Prosecutor in Bob Lee fatal stabbing trial tells jury they're "sitting in court with a murderer"
Prosecutors started the trial of Nima Momeni for the deadly stabbing of Cash App founder Bob Lee with their opening statement Monday, telling jurors, "you are sitting in court with a murderer" while calling the accused an "overprotective wannabe tough guy."
Prosecution opens
Assistant District Attorney Omid Talai began his remarks with a stark statement of how tech executive Lee lost his life on in the early morning hours of April 4, 2023.
"Stabbed through his heart and left to die. Our victim was stabbed repeatedly. Once in his chest, once in his hip and literally one puncturing his heart," said Talai. "Robert Lee known as Bob, a 43-year-old man, was driven to a dark secluded area after 2 a.m. and was violently stabbed. He immediately began bleeding profusely and started taking his last breaths. Ladies and gentlemen, you are sitting in court with a murderer."
San Francisco police officers responded to a call reporting a stabbing in the city's East Cut neighborhood on the 300 block of Main Street. Lee later died in the hospital on the operating table. Nine days after Lee's death, police arrested Momeni.
Talai went on to call Momeni a "coward of a defendant who stabbed an unarmed man," and described Momeni as an "overprotective wannabe tough guy who wants some answers" as he provided details about the hours and minutes leading up to the stabbing.
"An aggressive, uncomfortable interrogation"
As Talai presented a timeline of events, he talked about Lee's friend Jeremy Boivins overhearing a conversation between Lee and Momeni that the assistant district attorney said could be "better described as an aggressive, uncomfortable interrogation." Momeni's questions focused on the activity of his sister Khazar Momeni.
Some of the details about the investigation have already revealed the complex history between Momeni, Lee, and Momeni's sister, including a concerned text she sent to Lee.
During his opening statement, Talai specifically referred to one text from Khazar to her brother saying, "You're f--king psychotic at times," apparently referring to the earlier verbal confrontation Momeni had with Lee.
The defense objected several times during the prosecution's opening statement, but each objection was sustained by the judge.
Momeni and Lee family members present
Momeni was present in court, dressed in a blue suit and seated with his legal team of five attorneys. Also in court were Momeni's mother and at least seven members of Lee's family, including his father, his ex-wife and two of Lee's children.
Lee's daughter became visibly emotional during the opening statement.
The lunch break came approximately three quarters of the way through the prosecution's statement. They were expected to finish after the break, with the defense then presenting their opening remarks.
When the prosecution resumed, they presented more evidence from the moments immediately after Lee was mortally wounded, including a courtroom playback of a recording of his 9-1-1 call. Prosecutors noted that Lee said the word "help" 47 times over the course of the call before he goes silent.
Members of Lee's family were visibly shaken after hearing the recording, with some in tears after it was played.
Momeni's attorneys have said the plan to argue that their client was acting in self-defense when the stabbing happened after what they call a "flash of aggression" from Lee.