Lawyers for defendant Nima Momeni concluded their closing argument Tuesday with a surprise video clip that they said showed the fatal stabbing victim and Cash App founder Bob Lee taking cocaine with the same knife used only to kill him a few hours later.
Defense attorneys brought the case to a dramatic conclusion with their closing arguments during the defendant’s high-profile murder trial. The state accused Momeni of he fatally stabbed Lee, technical director in a remote part of San Francisco’s East Cut neighborhood, early morning in April 2023.
Prosecutors argued the fatal assault came after a heated discussion regarding her sister’s relationship with Lee. and their continued drug use.
Vicki Behringer
Video first played in the courtroom Tuesday showed Lee with his friend Borzu Mohazzebi appearing to use cocaine outside the Battery club hours before the assault. But it was the object the two men used to consume the drugs, which defense attorney Saam Zangeneh said was the same knife used in the murder.
“They buried him,” Zangeneh said of the video posted Tuesday. “I guarantee you, they didn’t know we found it. Because if they did, they would have fixed it.”
The victim’s brother, Timothy Oliver Lee, said it was impossible.
“Bob never carried a knife and Bob never did cocaine with a knife. It’s just crazy to me,” he said.
Using a cardboard version of the Joseph Joseph paring knife used in the fatal attack, the Zangeneh defense highlighted black-and-white surveillance video at the end of his team’s closing argument, saying it was proof that Lee had the knife all along.
The claim directly contradicts the evidence presented in the prosecution’s closing argument that Lee could not have had the knife in his front jacket pocket. Surveillance footage taken later that night showed nothing weighing down that side of the garment when it blew in the wind.
“It’s the exact same shape and size as the knife found outside the Caltrans parking lot. That’s the knife,” Zangeneh said outside the courtroom.
This was not the first time the defense used the theater during its closing arguments. Earlier, Zangeneh used a bag of sugar as a prop, assuring the judge and jury that the plastic bag did not contain cocaine.
The moment sparked a tense exchange between the defense attorney and Lee’s ex-wife, Krista, who let out a mocking laugh as she showed the video.
Zangeneh then turned directly to her to address her, telling her that it wasn’t funny. Prosecutors quickly objected, with the judge intervening and restoring order.
“Angry outbursts from a family member during closing arguments are an incredibly inappropriate, unprofessional and, frankly, rude thing to do,” Zangeneh said.
“He’s calling out Krista and the people in the courtroom. It’s really painful for us,” Timothy Oliver Lee said. “Nima Momeni not only killed Bob, but now he’s trying to kill his character; he’s trying to kill his legacy. And that’s something we can’t stand. We can’t stand that.”
Momeni’s defense attorneys made their final attempt to prove their client’s innocence to jurors, saying Momeni had no reason to stab Lee and trying to provide a lasting picture reinforcing their claim that he acted in state of self-defense.
In criminal cases, prosecutors have the final say. During their rebuttal, the prosecution told jurors that the odds of so many coincidences occurring to make Momeni’s story possible were like lightning striking 30 times.
They urged jurors to use common sense and return a guilty verdict. Their final words in court: “Don’t let him get away with this.”
The case is expected to go before the jury for deliberation on Wednesday. If convicted, Momeni faces 26 years to life in prison.
