1 00:00:02,720 --> 00:00:15,120 Speaker 1: Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio news. Previously on Foundry Tuesday, San. 2 00:00:14,920 --> 00:00:19,640 Speaker 2: Francisco, the tech executive is dead. 3 00:00:19,760 --> 00:00:22,840 Speaker 1: He was stabbed in San Francisco south of Market Street. 4 00:00:22,920 --> 00:00:25,800 Speaker 3: Yeah, the latest reports have identified the victim as Bob Lee, 5 00:00:25,920 --> 00:00:29,240 Speaker 3: the founder of cash App. I would bet dollars to 6 00:00:29,360 --> 00:00:31,800 Speaker 3: dimes that the story is very similar to a case 7 00:00:31,800 --> 00:00:34,080 Speaker 3: we had in La recently where a young woman was 8 00:00:34,120 --> 00:00:37,480 Speaker 3: basically stabbed for no reason by a psychotic homeless person. 9 00:00:37,640 --> 00:00:39,760 Speaker 1: I hope your mom gets stabbed and let's see if 10 00:00:39,800 --> 00:00:41,120 Speaker 1: you say we should wait and see. 11 00:00:41,200 --> 00:00:45,840 Speaker 2: Our homicide investigators develop information that identified the suspect as 12 00:00:45,960 --> 00:00:46,720 Speaker 2: thirty eight. 13 00:00:46,600 --> 00:00:48,680 Speaker 4: Year old Nima Momenti. 14 00:00:49,320 --> 00:00:52,520 Speaker 5: We can confirm that mister Lee and miss Momenti knew 15 00:00:52,520 --> 00:00:52,879 Speaker 5: each other. 16 00:00:58,920 --> 00:01:01,640 Speaker 1: It was the morning of April thirteenth, nine days since 17 00:01:01,680 --> 00:01:04,839 Speaker 1: the killing of Bob Lee. It was early, about four 18 00:01:04,920 --> 00:01:08,800 Speaker 1: or five am, still dark out. That's when Chris, who 19 00:01:08,840 --> 00:01:11,240 Speaker 1: asked us not to use his last name, heard a 20 00:01:11,280 --> 00:01:12,679 Speaker 1: commotion outside his window. 21 00:01:13,040 --> 00:01:18,280 Speaker 5: I was awakened to a megaphone just outside demanding that 22 00:01:18,760 --> 00:01:20,280 Speaker 5: someone come out of the building. 23 00:01:22,319 --> 00:01:25,679 Speaker 1: Chris lives in a big warehouse style loft in Emeryville. 24 00:01:25,760 --> 00:01:28,440 Speaker 1: It's about a fifteen minute drive across the Bay Bridge 25 00:01:28,480 --> 00:01:32,600 Speaker 1: from San Francisco when there's no traffic, and really the 26 00:01:32,640 --> 00:01:34,760 Speaker 1: only time when there'd be no traffic on the Bay 27 00:01:34,800 --> 00:01:38,119 Speaker 1: Bridge would be the middle of the night or very 28 00:01:38,200 --> 00:01:39,160 Speaker 1: early in the morning. 29 00:01:39,880 --> 00:01:40,880 Speaker 4: Do you remember looking out. 30 00:01:40,800 --> 00:01:44,360 Speaker 5: The window and seeing a lot of police, A shocking 31 00:01:44,480 --> 00:01:47,360 Speaker 5: number of cops or this area. 32 00:01:47,560 --> 00:01:48,000 Speaker 4: At least a. 33 00:01:48,000 --> 00:01:51,360 Speaker 5: Number of them had helmets on, they had large rifles, 34 00:01:51,480 --> 00:01:53,400 Speaker 5: and they were wearing body armor. 35 00:01:54,360 --> 00:01:57,600 Speaker 1: He remembers seeing about twenty cops. There may have been more. 36 00:01:58,120 --> 00:02:00,920 Speaker 4: It was just like you've seen the movie come out 37 00:02:00,920 --> 00:02:01,640 Speaker 4: with your hands up. 38 00:02:02,120 --> 00:02:03,840 Speaker 1: I didn't know exactly what was going on. 39 00:02:04,400 --> 00:02:07,760 Speaker 5: The best I could figure is that there'd been a lot. 40 00:02:07,520 --> 00:02:11,760 Speaker 4: Of catalogic converter effects. Thought maybe the police had acquired 41 00:02:11,800 --> 00:02:14,840 Speaker 4: somebody in the building. But I mean, that was the 42 00:02:14,880 --> 00:02:16,120 Speaker 4: best I could come up with. 43 00:02:16,200 --> 00:02:18,960 Speaker 5: I never, in my wildest dreams thought that, you know, 44 00:02:19,040 --> 00:02:21,560 Speaker 5: they were after a resident of the building. 45 00:02:25,200 --> 00:02:27,600 Speaker 6: They served a search and arrest warrant at his apartment 46 00:02:27,880 --> 00:02:29,960 Speaker 6: at a very early time of their choosing. 47 00:02:30,720 --> 00:02:34,239 Speaker 1: This is my anonymous source in the police department. Because 48 00:02:34,240 --> 00:02:37,040 Speaker 1: we're protecting his identity, we're having a voice actor read 49 00:02:37,040 --> 00:02:37,680 Speaker 1: what he told me. 50 00:02:38,720 --> 00:02:39,640 Speaker 4: So from what I know. 51 00:02:40,440 --> 00:02:43,120 Speaker 6: Once the SWAT team began calling out to him, he 52 00:02:43,200 --> 00:02:47,359 Speaker 6: came out very fast and surrendered very immediately, just dressed 53 00:02:47,360 --> 00:02:48,440 Speaker 6: as if he was either. 54 00:02:48,400 --> 00:02:49,960 Speaker 4: Sleeping in his clothing. 55 00:02:49,639 --> 00:02:51,919 Speaker 6: Or was just expecting this to happen. 56 00:02:53,840 --> 00:02:57,000 Speaker 4: Because of my advantage point, I really couldn't see who 57 00:02:57,040 --> 00:02:57,520 Speaker 4: it was. 58 00:02:58,120 --> 00:02:59,799 Speaker 1: Chris again, the building resident. 59 00:03:00,520 --> 00:03:02,800 Speaker 7: I could sort of guess that it was a male 60 00:03:03,320 --> 00:03:06,320 Speaker 7: based on his build, but I had no idea who 61 00:03:06,360 --> 00:03:06,720 Speaker 7: it was. 62 00:03:07,680 --> 00:03:10,720 Speaker 1: Curious and not sure what to do, he turned where 63 00:03:10,760 --> 00:03:13,000 Speaker 1: any of us might go looking for answers. 64 00:03:13,600 --> 00:03:16,200 Speaker 7: So I got on the Facebook group for the building 65 00:03:16,600 --> 00:03:20,519 Speaker 7: and I started to piece together from what everyone was 66 00:03:20,560 --> 00:03:23,120 Speaker 7: saying exactly what was happening. I learned that it was 67 00:03:23,200 --> 00:03:26,880 Speaker 7: Nima that they did in fact arrest, and then both 68 00:03:26,919 --> 00:03:29,200 Speaker 7: through that Facebook group and through the morning. 69 00:03:28,919 --> 00:03:32,360 Speaker 5: News, I learned that he was being accused of murdering 70 00:03:32,520 --> 00:03:32,960 Speaker 5: Bob Lee. 71 00:03:33,639 --> 00:03:36,480 Speaker 4: And that was you know, that was pretty shocking to hear. 72 00:03:45,440 --> 00:03:48,680 Speaker 1: The man arrested that day was named Nima Momenti. He 73 00:03:48,800 --> 00:03:51,920 Speaker 1: was thirty eight years old, he ran a small IT company, 74 00:03:52,840 --> 00:03:57,880 Speaker 1: and most surprisingly, police said he knew Bob Lee. Did 75 00:03:57,920 --> 00:04:00,960 Speaker 1: the officers find anything interesting in his apartment? 