Was Bob Lee murder an honor killing? Confrontation with Nima Momeni was over 'involvement' with Khazar Elyassnia
SAN FRANCISO, CALIFORNIA: American businessman and CashApp founder Bob Lee was viciously stabbed to death by IT consultant Nima Momeni after the pair fought about the latter’s sister Khazar Momeni just hours before Lee's death, states released court documents. Momeni, who is charged with the murder reportedly questioned the slain entrepreneur about whether he was doing “anything inappropriate” with Khazar, who is married to plastic surgeon Dr Dino Elyassnia.
Lee, 43, is a millionaire divorced father of two who worked in the San Francisco Bay Area tech industry while the suspect, 38, is a Bay Area tech entrepreneur. Momeni was arrested at his Emeryville home, and booked into a San Francisco jail on Thursday, April 13. Prosecutors filed court documents containing grisly details about what led up to the killing to ensure Momeni remains behind bars without bail.
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Lee spent hours hanging out with friends and drinking inside luxury hotels and apartments on April 3. A witness saw Momeni confront Lee about Lee’s relationship with Momeni’s younger sister, Khazar Elyassnia at one point during the day.
Was it an honor killing?
According to legal files, the killing of Bob Lee was “planned and deliberate.” Prosecutors say that Momeni drove to a dark and secluded spot, where they got out of the car and he suddenly attacked Lee with a kitchen knife. Momeni stabbed Lee on April 4 at around 2.30 am and left him in the street to die. Police recovered a knife with a 4-inch blade at the scene. An autopsy found that Lee was stabbed three times, once in the hip and twice in the chest, which led to his death.
Tech executive Nima Momeni was arrested for the stabbing murder of Cash App founder Bob Lee in San Francisco, police said https://t.co/Ap1J6lYGi3 pic.twitter.com/vMSaffhQwc
— Reuters (@Reuters) April 14, 2023
Possible role of witness in the murder
The duo reportedly spent the evening together with Khazar and another unnamed witness. It was revealed that the witness found Nima and Bob having a conversation about whether Bob Lee “was doing drugs or anything inappropriate.” The witness informed the police that they were unclear about whether Bob Lee and Khazar Momeni shared an “intimate relationship.” Bob Lee assured Nima Momeni that nothing was happening between the two. Elyassnia is married, “but the relationship had possibly been in jeopardy,” prosecutors wrote according to KRON. The witness went with Lee to his apartment to “hang out" following Momeni’s tense conversation with Lee. Lee left the apartment at 12:30 am on April 4 and the “witness never saw victim again,” prosecutors stated in their affidavit.
Khazar Momeni texted Bob Lee around the time of his murder
It was also found that Khazar Momeni texted Bob Lee around the time of his death to check on him. “Just wanted to make sure you doing ok Cause I know nima came wayyyyyy down hard on you. And thank you for being such a class man handling it with class. Love you Selfish pricks," she wrote to him.
Momeni is currently in jail with no bail
Momeni made his first court appearance on Friday, April 14, and did not enter a plea. Elyassnia and her husband sat in the courtroom gallery. According to the outlet, Momeni formed his hands into the shape of a heart in the courtroom, and his family did the same.