on the bloody blade. However the protection mentioned police ought to have examined the deal with for fingerprints, particularly Lee’s.
Momeni, who has pleaded not responsible, faces 26 years to life if convicted.
San Francisco Superior Courtroom Decide Alexandra Gordon has informed jurors the trial might final till mid-December.
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