Sister testifies in Nima Momeni's murder trial
SAN FRANCISCO - The jury in the murder trial of Nima Momeni heard from a highly anticipated witness on Thursday - the accused killer’s sister, who was one of the last people to see slain tech executive Bob Lee alive.
Under questioning by the prosecution, Khazar Momeni, 39, told the jury in San Francisco Superior Court that Lee was her friend. But she made it clear she doesn't believe her brother is guilty of murder.
She made her long-awaited appearance after days of speculation as to when she would testify. She walked into court with her mother and an attorney.
Authorities say the defendant was convinced that Lee, founder of Cash App, and his alleged drug dealer had acted inappropriately with Khazar Momeni at a party. In court, the sister confirmed she had used drugs, including cocaine and nitrous oxide that day.
According to the prosecution, Nima Momeni called Lee, interrogating him and suggesting that his sister had been drugged and had been sexually abused.
That phone call by the defendant to Lee was overheard by Lee’s friend Bo Mohazzabi, who was grilled by defense attorneys for a second day earlier Thursday.
Mohazzabi reluctantly agreed that Lee had apparently ordered escorts and had lines of cocaine prepared in a hotel room the night before he was killed.
But Mohazzabi repeatedly insisted that any drug use wasn’t excessive and that he and Lee had enjoyed a night together just hanging out and that Lee was acting normally.
The defense is trying to prove to the jury that Lee, while high on drugs, came at Momeni with a knife and that Momeni ended up using the same knife to kill Lee in self-defense in April 2023.
But the prosecution says it was Momeni who killed Lee, believing that Lee and his alleged drug dealer had acted inappropriately.
Outside court, Tim Oliver Lee, the victim's brother said, "To see her today take that grief from us and use it to repair her or her image within all of this scenario, is really, really difficult for us. My brother was about love and empathy. He was an awesome person. I'm gonna miss him. I do miss him."
KTVU legal analyst Michael Cardoza said, "It strikes me that in this particular situation that there were a lot of drugs being ingested by the victim, Mr. Lee, in this case, and that’s exactly what the defense is building their defense on, to say that hey, we didn’t start this fight, the victim started it."
The trial resumes on Monday.
Henry Lee is a KTVU crime reporter. E-mail Henry at Henry.Lee@fox.com and follow him on Twitter @henrykleeKTVU and www.facebook.com/henrykleefan