76 00:04:01,760 --> 00:04:04,160 Speaker 4: We've heard that his apartment was kind of weird. 77 00:04:05,240 --> 00:04:08,760 Speaker 6: Apparently he liked knives and had some kind of weird 78 00:04:09,160 --> 00:04:10,600 Speaker 6: mall ninja knives. 79 00:04:11,160 --> 00:04:12,440 Speaker 1: What's mall ninja? 80 00:04:12,800 --> 00:04:15,280 Speaker 6: Remember in Mall's they had all those weird shops that 81 00:04:15,360 --> 00:04:18,520 Speaker 6: sold the curvy swords and the dragon things and all 82 00:04:18,560 --> 00:04:22,000 Speaker 6: the crystals and all that stuff. That's kind of like 83 00:04:22,279 --> 00:04:25,120 Speaker 6: mall ninja stuff, right, the knives that have points and 84 00:04:25,120 --> 00:04:27,680 Speaker 6: blades all over them that clearly are for looks and 85 00:04:27,760 --> 00:04:30,440 Speaker 6: would never be actually functional, things like that. 86 00:04:33,080 --> 00:04:36,599 Speaker 1: By morning, the news had broken and the media were 87 00:04:36,640 --> 00:04:39,960 Speaker 1: clamoring for any information they could get on the suspected 88 00:04:40,080 --> 00:04:41,200 Speaker 1: killer of Bob Lee. 89 00:04:41,720 --> 00:04:44,479 Speaker 8: Against phone call. This frantic phone call from Mike Duel 90 00:04:44,640 --> 00:04:47,320 Speaker 8: from KCBS radio. He's a reporter there. 91 00:04:47,720 --> 00:04:51,440 Speaker 1: Sam Singer occupies another unit in the same building. He 92 00:04:51,560 --> 00:04:54,359 Speaker 1: wasn't home at the time, but a few hours after 93 00:04:54,400 --> 00:04:56,479 Speaker 1: the police arrived, he got a call from a. 94 00:04:56,520 --> 00:05:00,400 Speaker 8: Journalist and he's just Sam, Sam, the murderers in your building, 95 00:05:00,720 --> 00:05:03,440 Speaker 8: and I'm driving work here and I said, what are 96 00:05:03,440 --> 00:05:05,680 Speaker 8: we talking about here? And he goes, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. 97 00:05:05,720 --> 00:05:08,440 Speaker 8: He says, this is brand new. Bob Ly's murderer has 98 00:05:08,480 --> 00:05:10,280 Speaker 8: been arrested and he's in your building. 99 00:05:11,120 --> 00:05:15,680 Speaker 1: Sometimes San Francisco feels like a very small town. Singer 100 00:05:15,760 --> 00:05:19,080 Speaker 1: is friendly with many journalists. He's a well known public 101 00:05:19,120 --> 00:05:23,599 Speaker 1: relations guy in the Bay Area. He specializes in crisis communications. 102 00:05:24,360 --> 00:05:27,920 Speaker 1: He represented Chevron when they're oil refinery in Richmond, California, 103 00:05:27,960 --> 00:05:32,400 Speaker 1: caught on fire, reportedly sending fifteen thousand people to the hospital. 104 00:05:33,040 --> 00:05:35,919 Speaker 1: He represented the San Francisco Zoo when the tiger jumped 105 00:05:35,920 --> 00:05:39,200 Speaker 1: out of its enclosure and killed a teenager. And now 106 00:05:39,279 --> 00:05:42,000 Speaker 1: by chance, he had a role to play in San 107 00:05:42,040 --> 00:05:43,920 Speaker 1: Francisco's next big story. 108 00:05:44,440 --> 00:05:47,040 Speaker 8: And I said, okay, I said, just out of interest, 109 00:05:47,400 --> 00:05:50,200 Speaker 8: what's his unit number? And he goes two toh one. 110 00:05:51,120 --> 00:05:53,000 Speaker 8: I said, Mike, He's not just in my building, he's 111 00:05:53,040 --> 00:05:55,960 Speaker 8: my next door neighbor. So Mike de wall in case, bsay, 112 00:05:56,040 --> 00:05:57,840 Speaker 8: can we just come over right now? Can we want 113 00:05:57,839 --> 00:05:59,560 Speaker 8: to interview you? Did you know him? 114 00:06:00,000 --> 00:06:02,960 Speaker 6: We are executive Sam Singer never expected he would be 115 00:06:03,040 --> 00:06:05,760 Speaker 6: next door neighbors with the man accused in the criminal matter. 116 00:06:06,279 --> 00:06:08,840 Speaker 8: Total shock. I'm in the public relations of business. We 117 00:06:08,880 --> 00:06:11,520 Speaker 8: don't normally wind up working next to killers. 118 00:06:12,560 --> 00:06:14,960 Speaker 1: Remember what I said about San Francisco feeling like a 119 00:06:15,080 --> 00:06:19,120 Speaker 1: very small town. Singer also happens to represent one of 120 00:06:19,200 --> 00:06:22,719 Speaker 1: tech's most outspoken figures on crime in San Francisco. 121 00:06:23,080 --> 00:06:26,680 Speaker 8: One of our other clients is Gary Tan of y Combinator, 122 00:06:27,000 --> 00:06:30,159 Speaker 8: who immediately texted me when he saw that Nima was 123 00:06:30,160 --> 00:06:32,599 Speaker 8: my next door neighbor and said, you live next to 124 00:06:32,680 --> 00:06:34,159 Speaker 8: Bob Lee's accused killer. 125 00:06:37,200 --> 00:06:39,920 Speaker 1: This is what it felt like in the days, weeks, 126 00:06:40,160 --> 00:06:43,760 Speaker 1: and even months after Nima Momeni's arrest. Did you hear? 127 00:06:44,279 --> 00:06:47,200 Speaker 1: Who is this guy? Do you know him? Where did 128 00:06:47,240 --> 00:06:52,920 Speaker 1: he come from? Police said that Nima Momeni knew Bob Lee, 129 00:06:53,320 --> 00:06:56,080 Speaker 1: but most of Bob's friends and family had never heard 130 00:06:56,120 --> 00:07:01,440 Speaker 1: of him before. They were dumbfounded. I've been trying to 131 00:07:01,480 --> 00:07:06,040 Speaker 1: answer these very basic questions, who is Nima Momente and 132 00:07:06,120 --> 00:07:09,240 Speaker 1: why did he do it? What turned up was not 133 00:07:09,360 --> 00:07:13,000 Speaker 1: the story I expected, but a larger human drama spanning 134 00:07:13,040 --> 00:07:21,360 Speaker 1: continents about drugs and partying, machismo, love and violence. I'm 135 00:07:21,400 --> 00:07:30,160 Speaker 1: sean Wen. This is foundering the killing of Bob Ley. 136 00:07:36,800 --> 00:07:38,160 Speaker 1: Do you remember where you were? 137 00:07:38,280 --> 00:07:38,400 Speaker 4: Like? 138 00:07:38,520 --> 00:07:43,880 Speaker 9: What my wife called me? Oh? Have you checked? The news? 139 00:07:44,120 --> 00:07:44,360 Speaker 4: Said? 140 00:07:44,440 --> 00:07:46,360 Speaker 9: No, Nima was in trouble. 