In a San Francisco court hearing on Tuesday, tech consultant Nima Momeni was ordered to stand trial for the murder of Cash App founder Bob Lee. Lee’s death, resulting from a stabbing, shocked the tech community, with many praising his generosity, curiosity, and leadership skills. At the time of his death, Lee was 43 years old and served as the chief product officer of cryptocurrency platform MobileCoin.
Momeni’s defense lawyer, Saam Zangeneh, argued in court that there might be enough evidence to support a manslaughter charge rather than a murder charge. However, this argument was made solely for the purpose of the preliminary hearing, and Zangeneh clarified that they do not agree that their client is guilty of any crime via email after the hearing.
The prosecution alleges that Momeni planned the attack on April 4, resulting in Lee being stabbed three times and left seeking help on a deserted street. They claim that Momeni, 38 years old, drove Lee to a secluded area and quickly fled after a dispute involving the defendant’s sister.
During the preliminary hearing, the prosecution presented technical video and forensic evidence indicating that Lee was last seen getting into a car driven by Momeni, while a bloodied knife was found near the location where both men exited the vehicle.
A criminalist from the San Francisco Police Department’s crime lab testified that Lee’s DNA was found on the blade of the knife, while Momeni’s DNA was found on the handle.
Reports of a stabbing in San Francisco’s Rincon Hill neighborhood prompted a response from the police at 2:35 a.m. Lee was transported to a hospital but did not survive.
Momeni’s lawyers have argued that their client had no motive to kill Lee and that the two men had a cordial relationship. They assert that Momeni’s anger was directed at someone else, not Lee.