The jury in the San Francisco murder trial of Nima Momeni, the man accused of fatally stabbing tech executive and Cash App founder Bob Lee, has reached a verdict and will announce their decision Tuesday morning, court officials said.
Court officials announced that the jury reached a verdict shortly before 4 p.m. on Monday, but noted that given the time of day, the jury was returned at 9:30 a.m. for the reading of the verdict.
Momeni was accused of it fatally stabbing tech manager Lee in a remote part of San Francisco’s East Cut neighborhood, under the Bay Bridge in April 2023.
Prosecutors said Momeni stabbed Lee with a kitchen knife after a heated argument about his sister’s relationship with Lee. and their continued drug use. During the trial, Momeni’s lawyers argued that their client acted in self-defenseclaiming Lee lunged at Momeni with a knife in his hand while high on cocaine and ketamine. The defense claimed Lee became erratic and aggressive after Momeni made a “bad joke”. at the expense of Lee’s family.
Momeni has been charged with first-degree murder, including a knife enhancement, which carries a prison sentence of 26 years to life. However, the jurors were instructed by the judge to also include a number of lesser charges in their deliberations, including manslaughter and manslaughter.
The trial, which lasted six weeks, had no shortage of drama, including the testimony of Momeni’s sister Khazar, who appeared as a witness for the prosecution. She insisted that her brother didn’t kill Lee during her first day of testimony and later detailed the numerous medications she was taking both with Lee and with other individuals during the days leading up to the fatal stabbing.
While being cross-examined by the defense, Khazar Momeni said Lee was “all over the place” and “aggressive” while high on cocaine and ketamine. Lee’s ex-wife Krista Lee loudly criticized Khazar’s testimony as she spoke to the media outside the courtroom. Accusing Khazar of trying to “victimize himself.”
The testimony became controversial when the suspect took the stand. Nima Momeni repeatedly sparred with the prosecutor during cross-examination after earlier describes how Lee allegedly attacked him while being questioned by his defense team.
The case concluded earlier this month, with prosecutors making their closing arguments throughout the day in an attempt to undermine Momeni’s defense and ask why he didn’t call the police or tell anyone that Lee allegedly attacked him. Prosecutors also showed video showing that Lee could not have had a knife in his jacket pocket, as Momeni claimed. In the clip, a gust of wind caused Lee’s jacket to flap in a way that wouldn’t happen if he were weighed down by the paring knife.
The defense responded with its own video during closing arguments, presenting surveillance images they claimed Lee was doing cocaine on the street outside a private club with the same knife that killed him hours later.
The jury started deliberations almost two weeks ago, on December 4.
Several members of both Lee and Momeni’s families are expected to be in court Tuesday morning when the verdict is read. Both Lee’s ex-wife Krista and his father and brother attended the trial from the beginning, as did Nima Momeni’s mother. His sister Khazar may also return to the courtroom to hear the verdict.