141 00:07:47,520 --> 00:07:48,040 Speaker 4: That's how I. 142 00:07:48,000 --> 00:07:51,320 Speaker 1: Found out Alex Porshae again lives in the Bay Area, 143 00:07:51,440 --> 00:07:55,120 Speaker 1: where he's part of a relatively large Iranian immigrant community. 144 00:07:55,680 --> 00:07:58,160 Speaker 1: His wife used to run a small grocery store where 145 00:07:58,200 --> 00:07:59,640 Speaker 1: Nima worked as a teenager. 146 00:08:00,440 --> 00:08:03,280 Speaker 9: I was in this belief Nima was just as close 147 00:08:03,320 --> 00:08:06,240 Speaker 9: as an adopted's son to my wife. The kids grow 148 00:08:06,360 --> 00:08:07,640 Speaker 9: to like him. 149 00:08:08,320 --> 00:08:11,720 Speaker 1: Through his attorneys, Nima Momeni turned down my request for 150 00:08:11,760 --> 00:08:15,680 Speaker 1: an interview and also declined to make a statement. Like 151 00:08:15,800 --> 00:08:19,360 Speaker 1: Alex Nina's family immigrated to the US from Iran. 152 00:08:19,440 --> 00:08:21,520 Speaker 9: He was a likable kid. 153 00:08:21,680 --> 00:08:25,400 Speaker 1: To understand anything about Nima killing Bob, the violent act 154 00:08:25,400 --> 00:08:28,360 Speaker 1: at the center of this story, it's important to understand 155 00:08:28,440 --> 00:08:30,760 Speaker 1: the role of violence in his coming to America in 156 00:08:30,800 --> 00:08:36,880 Speaker 1: the first place. According to court documents, Nima Momeni, his mom, 157 00:08:37,040 --> 00:08:39,840 Speaker 1: and his younger sister arrived in the US in nineteen 158 00:08:39,920 --> 00:08:43,679 Speaker 1: ninety nine. Nima was about fifteen, his sister was a 159 00:08:43,760 --> 00:08:47,319 Speaker 1: year younger. An anonymous source told me that in Iran, 160 00:08:47,600 --> 00:08:51,319 Speaker 1: the Momentis were very rich. Their dad was and still 161 00:08:51,480 --> 00:08:54,800 Speaker 1: is a dental surgeon in Tehran. He also has a 162 00:08:54,840 --> 00:08:58,640 Speaker 1: business doing chemical imports and exports. I reached out to 163 00:08:58,720 --> 00:09:01,000 Speaker 1: him via his professional INSTADT grand Page, but have not 164 00:09:01,040 --> 00:09:05,760 Speaker 1: heard back the Momentius in Iran did not have a 165 00:09:05,760 --> 00:09:10,640 Speaker 1: happy life. According to court records, Nima's mom, Manas, said 166 00:09:10,679 --> 00:09:14,719 Speaker 1: she suffered domestic violence and abuse from her husband, and 167 00:09:14,840 --> 00:09:18,720 Speaker 1: Nima's sister, Kazar, has also alleged sexual abuse from her dad. 168 00:09:19,520 --> 00:09:22,920 Speaker 1: So Nima, his mom, and his sister left behind their 169 00:09:22,960 --> 00:09:25,680 Speaker 1: comfortable life in Iran to come to the Bay Area. 170 00:09:27,920 --> 00:09:32,840 Speaker 1: They settled in Albany, a city just outside Berkeley. For 171 00:09:32,920 --> 00:09:35,199 Speaker 1: their first few months here, the three of them shared 172 00:09:35,200 --> 00:09:37,720 Speaker 1: a single bedroom in the home of one of Mana's 173 00:09:37,840 --> 00:09:42,559 Speaker 1: childhood friends. Nima and Kazar enrolled in high school as 174 00:09:42,600 --> 00:09:47,280 Speaker 1: poor kids with foreign accents. Although Nima was a year older, 175 00:09:47,480 --> 00:09:49,240 Speaker 1: they were placed in the same grade level. 176 00:09:50,480 --> 00:09:53,600 Speaker 9: As they were growing up, they had a very very 177 00:09:53,640 --> 00:09:58,240 Speaker 9: close relationship as they had no choice as a brother 178 00:09:58,320 --> 00:10:01,240 Speaker 9: and sister. If us Are ever asked him for help, 179 00:10:01,559 --> 00:10:03,760 Speaker 9: I'm pretty sure he was there, one hundred and fifty percent. 180 00:10:05,280 --> 00:10:06,520 Speaker 9: I'm very sure of it. 181 00:10:12,080 --> 00:10:15,320 Speaker 1: All three banded together to make ends meet. They worked 182 00:10:15,320 --> 00:10:19,000 Speaker 1: for Alex Porshagen's wife. Nima worked at her grocery store, 183 00:10:19,440 --> 00:10:21,720 Speaker 1: Manas worked at her catering business as well as a 184 00:10:21,720 --> 00:10:25,640 Speaker 1: flower shop. Kazar would sometimes babysit for the couple's young children. 185 00:10:27,160 --> 00:10:29,520 Speaker 1: After some time, they managed to move out of their 186 00:10:29,559 --> 00:10:31,760 Speaker 1: friend's bedroom and into their own apartment. 187 00:10:32,480 --> 00:10:38,040 Speaker 9: They were economically a disadvantage. Mana's worked very hard to 188 00:10:38,120 --> 00:10:41,760 Speaker 9: keep this family afloat. She did not have a husband. 189 00:10:42,480 --> 00:10:46,800 Speaker 9: She was not taking government assistance. She's a very proud woman. 190 00:10:47,800 --> 00:10:50,679 Speaker 1: Alex said that as far as he knew, Nima was 191 00:10:50,720 --> 00:10:54,240 Speaker 1: a good kid. He worked hard, he was polite, but 192 00:10:54,400 --> 00:10:57,359 Speaker 1: Alex could also sense an impatience in Nima. 193 00:10:57,480 --> 00:11:02,640 Speaker 9: Hey, remember when Nima I was working for my wife. 194 00:11:03,600 --> 00:11:08,840 Speaker 9: At one point he was complaining that he didn't have 195 00:11:09,040 --> 00:11:13,200 Speaker 9: privacy because they lived in such a small resident I 196 00:11:13,240 --> 00:11:16,480 Speaker 9: think they had a one bedroom. Maybe the mother and 197 00:11:16,760 --> 00:11:19,160 Speaker 9: a daughter had taken the bedroom and he had to 198 00:11:19,200 --> 00:11:21,559 Speaker 9: live in the corner of the living room. And I 199 00:11:21,640 --> 00:11:24,400 Speaker 9: told him, I said, you're not the only one. They 200 00:11:24,440 --> 00:11:27,760 Speaker 9: all went through these hardships, so get used to it 201 00:11:27,960 --> 00:11:30,520 Speaker 9: and learned only to make your life better. 202 00:11:32,679 --> 00:11:34,360 Speaker 10: The only thing I really knew about him was that 203 00:11:34,360 --> 00:11:37,400 Speaker 10: he sold lead and I would buy weed off of him. 204 00:11:38,000 --> 00:11:40,960 Speaker 1: This is Thomas. He grew up in Albany and went 205 00:11:41,000 --> 00:11:43,680 Speaker 1: to high school with Nima. He asks me not to 206 00:11:43,760 --> 00:11:45,880 Speaker 1: use his last name, because some of the things he 207 00:11:45,960 --> 00:11:47,120 Speaker 1: described were illegal. 