Nima Momeni took the stand Wednesday in his murder trial, saying he knew his sister had not been sexually assaulted in the hours before Bob Lee’s killing. The statement appeared to undermine the prosecution’s narrative that Momeni killed Lee because he allowed another man to take advantage of his sister.
Momeni has been charged with murder for allegedly stabbing tech executive Lee on April 4, 2023, in what prosecutors have argued was a crime of revenge.
Momeni testified in San Francisco Superior Court about phone calls and text messages the day before the stabbing, in which he tried to piece together whether an outlandish story his sister Khazar Momeni told him was true: that she was sexually assaulted by Lee’s drug dealer and friend Jeremy Boivin. By 9 p.m. on April 3, 2023, Momeni said, he had been dispelled of the notion that his sister had been sexually assaulted.
Defense attorneys showed the jury text messages that took place April 3 between Momeni and Lee, after the defendant called Lee to learn more about Boivin. “Thank u again for talking to me, good timing,” a message read. That message was liked by Lee.
Momeni testified that the phone conversation with Lee put his mind at ease about Boivin’s character. Later that night, when Boivin came to Khazar’s apartment to pick up some items, Momeni testified, “he was super polite and apologetic about everything that had happened. It didn’t seem that he would be that type.”
“It sounded like something my sister said, being emotional, trying to get attention,” Momeni said of her initial claim that Boivin had assaulted her.
Prosecutors have argued that the stabbing in the early morning of April 4, 2023, under the Bay Bridge was a direct result of Momeni’s rage at Lee. Lee had been in attendance at a small party where Khazar Momeni took GHB, commonly known as the “date rape drug,” and claimed Boivin sexually assaulted her while she was under the influence.
Prosecutors have presented video evidence putting Lee and Momeni at the scene of the crime, as well as DNA evidence linking Momeni to the murder weapon.
Momeni’s legal team argues that he acted in self-defense against a strung-out Lee, who was found to have cocaine, ketamine, and alcohol in his system at the time of the stabbing.
Momeni’s testimony about his conversation with Lee being amenable was contradicted in earlier testimony by Lee’s friend and witness, Bo Mohazzabi, who said Momeni was upset at Lee.