The Bob Lee stabbing killed the Cash App creator in the early morning hours of April 4, 2023, in San Francisco’s Rincon Hill neighborhood. Lee, 43, was stabbed three times under the Bay Bridge by Nima Momeni, a 40-year-old IT consultant and acquaintance. In December 2024, a San Francisco jury convicted Momeni of second-degree murder. He has not yet been sentenced.
What Happened Under the Bay Bridge
Lee was in the Bay Area to see his two children, in part to attend his daughter Scout’s school play.1Courthouse News Service. Bob Lee Wrongful Death Complaint He had spent the previous hours with Momeni’s younger sister, Khazar Momeni, at her Millennium Tower apartment, and left the building with Nima Momeni in the early morning.
The weapon was a Joseph Joseph-brand paring knife with a 3.5-inch blade.2San Francisco Standard. New Evidence, Knife, and Collar Stay at Momeni Murder Trial One wound pierced Lee’s heart; another punctured a lung.3CNN. Bob Lee Autopsy, Cash App Founder Around 2:30 a.m., Lee called 911 and pleaded for help before collapsing in front of an apartment building on Main Street.4NBC News. Cash App Founder Bob Lee Stabbing, Nima Momeni Murder Conviction Surgeons at San Francisco General Hospital worked for roughly four hours to repair the damage. He was pronounced dead at 6:49 a.m.
A toxicology report found alcohol, cocaine, and ketamine in Lee’s system. The medical examiner did not indicate the substances contributed to his death; cocaine levels were low, and the ketamine may have been administered as anesthesia during treatment.3CNN. Bob Lee Autopsy, Cash App Founder Police followed a blood trail from where Lee collapsed to a fence half a block away and recovered the knife.4NBC News. Cash App Founder Bob Lee Stabbing, Nima Momeni Murder Conviction
Momeni was arrested nine days later, on April 13, 2023, at his loft in Emeryville, roughly eight and a half miles from the crime scene. Police surrounded the building and used bullhorns to order him outside.5ABC7 News. Bob Lee Arrest, Nima Momeni, Cash App Founder He was held without bail on a murder charge.6NBC Bay Area. Nima Momeni, Suspect in Bob Lee Killing
The Motive Prosecutors Argued
Prosecutors said Momeni killed Lee in a rage tied to his sister. According to trial testimony, Khazar, Lee, and others had gathered at her apartment in the days before the stabbing and used cocaine, ketamine, and nitrous oxide.7Courthouse News Service. Khazar Momeni Testifies Bob Lee Was Not Sober in Days Preceding His Killing Lee had introduced Khazar to a man named Jeremy Boivin, whom prosecutors described as a drug dealer. Khazar testified that Boivin gave her a drink laced with GHB and sexually assaulted her while she was incapacitated.8Mission Local. Bob Lee Murder Trial Witness Khazar Momeni, Sexual Assault Boivin, through his attorney, denied the assault and said the two had a consensual relationship.9ABC7 News. Bob Lee Murder Trial, Khazar Momeni, Alleged Sex Assault
The prosecution’s theory: after learning what happened, Momeni blamed both Boivin and Lee, took a paring knife from Khazar’s kitchen, and drove Lee to a secluded spot under the Bay Bridge.10The Guardian. Nima Momeni Bob Lee Murder Verdict The recovered knife was the same brand as knives kept in Khazar’s kitchen.11KTVU. Nima Momeni Had Clear Motive, Brought Knife to Kill Bob Lee, DA Tells Jury
The forensic evidence was pointed. A DNA expert testified that 99 percent of the DNA on the knife handle belonged to Momeni, while 98 percent of the DNA on the blade belonged to Lee. No DNA from Lee was found on the handle.12CBS News. Bob Lee, Nima Momeni Murder Trial, DNA Knife Momeni had no injuries; Lee had three stab wounds.11KTVU. Nima Momeni Had Clear Motive, Brought Knife to Kill Bob Lee, DA Tells Jury Text messages showed Khazar had called her brother “psychotic” and “a lunatic,” and after Lee’s death she texted him: “Just wanted to make sure you’re doing OK because I know Nima came way down hard on you.”13Oxygen. Cash App Founder Bob Lee Murder, Nima Momeni Trial, Sister Khazar Testimony
Khazar herself testified for the prosecution under subpoena. She said she had told her brother about the alleged assault by Boivin but insisted she never said Lee had drugged or assaulted her, and she described Lee and Nima as “cordial.”7Courthouse News Service. Khazar Momeni Testifies Bob Lee Was Not Sober in Days Preceding His Killing She and her husband, San Francisco plastic surgeon Dino Elyassnia, funded Nima’s defense.14KRON4. Who Is Khazar Momeni, Sister of Accused Bob Lee Killer
What the Defense Said
Momeni testified in his own defense. He told jurors he and Lee had been talking about strip clubs when he made what he called a “bad joke,” saying if it were his last night in town he’d spend it with family. Lee, he said, became enraged, cursed at him, and pulled a knife from his own jacket pocket. Momeni claimed he struggled to control the knife, pinned Lee’s arm against his chest, and fled without realizing Lee had been fatally wounded. Surveillance footage later showed Momeni approaching the fence where the knife was recovered and apparently throwing something over it.15Mission Local. Bob Lee Murder Trial, Nima Momeni Says Bad Joke Led to Stabbing
