Nima Momeni trial jurors end 1st day of deliberations without verdict
Jurors in San Francisco on Wednesday finished their first day of deliberations without a verdict in the trial of Nima Momeni, the man charged with murder in the 2023 fatal stabbing of Cash App founder Bob Lee.
The jury is scheduled to continue deliberations at 9:30 a.m. Thursday.
Before the case was given to the jury shortly after 10 a.m., the judge gave some final instructions about the procedures they will follow when they come to a verdict or if they cannot come to an agreement.
Momeni has been charged with first-degree murder, which carries a sentence of 26-years-to-life in prison. Jurors are also considering second-degree murder and manslaughter in the case.
The judge said whatever verdict the jury comes to must be unanimous.
The state has accused Momeni of fatally stabbing tech executive Lee in a remote part of San Francisco's East Cut neighborhood on an early morning in April 2023.
Prosecutors have argued the deadly stabbing came after a heated discussion regarding his sister's relationship with Lee and their ongoing drug use. Momeni's attorneys have argued that Lee attacked Momeni in a drug-fueled rage and was accidentally stabbed as Momeni defended himself.
Lee's family and friends anxiously sat through the trial hoping the jury will come back with a quick guilty verdict. But it's unclear how long deliberations will take, or what the verdict will be, as jurors have asked dozens of their own questions throughout the trial.
On Wednesday, Lee's former wife Krista said that she believes prosecutors did their best to bring Bob's story to the courtroom.
"I've got nothing but the utmost respect for our jurors, they have a very tough decision ahead of them. And I'm ever so grateful for our legal team on this and most of all the judge. And even more so the San Francisco Police Department. Sorry guys, I'm getting a little teary-eyed on this one," she said, fighting back tears. "I think they've all done a phenomenal job and unfortunately for our family we will never stop fighting for Bob's legacy."
The start of deliberations came a day after attorneys for Momeni wrapped up their closing argument with a surprise video clip they claimed showed Lee doing cocaine outside a private club with the same knife used to kill him hours later.
Krista Lee also pushed back on those claims Wednesday morning, posing an alternative answer to what her ex-husband may have had in his hand outside the Battery.
"It wasn't a knife he was holding. It was a metal collar stay. It's something Bob's used for years. It's about yay long," Lee said, holding her thumb and forefinger about four or five inches apart. "And I should only hope that in the evidence it will come up."
The possibility that the item in Bob Lee's hand could be a collar stay is unlikely to come up in jury deliberation as it was never mentioned inside the courtroom.
When pressed on why they only brought up their theory that Lee could be seen in video with the knife hours earlier at the tail end of the trial, defense attorneys said it's all part of their strategy.
"That's a huge moment in the case, because it shows he actually had possession of what everyone in that room knows is a knife," said defense attorney Bradford Cohen.
"There was no collar pin found at the scene. She's making up evidence. Because if it was the collar pin, they would have found the collar pin on him," added defense attorney Saam Zangeneh.
The jury is scheduled to resume deliberations at 9:30 a.m. Thursday.
