It was 2:35 a.m. in San Francisco’s Rincon Hill neighborhood when the screams started. Or rather, the pleas. "Help me, please!" That was the last thing anyone heard from Bob Lee. He was 43. A father. A tech legend. The guy who basically handed the world Cash App.
For a few days in April 2023, the internet went absolutely nuclear. Elon Musk was tweeting about the "horror show" of San Francisco crime. People were convinced a "random" homeless person had gutted a tech titan in cold blood. It fit the narrative perfectly. Except, it wasn't true. Not even a little bit.
Honestly, the truth about Bob Lee San Francisco was way darker and more personal than a random mugging. It wasn't about a "failing city." It was about a hidden world of high-stakes partying, a kitchen knife, and a "bad joke" that ended in a pool of blood under the Bay Bridge.
The Night Everything Broke
Bob Lee wasn't even supposed to be in San Francisco that long. He’d moved to Miami to get away from the "deteriorating" vibe of the Bay Area. He was back for business. He was staying an extra day.
Around 2:00 a.m. on April 4, 2023, surveillance cameras caught Lee leaving the Millennium Tower. He wasn't alone. He was with Nima Momeni, a 38-year-old IT consultant who lived across the bridge in Emeryville. They got into Momeni's white BMW.
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They drove to a quiet, dark stretch of Main Street. Beneath the massive, glowing spans of the Bay Bridge, things went south. Fast.
What the Cameras Saw
The footage is grainy. Blurry. But you can see them standing near the car. You see a lunging motion. Then, Lee stumbles away. He’s clutching his chest. He tries to flag down a car with its hazard lights on. The car speeds off.
Imagine being Bob Lee in that moment. You've built a multi-billion dollar app. You're one of the most respected engineers in Silicon Valley history. And you're bleeding out on a sidewalk while a car drives away because they’re too scared to stop.
He had been stabbed three times. Twice in the chest, once in the hip. One of those wounds punctured his heart.
The Verdict: 15 Years to Life
Fast forward to December 17, 2024. A San Francisco jury finally delivered the word everyone was waiting for: Guilty.
Nima Momeni was convicted of second-degree murder. The jury didn't buy the "premeditated" first-degree charge—they didn't think he planned it days in advance. But they definitely didn't buy Momeni’s self-defense story either.
Momeni sat there in the courtroom, dabbing his eyes. His mom was there. Bob’s ex-wife, Krista Lee, was there too. It was heavy. Because Momeni got 15 years to life, plus an extra year for the knife enhancement.
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He's 40 now. He might never see the outside of a prison cell again.
The "Bad Joke" Defense
During the trial, Momeni took the stand. That's usually a "hail mary" move for defendants. He claimed Lee was the aggressor. He said Lee was on a multi-day drug bender—cocaine and ketamine—and was acting "erratic."
According to Momeni, he made a "bad joke" about Lee needing to spend more time with his kids instead of "fucking around" at strip clubs. He claimed Lee pulled a knife on him, and Momeni just "pushed" the knife back into Lee's chest during a struggle.
The jury didn't bite. Why? Because only Momeni’s DNA was on the handle of that Joseph Joseph kitchen knife. Only Bob Lee’s DNA was on the blade.
The Sister, the "Lifestyle," and the Motive
This wasn't about a joke. It was about Khazar Momeni.
She’s Nima’s younger sister. She was also part of a social circle that some called "The Lifestyle." Think underground parties, high-grade drugs, and complicated relationships. Prosecutors argued that Nima was furious.
He believed Bob Lee had introduced Khazar to a drug dealer who allegedly drugged and sexually assaulted her. Nima was playing the "protective brother," but he took it to a lethal extreme.
"He lured Lee to a dark, secluded area with a plan to kill him," prosecutors told the jury.
The evidence was damning. The knife used in the murder was a match for a set found in Khazar’s own kitchen. Nima took a knife from his sister's house, put Bob in his car, drove him to a dark corner, and ended him.
Why the Tech World is Still Shook
Bob Lee wasn't just a "tech executive." He was "Crazy Bob."
He was the guy who led the Android core library team at Google. He was the first CTO of Square. He was an early investor in SpaceX and Figma. When he died, it felt like a piece of the "old" Silicon Valley—the part that was actually about building cool stuff—died with him.
But the case also ripped the lid off the "seamy side" of the industry. The 2025 book Last Night in San Francisco by Scott Alan Lucas dives into this. It talks about how the city’s elite lived this double life of extreme wealth and reckless drug use.
The Realities of San Francisco
The city got a bad rap after the stabbing. But as District Attorney Brooke Jenkins pointed out after the verdict, this case proved that "lawlessness" wasn't the culprit. Personal rage was.
San Francisco didn't kill Bob Lee. A man with a kitchen knife did.
Actionable Insights: What We Can Learn
While the trial is technically "over," the fallout continues. Momeni has already started firing his lawyers and filing lawsuits from jail, claiming media defamation. But for those following the case, there are real-world takeaways:
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- Verify Before You React: When the news broke, everyone blamed "homeless crime." It took nine days for the truth to emerge. Don't let social media narratives dictate your reality before the facts are in.
- The "Lifestyle" Risk: The trial highlighted the dangerous intersection of high-net-worth social circles and heavy drug use. Even for the "elite," the consequences of that world can be fatal.
- Safety Tech Matters: Bob Lee was trying to call for help on his phone and flagging down cars. Always be aware of your surroundings, even in "safe" or quiet neighborhoods like Rincon Hill.
- Legal Accountability: The second-degree murder conviction shows that San Francisco's justice system can hold people accountable, even in high-profile cases with "bombshell" defense videos.
If you’re following the civil side of things, keep an eye on the lawsuit filed by Bob Lee’s family against Momeni. That's the next big chapter in this saga. The criminal case is closed, but the fight for Bob's legacy—and his family's peace—is still going on.