208 00:11:47,840 --> 00:11:50,959 Speaker 10: The main things is stead out were his clothing style, 209 00:11:51,000 --> 00:11:54,120 Speaker 10: which I remember he wore like those big like chinko jeans, 210 00:11:54,200 --> 00:11:57,360 Speaker 10: and you know, and he always dressed in like darker 211 00:11:57,480 --> 00:11:58,320 Speaker 10: black clothes. 212 00:11:58,400 --> 00:12:01,120 Speaker 1: And how did you know he so? Like how did 213 00:12:01,120 --> 00:12:01,640 Speaker 1: you learn that? 214 00:12:02,120 --> 00:12:05,440 Speaker 10: Friends just told me he was always kind of soft spoken, 215 00:12:06,280 --> 00:12:10,040 Speaker 10: quiet kind of guy, not like playful or joke around 216 00:12:10,120 --> 00:12:12,720 Speaker 10: or anything. He was just more like, here's the money, 217 00:12:12,760 --> 00:12:13,439 Speaker 10: here's the weed. 218 00:12:14,840 --> 00:12:17,880 Speaker 1: Enjoy How how was it do you remember? 219 00:12:18,280 --> 00:12:18,400 Speaker 9: Oh? 220 00:12:18,440 --> 00:12:19,079 Speaker 8: The week was good? 221 00:12:19,160 --> 00:12:21,040 Speaker 4: Yeah, he had good weed. Yeah, definitely. 222 00:12:22,040 --> 00:12:25,480 Speaker 1: Thomas and Nima weren't exactly close, but he had a 223 00:12:25,559 --> 00:12:28,200 Speaker 1: story for me that seems relevant to what would happen. 224 00:12:28,280 --> 00:12:33,240 Speaker 1: Later one afternoon in January of two thousand and five, 225 00:12:33,880 --> 00:12:35,080 Speaker 1: Thomas's friends came by. 226 00:12:35,920 --> 00:12:38,280 Speaker 10: They were all like juiced up, like like you know, 227 00:12:38,440 --> 00:12:40,320 Speaker 10: we just tried to rob Yeman, like and then you 228 00:12:40,360 --> 00:12:42,160 Speaker 10: pull out a knife and cut us. 229 00:12:42,760 --> 00:12:45,200 Speaker 1: Thomas would be the first to admit that the details 230 00:12:45,240 --> 00:12:49,040 Speaker 1: of this story are fuzzy, but he remembers the broad strokes. 231 00:12:49,600 --> 00:12:52,760 Speaker 1: And I found a police report which confirms that there 232 00:12:52,800 --> 00:12:55,520 Speaker 1: was a fight that involved weed and that Nima used 233 00:12:55,559 --> 00:12:57,280 Speaker 1: a knife on the other two kids. 234 00:12:57,800 --> 00:13:01,040 Speaker 10: So my recollection of that is that they went to 235 00:13:01,080 --> 00:13:03,040 Speaker 10: meet Nema to buy weed off of him, and they 236 00:13:03,080 --> 00:13:09,000 Speaker 10: tried to just steal the weed. I think one of 237 00:13:09,000 --> 00:13:12,880 Speaker 10: my friends might have punched him, and then like Nima 238 00:13:12,960 --> 00:13:16,720 Speaker 10: pulled out a knife, and I the details are a 239 00:13:16,720 --> 00:13:19,000 Speaker 10: little fuzzy, but I'm pretty sure one of my friends, 240 00:13:19,040 --> 00:13:21,520 Speaker 10: the one who I think actually hit him, got like 241 00:13:21,800 --> 00:13:25,200 Speaker 10: sliced on his side right here, and it wasn't a 242 00:13:25,240 --> 00:13:28,000 Speaker 10: deep cut. It was more of a surface wound. And 243 00:13:28,160 --> 00:13:31,760 Speaker 10: I feel like my other friend turned to like maybe 244 00:13:31,800 --> 00:13:35,000 Speaker 10: get away and got sliced on like backside. 245 00:13:35,480 --> 00:13:38,720 Speaker 1: That Nima would be carrying a knife didn't surprise Thomas. 246 00:13:39,240 --> 00:13:41,839 Speaker 10: Most of us carried a pocket knife with us, just 247 00:13:41,840 --> 00:13:45,880 Speaker 10: just because you never know, for whatever reason andy to 248 00:13:45,920 --> 00:13:48,640 Speaker 10: have it. I almost always had a pocket knife on me, 249 00:13:50,200 --> 00:13:52,559 Speaker 10: but you know, never pulled it out on anybody. 250 00:13:53,040 --> 00:13:56,760 Speaker 1: Did it change how you all saw Nima. Were they 251 00:13:56,880 --> 00:13:58,480 Speaker 1: hurt by the cuts at all? 252 00:13:59,360 --> 00:14:01,839 Speaker 10: I don't think they were hurt by the cuts. I 253 00:14:01,880 --> 00:14:04,640 Speaker 10: think we just basically were like, oh, well, if you 254 00:14:04,679 --> 00:14:07,600 Speaker 10: try to rob me, he might stab you. I mean, 255 00:14:08,080 --> 00:14:10,880 Speaker 10: that's basically what we deducted from that situation. 256 00:14:12,000 --> 00:14:13,439 Speaker 8: Very yeah. 257 00:14:13,440 --> 00:14:16,120 Speaker 10: It was basically like, okay, well, they can't buy weed 258 00:14:16,160 --> 00:14:19,880 Speaker 10: off of him anymore. They can't go with me to 259 00:14:19,960 --> 00:14:21,520 Speaker 10: go buy weed off of him anymore. 260 00:14:30,320 --> 00:14:34,240 Speaker 11: Prosecutors say video footage shows Lee and Momini leaving the 261 00:14:34,280 --> 00:14:37,360 Speaker 11: Millennium Tower during the early morning hours of April fourth 262 00:14:37,640 --> 00:14:41,480 Speaker 11: and getting into Momini's car. Court documents say defendant not 263 00:14:41,520 --> 00:14:44,920 Speaker 11: only drove victim to a secluded area, but also brought 264 00:14:44,960 --> 00:14:46,840 Speaker 11: a kitchen knife with him. 265 00:14:46,880 --> 00:14:50,960 Speaker 1: In the motion to detain Nima without bail, prosecutors alleged 266 00:14:51,080 --> 00:14:53,840 Speaker 1: that he drove Bob to what they called a secluded 267 00:14:53,960 --> 00:14:58,720 Speaker 1: area in the opposite direction of his hotel. There, Nima 268 00:14:58,760 --> 00:15:02,160 Speaker 1: stapped Bob three times with a kitchen knife. One of 269 00:15:02,160 --> 00:15:04,080 Speaker 1: those stabs pierced Bob's heart. 270 00:15:04,560 --> 00:15:06,960 Speaker 11: This was a planned and deliberate attack. 271 00:15:07,240 --> 00:15:10,240 Speaker 12: They're saying. He took a kitchen knife from his sister's 272 00:15:10,240 --> 00:15:15,640 Speaker 12: apartment to his car with this, you know, with Bob 273 00:15:16,240 --> 00:15:20,560 Speaker 12: got in the car, went somewhere else, and then attacked him. 274 00:15:21,040 --> 00:15:24,680 Speaker 1: David is one of Nima's closest adult friends. He also 275 00:15:24,760 --> 00:15:28,520 Speaker 1: asked to withhold his last name. He said he couldn't 276 00:15:28,560 --> 00:15:32,480 Speaker 1: reconcile the prosecutor's case with the Nima he knew, but 277 00:15:32,600 --> 00:15:34,000 Speaker 1: not for the reasons you might think. 