Defense attorney Saam Zangeneh leaned on Lee’s toxicology results, arguing Lee was on a “three-day cocaine bender” and that the combination of drugs and alcohol had made him volatile.16KRON4. Closing Arguments Continue in Bob Lee Murder Trial The defense played surveillance video from an exclusive club called The Battery, recorded hours before the stabbing, that they argued showed Lee holding the knife. Lee’s ex-wife, Krista Lee, testified the object was a collar stay — a two-inch metal piece Lee used for snorting cocaine.2San Francisco Standard. New Evidence, Knife, and Collar Stay at Momeni Murder Trial
The defense also attacked the investigation, pointing to witnesses who were never interviewed, including an unhoused man near the scene and the driver of a vehicle Lee tried to flag down, and arguing that blood spatter at the scene was not properly examined.17ABC7 News. Bob Lee Murder Trial, Nima Momeni, Jury Deliberates Verdict Prosecutors dismissed the self-defense account as a “carefully crafted story” that had been “workshopped” by paid experts.11KTVU. Nima Momeni Had Clear Motive, Brought Knife to Kill Bob Lee, DA Tells Jury
The Verdict
The trial began October 14, 2024, in San Francisco Superior Court before Judge Alexandra Gordon and ran roughly seven weeks.18Mission Local. Bob Lee Murder Trial, Inside Look On December 17, 2024, after seven days of deliberation, jurors acquitted Momeni of first-degree murder and convicted him of second-degree murder.19BBC. Nima Momeni Found Guilty of Second-Degree Murder The conviction carries a potential sentence of 16 years to life.10The Guardian. Nima Momeni Bob Lee Murder Verdict Defense attorney Tony Brass said the team planned to appeal.20Courthouse News Service. Nima Momeni Found Guilty of Killing Cash App Founder Bob Lee
Why Momeni Has Not Been Sentenced
The case has moved slowly since the conviction. Momeni fired his Florida-based trial team and hired a new Bay Area team led by Daniel Shriro and Boris Bindman, his third set of lawyers in the case. Shriro has said he plans to file a motion for a new trial, arguing there are “good reasons to believe that there are problems with the trial that compromised the fairness of the proceedings.”21CBS News. Nima Momeni New Attorneys, Bob Lee Murder
Because the new team did not try the case, they need full trial transcripts to evaluate potential errors. A shortage of court reporters, with one of the two trial reporters reportedly on leave, has delayed transcript production by more than a year.22ABC7 News. Bob Lee Stabbing, Nima Momeni Not Sentenced As of April 2026, the new-trial motion had not been filed, and Shriro was seeking disciplinary records for SFPD Sergeant Brent Dittmer, the lead homicide inspector.23San Francisco Standard. Nima Momeni Seeks Retrial in Bob Lee Killing A hearing on all post-trial motions is set for July 10, 2026. Sentencing remains unscheduled.24Courthouse News Service. CashApp CEO Murder Case Inches Forward More Than a Year After Conviction
The Wrongful Death Lawsuit
In late March 2025, Lee’s estate, his children Dagny and Scout, his brother Timothy Oliver Lee, and his ex-wife Krista Lee filed a wrongful death suit in San Francisco Superior Court.25Courthouse News Service. Bob Lee’s Family Files Wrongful Death Suit Against Killer and His Family The complaint names Nima Momeni along with his sister Khazar, brother-in-law Dino Elyassnia, and mother Mahnaz Tayarani.
Beyond the wrongful death claim against Momeni himself, the suit accuses his family members of conspiracy and aiding and abetting, alleging they tried to sell Momeni’s white BMW, bought new phones, and researched how to erase device data to keep information from the San Francisco Police Department.26KRON4. Bob Lee’s Family Accuses Nima Momeni’s Family of Cover-Up Conspiracy The complaint also accuses the Portside Apartment Buildings of releasing private surveillance footage of Lee’s final moments without authorization.27CBS News. Bob Lee’s Family Civil Suit Against Convicted Killer Nima Momeni The family is seeking general and special damages and has demanded a jury trial; no specific dollar amount was stated.25Courthouse News Service. Bob Lee’s Family Files Wrongful Death Suit Against Killer and His Family
What the Case Turned Out Not to Be
Lee’s killing set off an immediate national argument about crime in San Francisco. Elon Musk posted on X that “violent crime in SF is horrific and even if attackers are caught, they are often released immediately,” tagging the district attorney.28CBS News. Bob Lee Stabbing Death, No Arrests, No Suspects Named
The facts that emerged pointed elsewhere. Police established quickly that Lee and Momeni knew each other, and the killing was a targeted act between acquaintances rather than the random street crime early commentary assumed. After the conviction, District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said the case showed the killing was “a targeted crime and not an example of random lawlessness in the city.”29KTVU. Bob Lee Murder, Nima Momeni Sentence