san francisco – murder tests The trial of a tech consultant in the stabbing death of Cash App founder Bob Lee began Monday, a year and a half after the widely admired entrepreneur was found staggering looking for help on a deserted street in downtown San Francisco.
Lee’s death at the age of 43 shocked everyone technical communityAnd fellow officers and engineers paid tribute to his generosity and genius.
Lee was the chief product officer of cryptocurrency platform MobileCoin when he died. He was the father of two children.
Prosecutors say Nima Momeni, 40, April 4 attack planned Following a dispute over his younger sister, Khazar, with whom Lee was friends. They say Momeni took a knife from his sister’s apartment, drove Lee to a secluded area and stabbed him three times, then ran away.
defense attorney disagreeAnd they say that Lee, High on intoxicationAttacked Momeni.
“Our theory is that Bob had a knife, and Nima acted in self-defense,” attorney Sam Zanganeh said.
He said his client is eager to tell his side of the story, but he has not decided whether Momeni will testify in his own defense.
Momeni, who lives near Emeryville, California, has been in custody since Lee’s arrest days after his death in a San Francisco hospital. Momeni’s Mother He has been a constant presence at court hearings, and is very close to his sister.
Prosecutors said in court documents that a friend of Lee’s told homicide investigators that he had been drinking with Momeni’s sister the day before the stabbing.
The friend said Momeni later questioned Lee about whether her sister was taking drugs or engaged in inappropriate behavior, and Lee said she had not.
Surveillance video of Lee’s final night shows him entering the posh Millennium Tower downtown, where Momeni’s sister lives with her husband, a prominent San Francisco plastic surgeon.
The video shows Lee and Momeni leaving the building together after 2 a.m. and leaving in Momeni’s car. Lee was found around 2:30 a.m. in San Francisco’s Rincon Hill neighborhood, which is home to tech offices and condominiums but sees little activity in the morning.
Police recovered a knife with a 4-inch (10 cm) blade from the scene.
Prosecutors said tests showed Momeni’s DNA on the handle of the weapon and Lee’s DNA on the bloody blade. But the defense said the police should have done so handle tested For fingerprints, namely Lee’s.
Momeni, who has pleaded innocent, faces up to 26 years in prison if convicted.
San Francisco Superior Court Judge Alexandra Gordon has told jurors the trial could last until mid-December.
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