278 00:15:34,680 --> 00:15:37,640 Speaker 12: He wouldn't have a kitchen knife in his car. He 279 00:15:37,680 --> 00:15:40,680 Speaker 12: would have something like a bowie knife in his car, 280 00:15:41,320 --> 00:15:42,480 Speaker 12: you know, for just in case. 281 00:15:46,240 --> 00:15:48,720 Speaker 1: As a kid, Nima may have carried a knife for 282 00:15:48,760 --> 00:15:52,680 Speaker 1: self defense, but as an adult he developed a fondness 283 00:15:52,720 --> 00:15:54,200 Speaker 1: for them more generally. 284 00:15:54,160 --> 00:15:56,200 Speaker 12: Because I mean that he likes that stuff. He likes, 285 00:15:56,320 --> 00:16:00,400 Speaker 12: like fantasy shaped blades with like you know, kers, or 286 00:16:00,440 --> 00:16:05,119 Speaker 12: maybe cutouts in it, or some decorative handle, you know, elements. 287 00:16:05,360 --> 00:16:08,640 Speaker 12: He enjoyed that stuff. He would like display them in 288 00:16:08,680 --> 00:16:10,760 Speaker 12: his you know, in his living space. 289 00:16:12,360 --> 00:16:15,160 Speaker 1: David met Nima at work and they became good friends. 290 00:16:15,920 --> 00:16:17,960 Speaker 1: He painted the picture of Nima as someone who had 291 00:16:17,960 --> 00:16:20,880 Speaker 1: an interest in weapons, including guns. 292 00:16:21,040 --> 00:16:25,160 Speaker 12: He did get into shotgunning and other stuff with me. 293 00:16:26,040 --> 00:16:28,880 Speaker 1: But what struck me talking to David was how much 294 00:16:28,960 --> 00:16:32,440 Speaker 1: Nima sounded like a normal guy. He liked boats. 295 00:16:32,760 --> 00:16:35,520 Speaker 12: He had this little sailboat with an outboard motor. 296 00:16:35,800 --> 00:16:36,840 Speaker 1: He liked going out. 297 00:16:37,240 --> 00:16:39,840 Speaker 12: Yeah, he definitely liked to go to struggles. I mean 298 00:16:39,880 --> 00:16:41,760 Speaker 12: it was his idea to go like, oh, you guys, 299 00:16:41,800 --> 00:16:43,000 Speaker 12: come with me, let's go. 300 00:16:43,440 --> 00:16:47,320 Speaker 1: He liked burning Man one year David was retrofitting a 301 00:16:47,360 --> 00:16:50,400 Speaker 1: car for the festival, a hand me down Saturn made 302 00:16:50,400 --> 00:16:52,240 Speaker 1: to look like a bearded dragon, and then. 303 00:16:52,160 --> 00:16:55,040 Speaker 12: He fully jumped in and helped me build the car, 304 00:16:55,560 --> 00:16:57,440 Speaker 12: you know, dedicated a bunch of his time to it, 305 00:16:57,480 --> 00:17:01,880 Speaker 12: and then drove with me out to the Plaia. And 306 00:17:01,920 --> 00:17:04,160 Speaker 12: so that was his first burn in twenty ten. 307 00:17:11,359 --> 00:17:13,720 Speaker 1: Can you speak to his relationship with drugs. 308 00:17:14,800 --> 00:17:15,480 Speaker 12: He likes them. 309 00:17:17,359 --> 00:17:20,520 Speaker 1: This was something I heard from other people too, that 310 00:17:20,640 --> 00:17:24,480 Speaker 1: Nima was a heavy cocaine user and it impacted his work. 311 00:17:26,160 --> 00:17:32,480 Speaker 12: The reason he stopped providing IT services for that first 312 00:17:32,480 --> 00:17:35,080 Speaker 12: company where I met him was because there was a 313 00:17:35,119 --> 00:17:36,679 Speaker 12: day where there was a problem in the morning and 314 00:17:36,720 --> 00:17:39,960 Speaker 12: he couldn't be reached, you know, because I think he'd 315 00:17:40,000 --> 00:17:41,879 Speaker 12: been up at night and then he was sleeping, and 316 00:17:41,920 --> 00:17:44,600 Speaker 12: then you know, the fact that he was not on 317 00:17:44,760 --> 00:17:48,280 Speaker 12: call during business hours was a problem. 318 00:17:48,720 --> 00:17:51,720 Speaker 1: Losing your job because of drug use is usually considered 319 00:17:51,760 --> 00:17:55,879 Speaker 1: a sign of a serious problem. Nima did, however, figure 320 00:17:55,920 --> 00:18:01,440 Speaker 1: things out. He started his own IT business. I do 321 00:18:01,480 --> 00:18:04,600 Speaker 1: want to distinguish Nima's job from Bob's job for a second. 322 00:18:05,680 --> 00:18:09,760 Speaker 1: Early news reports first identified Nima as a tech executive. 323 00:18:09,400 --> 00:18:12,680 Speaker 11: Suspect is another tech executive who knew. 324 00:18:13,200 --> 00:18:15,320 Speaker 1: As if he was in the same milieu as Bob. 325 00:18:16,480 --> 00:18:20,080 Speaker 1: That wasn't really true. He ran a small IT firm. 326 00:18:20,560 --> 00:18:24,479 Speaker 1: Sometimes he had employees, sometimes it was just him. He 327 00:18:24,480 --> 00:18:27,840 Speaker 1: helped set up servers for small businesses. He wasn't an 328 00:18:27,840 --> 00:18:32,520 Speaker 1: engineer or a programmer or designer. He wasn't a rocket scientist. 329 00:18:33,119 --> 00:18:35,200 Speaker 1: He was the guy who gets the Wi Fi working 330 00:18:35,320 --> 00:18:39,240 Speaker 1: for rocket scientists. He worked in tech, but it's really 331 00:18:39,280 --> 00:18:43,840 Speaker 1: not the same thing. One thing that is without question 332 00:18:44,080 --> 00:18:47,480 Speaker 1: is that all three of the momentis Nima, his mom, 333 00:18:48,000 --> 00:18:51,720 Speaker 1: and his sister came up in the world. His mom 334 00:18:51,760 --> 00:18:55,240 Speaker 1: became a dental hygienist. Nima's small business seemed to be 335 00:18:55,280 --> 00:18:59,240 Speaker 1: doing okay, but just okay. His sister, Kazar, became the 336 00:18:59,280 --> 00:19:02,560 Speaker 1: most wealthy by marrying a renowned plastic surgeon. 337 00:19:03,680 --> 00:19:06,119 Speaker 10: I do remember that he had a sister. 338 00:19:06,760 --> 00:19:09,320 Speaker 1: That's Thomas again, who went to high school with. 339 00:19:09,359 --> 00:19:14,000 Speaker 10: Nimaad And I don't even really know why I felt 340 00:19:14,000 --> 00:19:15,879 Speaker 10: this way, that I felt like he was very protective 341 00:19:15,920 --> 00:19:16,560 Speaker 10: of his sister. 