Bob Lee killing: Nima Momeni’s murder trial for death of Cash App founder enters second day of testimony

SAN FRANCISCO – The high-profile trial of Nima Momeni, accused of fatally stabbing Cash App founder Bob Lee in 2023, began Monday in a packed San Francisco courtroom.

Momeni is accused of murdering Lee by stabbing him with a kitchen knife. His lawyers argue self-defense, while prosecutors paint a picture of Momeni stabbing Lee in a fit of aggression after he felt his sister was being disrespected.

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Lee’s death drew national media attention as it appeared to play into San Francisco’s “Doom Loop” narrative, which is flipping perceptions of escalating crime in the city.

Tuesday could be a critical day in the case as it could be the first time jurors hear from Nima Momeni’s sister Khazar Momeni in a public courtroom.

The People vs. Momeni trial, expected to last until December, began with opening statements from both the prosecution and defense. The prosecution presented the victim’s 911 call as well as surveillance video and body camera footage from the responding police officers.

MORE: Tech consultant faces trial in death of Cash App founder Bob Lee

Omid Talai, the lead prosecutor in the case, painted a picture of the moments before, during and after the knife attack on Lee. He began by describing the injuries Lee suffered and showing the court photos of his bruised body.

“Stung through his heart and left to die,” Talai said. “Our victim was stabbed repeatedly. Once in the chest, once in the hip and once literally in the heart.”

On April 3, Lee briefly attended a meeting at the home of a suspected drug dealer where Khazar Momeni, Nima Momeni’s sister, was also present.

“You’ll hear there was acid, cocaine, GHB and whippets,” said Saam Zangeneh, Momeni’s Miami-based attorney. “Whippets” is the colloquial name for laughing gas, a party drug. GHB, or gamma-hydroxybutyrate, is sometimes called the “date rape drug.”

At the “uneventful meeting point” described by Talai, Khazar is said to have taken GHB. According to the defense, Khazar apparently caused distress to Momeni.

According to prosecutors, Lee spent the night drinking and meeting another friend. He then went to Khazar’s apartment in the Millennium Tower in downtown San Francisco after midnight.

Sometime around 2 a.m. on April 4, Lee and Nima Momeni left Khazar’s apartment together, according to surveillance footage from the apartment. Momeni drove Lee to an area beneath the Bay Bridge on Main Street in San Francisco and allegedly stabbed him three times, Talai said.

MORE: Suspect claims self-defense in fatal knife attack on Cash App founder Bob Lee, lawyer says

Momeni was arrested nine days later in Emeryville after police investigators tracked down his white BMW, which was seen on surveillance footage in the area at the time of the stabbing.

Talai described Momeni as an “overprotective, wannabe tough guy” who killed Lee on April 3 because he suspected him of “inappropriate” behavior toward his sister Khazar.

The defense argued that Momeni acted in self-defense, saying Lee initially brandished the knife in a drug-fueled haze of paranoia and aggression. The defense said Lee’s toxicology report showed there were drugs from several manufacturers in his body, according to the San Francisco Chief Medical Examiner.

“While Bob Lee was sleep-deprived, Nima Momeni was forced to defend herself and stand firm,” Zangeneh said.

The defense says it can prove through phone logs and witness statements that Lee slept only six hours in a 90-hour period due to taking drugs, “mainly cocaine,” Zangeneh said.

“After 90 hours of using drugs, Lee tries to control the knife. This resulted in an injury to his right hip,” said Zangeneh, trying to show the jury what consequences pulling a knife from his pocket could have on such an injury. “There will be a medical examination to show how the injuries occurred and how realistic they are. The wound pattern is important.”

After opening statements, the prosecution played the 911 call Lee made after his knife attack.

TIMELINE: Events leading up to the fatal stabbing of Bob Lee are detailed in court documents

“Help, help, help, help,” Lee repeated to the dispatcher a total of 47 times. Lee’s cries for help began as screams and toward the end became quiet utterances and grunts until first responders arrived.

Dozens of Lee’s family members and friends were present in the courtroom. Some became emotional as they listened to the call.

Prosecutors also presented video surveillance footage showing Lee hobbling outside an apartment building at 403 Main St., about a block from where he was stabbed.

“I saw Mr. Lee come into frame on the camera,” said witness Joseph Rinaldi, a San Francisco police officer who responded to the scene. “There was blood on both hands and he was clutching his chest. Then he collapsed in front of the building.”

The jury was also played Rinaldi’s body camera footage, which shows Lee in the fetal position. He was “unconscious, on the ground and did not respond to officers,” Rinaldi said.

Rinaldi and another officer followed a blood trail from 403 Main St. that led south to under the Bay Bridge, he said.

During opening statements, prosecutors showed text messages Khazar sent to Lee at 8:30 a.m. April 4, after he was already dead.

“I just wanted to make sure you were okay,” Khazar wrote. “Because I know Nima came at you very hard. Thank you for being such a noble man and handling it with class.”

Prosecutors are confident the evidence from surveillance footage, forensic examinations and text messages will speak for itself.

“I will not ask you to judge him because of a word that comes out of my mouth,” Talai said. “I ask you to convict him based on the evidence, statements, witnesses, images, videos, texts, science, DNA and your common sense.”

By the end of the first day, Momeni’s defense team was confident in their plan for his acquittal.

“I think things are going as expected for us. We were able to shed light on the various pieces of evidence that were left out,” Zangeneh said in an interview. “The prosecution only wants people to see part of the picture, and it’s our job to color the rest, so to speak. That’s how we started today with our opening speech. We will do this throughout the course of the case and until the end.”

Copyright 2024 Bay City News, Inc.

ABC7 contributed to this story.