Bob Lee’s Murder Ruled a Premeditated Killing by Jury

The daughter of Bob Lee, the tech executive whose fatal stabbing sent shockwaves through Silicon Valley and sparked debate about violent crime in San Francisco, said she felt her “stomach drop” during the dramatic end to the trial of her father’s accused killer. After seven days of deliberations, a jury in December acquitted tech consultant Nima Momeni of first-degree murder in Lee’s April 4, 2023, killing.

“I felt a ringing in my ear,” Scout Lee, 16, told “Dateline” in her first interview about her father’s death and the murder trial. “I just felt so overwhelmed.” “I grabbed onto my mom’s hand and squeezed it and cried,” she added.

For more about the case, tune in to “Under the Bay Bridge” on “Dateline” at 9 ET/8 CT tonight.

Scout, who described herself as her father’s “mini me,” said she felt some relief when, moments after the acquittal was announced, Momeni was convicted of the lesser crime of second-degree murder. “But I don’t know if it was the type of justice that I wanted,” she said, adding that in her view, prosecutors had presented overwhelming evidence that the murder was premeditated.

The San Francisco District Attorney’s Office accused Momeni, 40, of committing the murder after his sister told him she’d been sexually assaulted by a man who Lee introduced her to.

That man, Jeremy Boivin, was never charged in the alleged assault. In his first interview since the trial, Boivin denied the allegation to “Dateline” and said he never assaulted Momeni’s sister, Khazar Momeni.

During the trial, which began in October, Momeni testified that he was defending himself when he mortally wounded Lee. He faces a prison term of 16 years to life and plans to appeal his conviction. Momeni’s sentencing is set for May 16.

### A Night of Partying Turns Deadly

Lee, 43, founded the popular money transfer service Cash App and was an executive at Square and Mobile Coin. He was stabbed three times with a paring knife under the Bay Bridge, east of downtown San Francisco. One of the wounds punctured his heart, San Francisco Police Sgt. Brent Dittmer told “Dateline.”

Lee called 911 around 2:30 a.m. and asked for help dozens of times before collapsing in front of a nearby apartment building, according to audio of the call and security video. He was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.

In the aftermath of Lee’s death, some — including Elon Musk — blamed the killing on what they described as out-of-control violent crime in San Francisco. (The city saw a rise in homicides in 2020 and 2021, though that number has since fallen to a near-historic low.)

Authorities rejected the assertion — San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins called it “reckless and irresponsible” — and said the killing had been done by someone Lee knew.

### The Pain of the Courtroom

Scout attended parts of the trial and described it as agonizing. The audio from her father’s 911 call, she said, “just keeps ringing in my head.”

Her older brother, Sirius Lee, believed he could handle seeing high-resolution security video of his father collapsing.

“I’m pretty strong when it comes to just not showing emotions,” he said. “The more and more I had to sit through that, the more and more I felt like I was going to genuinely pass out.”

Scout was less aware of Lee’s drug use, she said, and it was hard to see him portrayed in a manner at odds with the person she’d always known.

“He wasn’t just some party animal that was going out like every single night,” she said. “He was my dad.”

To her, Lee was a dedicated father who always helped with homework and had an approach to parenting that made her feel safe and calm. His death had been especially hard, she said, because in the days before he was stabbed, he’d traveled to San Francisco to see her perform in a play.

“That was one of the biggest roles that I ever had,” she said. “And he was just hugging me and congratulating me on doing a good job.” “That was the last time I ever saw him,” she said.

### The Verdict

In the end, the jury delivered a verdict that left Scout feeling conflicted. While Momeni was acquitted of first-degree murder, he was convicted of second-degree murder, a crime that carries a sentence of 16 years to life. Momeni plans to appeal his conviction.

For Scout, the outcome was a bittersweet victory. While she was relieved that her father’s killer was held accountable, she felt that the trial did not fully capture the complexity of her father’s life.

“We don’t want to remember him as a person who got murdered because of something he did,” she said. “We want to remember him as a person who was loved and cared for and who cared for others.”

### FAQs

* What was the verdict in the Bob Lee murder trial?
The jury acquitted Nima Momeni of first-degree murder, but convicted him of second-degree murder, a crime that carries a sentence of 16 years to life.
* How did Scout Lee feel about the verdict?
Scout, Bob Lee’s daughter, felt a mix of emotions, including relief that her father’s killer was held accountable, but also felt that the trial did not fully capture the complexity of her father’s life.
* What was the motive for the murder, according to prosecutors?
Prosecutors accused Momeni of committing the murder after his sister told him she’d been sexually assaulted by a man who Lee introduced her to.