342 00:19:19,359 --> 00:19:24,120 Speaker 12: I met her originally, when you know, Nima invited her 343 00:19:24,119 --> 00:19:25,959 Speaker 12: to my birthday party years ago. 344 00:19:26,240 --> 00:19:27,919 Speaker 1: Here's Nina's friend David. 345 00:19:28,200 --> 00:19:30,280 Speaker 12: After that, I would refer to her, you know, as 346 00:19:30,359 --> 00:19:34,960 Speaker 12: Nima's hot sister, right like I was happy to have 347 00:19:35,040 --> 00:19:39,080 Speaker 12: a pretty girl at my party. She was fun, cool, whatever, 348 00:19:39,520 --> 00:19:40,320 Speaker 12: Nima's hot sister. 349 00:19:41,840 --> 00:19:44,680 Speaker 1: David was shocked when he heard about Nima being arrested. 350 00:19:45,560 --> 00:19:47,760 Speaker 1: He had always been a good friend and good to 351 00:19:47,840 --> 00:19:52,280 Speaker 1: David's son. They all went voting together. But after getting 352 00:19:52,320 --> 00:19:54,639 Speaker 1: over the shock, he had one thought. 353 00:19:54,920 --> 00:19:58,480 Speaker 12: If Nima did this or is actually involved in this, 354 00:19:58,560 --> 00:20:02,080 Speaker 12: it probably has something to do with because our Wow, 355 00:20:03,040 --> 00:20:06,720 Speaker 12: that's the only way you can really make his blood. 356 00:20:06,440 --> 00:20:07,160 Speaker 8: Boil like that. 357 00:20:09,840 --> 00:20:13,760 Speaker 1: Rooted in childhood and their father's alleged abuse. When this 358 00:20:13,880 --> 00:20:17,679 Speaker 1: protective sibling bond was carried into adulthood, it would have 359 00:20:17,760 --> 00:20:37,880 Speaker 1: lasting consequences. That's after the break Kazar MOMENTI is about 360 00:20:37,880 --> 00:20:41,960 Speaker 1: a year younger than her brother Nima. As of this recording, 361 00:20:42,080 --> 00:20:45,040 Speaker 1: she's still married to a prominent plastic surgeon and lives 362 00:20:45,040 --> 00:20:48,920 Speaker 1: in a Millennium Tower, the tallest residential building in San Francisco. 363 00:20:49,920 --> 00:20:54,240 Speaker 1: It's a ritzy place. Past residents include professional athletes Joe 364 00:20:54,280 --> 00:20:59,480 Speaker 1: Montana and Kevin Durant. It's also famously crooked, like literally 365 00:21:00,400 --> 00:21:05,320 Speaker 1: it's tilted to one side and sinking an expensive architectural disaster. 366 00:21:07,800 --> 00:21:10,960 Speaker 1: Kazar has a reputation as a party girl. She's glamorous. 367 00:21:11,560 --> 00:21:14,119 Speaker 1: She was a fixture at The Battery, a private social 368 00:21:14,119 --> 00:21:18,159 Speaker 1: club in San Francisco. She was also friends with Bob Lee, 369 00:21:18,600 --> 00:21:21,440 Speaker 1: who called her Tina, a name she went by among 370 00:21:21,520 --> 00:21:27,240 Speaker 1: non Iranians. Whenever I talk to anyone about Nima, old friends, 371 00:21:27,600 --> 00:21:32,640 Speaker 1: former colleagues, acquaintances, the conversation always led back to Kazar. 372 00:21:33,720 --> 00:21:36,320 Speaker 1: She was and is central to his life. 373 00:21:36,960 --> 00:21:41,439 Speaker 12: They both will jump into the other's fight. So, like, 374 00:21:42,480 --> 00:21:47,520 Speaker 12: what I've seen is if Nima's arguing with somebody and 375 00:21:47,560 --> 00:21:50,879 Speaker 12: she's there, she'll get in the middle and get in 376 00:21:50,880 --> 00:21:52,000 Speaker 12: the face of the other person. 377 00:21:53,160 --> 00:21:55,600 Speaker 1: And what has he been like, Like, how does he 378 00:21:55,680 --> 00:21:56,720 Speaker 1: express his anger? 379 00:21:57,160 --> 00:22:00,120 Speaker 12: He'll raise his voice, he'll you know, he'll puff his 380 00:22:00,200 --> 00:22:05,240 Speaker 12: chest and get loud and curse. And I've seen that. 381 00:22:06,680 --> 00:22:09,480 Speaker 1: What does that say about Nima and his relationship with 382 00:22:09,480 --> 00:22:09,840 Speaker 1: his sister. 383 00:22:10,560 --> 00:22:15,040 Speaker 12: Well, it's very it's very close and you know, very 384 00:22:15,040 --> 00:22:21,520 Speaker 12: connected and well, I would say codependent. I think it's 385 00:22:21,520 --> 00:22:23,760 Speaker 12: sort of like they've been in the trenches together with 386 00:22:23,800 --> 00:22:26,119 Speaker 12: their childhood and stuff like that. 387 00:22:32,640 --> 00:22:36,119 Speaker 1: Text messages between Nima and Kazar paint the clearest picture 388 00:22:36,160 --> 00:22:40,480 Speaker 1: of their relationship. I obtained several months of texts dating 389 00:22:40,560 --> 00:22:43,800 Speaker 1: back to before Bob's death. Most of them are rather 390 00:22:43,880 --> 00:22:47,520 Speaker 1: sweet and mundane. Kazar since Nima photos of her hair 391 00:22:47,640 --> 00:22:49,960 Speaker 1: after she had their mom come over and color it. 392 00:22:50,760 --> 00:22:53,360 Speaker 1: Nima responds, when you want it done right, get mom 393 00:22:53,400 --> 00:22:56,760 Speaker 1: to do it, or do it yourself. They recommended movies 394 00:22:56,760 --> 00:22:59,600 Speaker 1: to each other. They asked what each other was having 395 00:22:59,640 --> 00:23:02,800 Speaker 1: for dinner. They made fun of mutual friends. They made 396 00:23:02,880 --> 00:23:06,000 Speaker 1: plans together on a whim. They argued over whose house 397 00:23:06,080 --> 00:23:09,200 Speaker 1: to hang out at. In one of the text messages 398 00:23:09,200 --> 00:23:12,120 Speaker 1: that made me laugh, Nima was complaining about the ultra 399 00:23:12,200 --> 00:23:16,159 Speaker 1: exclusive clubs that Kazar liked to hang out at. He wrote, 400 00:23:16,600 --> 00:23:19,800 Speaker 1: battery and Millennium shit getting old. Maybe just me, but 401 00:23:19,840 --> 00:23:22,440 Speaker 1: I'm never comfortable around people in either of those places. 402 00:23:23,080 --> 00:23:27,920 Speaker 1: So pretentious and douchey. But the texts occasionally reveal more 403 00:23:27,920 --> 00:23:32,199 Speaker 1: complicated aspects of their lives. We've asked voice actors to 404 00:23:32,240 --> 00:23:36,160 Speaker 1: read them, and just a quick note. Like anyone's texts, 405 00:23:36,440 --> 00:23:40,040 Speaker 1: Nima's and Khazars are filled with typos, so the actors 406 00:23:40,040 --> 00:23:42,040 Speaker 1: are reading a cleaned up version of the messages. 407 00:23:43,200 --> 00:23:44,679 Speaker 4: What time are you going to moms today? 408 00:23:45,080 --> 00:23:47,080 Speaker 2: No, I have to meet a friend to pick up something. 409 00:23:47,880 --> 00:23:51,080 Speaker 1: In one set of messages from March of twenty twenty three, 410 00:23:51,840 --> 00:23:54,479 Speaker 1: Kazar seemed to confess that she was cheating on her 411 00:23:54,560 --> 00:23:55,560 Speaker 1: husband Dino. 412 00:23:55,880 --> 00:23:57,600 Speaker 2: I left my ring with a friend and grabbing lunch 413 00:23:57,600 --> 00:23:57,920 Speaker 2: with him. 414 00:23:58,200 --> 00:24:01,200 Speaker 4: Okay, are you fucking serious? You took off your ring 415 00:24:01,200 --> 00:24:03,000 Speaker 4: and left it at his fucking place and now doing 416 00:24:03,080 --> 00:24:06,880 Speaker 4: lunch with him today? Did you tell anyone else? Does 417 00:24:06,960 --> 00:24:07,800 Speaker 4: Mom and Dino know? 418 00:24:08,800 --> 00:24:11,480 Speaker 2: Wow? So happy I shared this with you. I made 419 00:24:11,520 --> 00:24:12,000 Speaker 2: a mistake. 420 00:24:12,720 --> 00:24:13,800 Speaker 4: Pretty fucked up, Haz. 421 00:24:15,240 --> 00:24:19,560 Speaker 1: During Nima's eventual murder trial, Kazar's extramarital relationships would come 422 00:24:19,600 --> 00:24:22,480 Speaker 1: up frequently, and it was explained to us that she 423 00:24:22,600 --> 00:24:26,480 Speaker 1: and Dino were in an open marriage. In another exchange, 424 00:24:26,560 --> 00:24:29,560 Speaker 1: Kazar appeared to accuse Nima of stealing her cocaine. 425 00:24:30,520 --> 00:24:32,240 Speaker 2: Did you take the rock that was left at my house? 426 00:24:33,000 --> 00:24:34,680 Speaker 2: I had got that to last me for a month. 427 00:24:34,880 --> 00:24:36,879 Speaker 2: I can't keep paying for blow and give it to people. 428 00:24:38,040 --> 00:24:41,680 Speaker 1: Throughout the texts, the siblings were often arguing about cocaine 429 00:24:42,320 --> 00:24:45,639 Speaker 1: and accusing each other of taking too many drugs, But 430 00:24:45,960 --> 00:24:48,520 Speaker 1: the most telling exchange I read from the months before 431 00:24:48,600 --> 00:24:52,520 Speaker 1: Bob's death actually had to do with Kazar and Nima's father. 432 00:24:54,480 --> 00:24:58,280 Speaker 1: About six weeks before Nima killed Bob, text messages showed 433 00:24:58,280 --> 00:25:01,400 Speaker 1: that he had a plan to confront their about abusing Kazar. 434 00:25:02,320 --> 00:25:05,320 Speaker 1: Their dad lives in Iran. Nima made a plan to 435 00:25:05,320 --> 00:25:06,280 Speaker 1: meet him in Turkey. 436 00:25:07,720 --> 00:25:10,480 Speaker 4: Ps I contacted this big law firm in Istanbul to 437 00:25:10,480 --> 00:25:13,600 Speaker 4: go over and prep for everything before I go talking 438 00:25:13,600 --> 00:25:17,040 Speaker 4: to them tomorrow and still have to apply for visa. Lol. 439 00:25:18,000 --> 00:25:21,280 Speaker 2: Just don't I rather you be safe here with me? Plus, 440 00:25:21,320 --> 00:25:23,640 Speaker 2: I really want to let the pass go. It's my decision. 441 00:25:24,200 --> 00:25:26,159 Speaker 2: Thank you and love you. But I'm much rather you 442 00:25:26,240 --> 00:25:28,760 Speaker 2: be safe here and healthy with me than go chasing after. 443 00:25:28,520 --> 00:25:33,320 Speaker 4: That bullshit Hazi Haz Trust me. I got this. 444 00:25:34,400 --> 00:25:36,399 Speaker 2: Turkey has no jurisdiction on a crime that did not 445 00:25:36,480 --> 00:25:37,320 Speaker 2: happen on their soil. 446 00:25:38,080 --> 00:25:40,320 Speaker 4: We'll go into it more. Since we already have Interpol 447 00:25:40,359 --> 00:25:42,239 Speaker 4: records in him, I'm going to use that to get 448 00:25:42,320 --> 00:25:49,159 Speaker 4: him on Turkey soil. Otherwise, in the airport, Nima. 449 00:25:48,760 --> 00:25:52,280 Speaker 1: Didn't make it to Turkey. He made plans, but got 450 00:25:52,359 --> 00:25:54,840 Speaker 1: arrested for killing Bob before he was able to make 451 00:25:54,880 --> 00:25:58,760 Speaker 1: the trip. What I take from all of this is 452 00:25:58,800 --> 00:26:01,159 Speaker 1: that Nima will go to great lengths to feel like 453 00:26:01,240 --> 00:26:04,359 Speaker 1: he is defending his sister. He would fly to the 454 00:26:04,400 --> 00:26:08,400 Speaker 1: other side of the world. He would involve lawyers, get visas, 455 00:26:08,640 --> 00:26:11,800 Speaker 1: reach out to Interpol, even if she asked him not to. 456 00:26:14,000 --> 00:26:17,800 Speaker 1: The questions prosecutors would eventually ask is if he would 457 00:26:17,880 --> 00:26:23,119 Speaker 1: do all that. Would he also stab Bob Lee, especially 458 00:26:23,160 --> 00:26:26,720 Speaker 1: if he was under the impression, even the mistaken impression, 459 00:26:27,200 --> 00:26:38,359 Speaker 1: that Bob had done something to his sister. I found 460 00:26:38,400 --> 00:26:41,479 Speaker 1: about half a dozen people who know Nima, and something 461 00:26:41,480 --> 00:26:43,840 Speaker 1: that came up frequently was his generosity. 462 00:26:45,119 --> 00:26:51,119 Speaker 12: In my experience, he's very nice and generous. Not always 463 00:26:51,160 --> 00:26:56,640 Speaker 12: the best conversationalist, you know, but like he's very easy 464 00:26:56,680 --> 00:27:00,600 Speaker 12: to be around, an excellent host, more free with his 465 00:27:00,680 --> 00:27:04,239 Speaker 12: money than I was. And so he'd want to, you know, 466 00:27:04,520 --> 00:27:06,520 Speaker 12: be going out to do things, and I'd be like, nah, 467 00:27:06,560 --> 00:27:08,000 Speaker 12: I don't really want to. He's like, no, no, no, I 468 00:27:08,040 --> 00:27:10,680 Speaker 12: got it, Come with me, don't worry about it. 469 00:27:11,200 --> 00:27:14,560 Speaker 1: David says that Nima would pay freely, but the phrase 470 00:27:14,640 --> 00:27:17,040 Speaker 1: I got it, don't worry about it was a useful 471 00:27:17,040 --> 00:27:19,640 Speaker 1: shorthand for many situations. 472 00:27:19,920 --> 00:27:22,640 Speaker 12: That was a catchphrase of his don't worry about it. 473 00:27:23,320 --> 00:27:25,800 Speaker 12: Don't worry about it. I've got this, don't worry about it. 474 00:27:25,840 --> 00:27:29,520 Speaker 12: I'm not going to tell you don't don't worry about it. 475 00:27:29,640 --> 00:27:31,800 Speaker 12: Just don't worry about it. You know, he shared, He 476 00:27:31,840 --> 00:27:36,520 Speaker 12: shared what he shared, and like, I don't think he 477 00:27:36,600 --> 00:27:39,639 Speaker 12: was hard to get information out of in general, but 478 00:27:39,760 --> 00:27:43,320 Speaker 12: he chose what he was, you know, offering. 479 00:27:45,720 --> 00:27:49,200 Speaker 13: All right, Hi, Hi, can you in yourself? Yes, my 480 00:27:49,280 --> 00:27:51,439 Speaker 13: name is Ellen Hewitt. I'm a futures writer on the 481 00:27:51,440 --> 00:27:52,760 Speaker 13: tech team at Bloomberg. 482 00:27:53,400 --> 00:27:57,320 Speaker 1: A colleague of mine at Bloomberg, Ellen Hewitt reported on 483 00:27:57,400 --> 00:28:00,719 Speaker 1: Nima right after he was arrested. She spoke with an 484 00:28:00,760 --> 00:28:04,320 Speaker 1: anonymous source from Nima's past who had a different read 485 00:28:04,440 --> 00:28:05,480 Speaker 1: on his personality. 486 00:28:05,920 --> 00:28:09,240 Speaker 13: So this person said that Nima often came across as generous, 487 00:28:09,359 --> 00:28:11,920 Speaker 13: and he would do things like use his boat or 488 00:28:12,000 --> 00:28:15,119 Speaker 13: use his money to invite people to do things or 489 00:28:15,119 --> 00:28:17,760 Speaker 13: bring them close to him. But this person observed that 490 00:28:17,800 --> 00:28:21,880 Speaker 13: there was another layer beneath that, which is that actually 491 00:28:21,960 --> 00:28:25,679 Speaker 13: Nima might have been fairly socially awkward, and that he 492 00:28:25,880 --> 00:28:29,119 Speaker 13: was using his generosity as a means to bring people 493 00:28:29,119 --> 00:28:31,360 Speaker 13: close to him, almost to pay them to spend time 494 00:28:31,400 --> 00:28:35,399 Speaker 13: with him instead of having an actual connection with these people. 495 00:28:35,880 --> 00:28:39,560 Speaker 1: Ellen's source said that behind closed doors, this veneer of 496 00:28:39,600 --> 00:28:41,120 Speaker 1: generosity faded away. 497 00:28:41,680 --> 00:28:45,520 Speaker 13: They really felt like, based on their observations of Nima 498 00:28:45,560 --> 00:28:49,600 Speaker 13: and his close relationships, especially with women, that he had 499 00:28:49,640 --> 00:28:52,400 Speaker 13: had severe trauma in his past, and that there was 500 00:28:52,640 --> 00:28:55,600 Speaker 13: a darkness inside of him that had potentially not been 501 00:28:55,600 --> 00:28:58,920 Speaker 13: addressed or that would come out in these unexpected ways, 502 00:28:59,480 --> 00:29:03,240 Speaker 13: either in like verbal aggression or violent tendencies. 503 00:29:03,720 --> 00:29:03,840 Speaker 11: You know. 504 00:29:03,960 --> 00:29:07,240 Speaker 13: This person said that Nima was a very serious drug user, 505 00:29:07,320 --> 00:29:09,360 Speaker 13: and that he had been a heavy cocaine user for 506 00:29:09,400 --> 00:29:12,720 Speaker 13: over a decade, and that his drug use was quite serious. 507 00:29:13,400 --> 00:29:15,840 Speaker 13: Their observation was that it had exacerbated some of the 508 00:29:15,920 --> 00:29:19,040 Speaker 13: underlying trauma and violent tendencies within him. 509 00:29:22,120 --> 00:29:26,200 Speaker 1: Most of my sources had never seen Nima be violent. Yes, 510 00:29:26,320 --> 00:29:28,800 Speaker 1: some of his interests were adjacent to violence. Of course, 511 00:29:28,800 --> 00:29:31,640 Speaker 1: he was into guns and knives. One person said he 512 00:29:31,640 --> 00:29:34,720 Speaker 1: had a shotgun stowed in a guitar case. He was 513 00:29:34,760 --> 00:29:38,960 Speaker 1: interested in martial arts, you know, mall ninja stuff. But 514 00:29:39,320 --> 00:29:42,320 Speaker 1: the people I spoke to felt like physically harming someone 515 00:29:42,640 --> 00:29:46,120 Speaker 1: was still a leap from the person they knew. However, 516 00:29:46,600 --> 00:29:50,120 Speaker 1: the record of Nima's history of violence goes beyond that 517 00:29:50,200 --> 00:29:53,840 Speaker 1: fight that involved a knife and weed. In August of 518 00:29:53,880 --> 00:29:56,840 Speaker 1: twenty twenty two, a little less than a year before 519 00:29:56,920 --> 00:30:01,160 Speaker 1: Nima killed Bob, a woman called nine one one. She 520 00:30:01,240 --> 00:30:04,000 Speaker 1: told the police that Nima was violent towards her, that 521 00:30:04,080 --> 00:30:06,640 Speaker 1: he grabbed her by the arm and her waist and 522 00:30:06,680 --> 00:30:10,880 Speaker 1: pushed her against the counter. She didn't want to press charges, 523 00:30:11,520 --> 00:30:13,840 Speaker 1: but she did want the police to be present while 524 00:30:13,840 --> 00:30:18,360 Speaker 1: she grabbed her things and left Nima's apartment. Part of 525 00:30:18,360 --> 00:30:22,320 Speaker 1: the police report reads, she says he may be bipolar 526 00:30:22,560 --> 00:30:25,360 Speaker 1: because one minute he will be fine and the next 527 00:30:25,440 --> 00:30:29,960 Speaker 1: he will go off for no reason. Mission Local, a 528 00:30:30,040 --> 00:30:33,440 Speaker 1: news site in San Francisco, also reported that Nima's phone 529 00:30:33,520 --> 00:30:36,560 Speaker 1: number appeared on a website used by sex workers to 530 00:30:36,640 --> 00:30:40,600 Speaker 1: warn each other about dangerous clients. Some of the complaints 531 00:30:40,600 --> 00:30:46,080 Speaker 1: about Nima include quote definitely unsafe in nature, definitely a 532 00:30:46,080 --> 00:30:49,840 Speaker 1: boundary pusher and rough snatched me by the hair after 533 00:30:49,880 --> 00:30:54,200 Speaker 1: I said not to dangerous, uses a lot of coke, 534 00:30:54,920 --> 00:31:02,080 Speaker 1: erraticant behavior, possessive, heavily armed. These comments were posted anonymously, 535 00:31:02,480 --> 00:31:06,360 Speaker 1: they cannot be verified, but together with the police report 536 00:31:06,560 --> 00:31:09,440 Speaker 1: and the source that my colleagues spoke to. They suggest 537 00:31:09,520 --> 00:31:12,760 Speaker 1: a man prone to bursts of violence, which he hid 538 00:31:12,800 --> 00:31:13,520 Speaker 1: from most people. 539 00:31:15,680 --> 00:31:20,640 Speaker 12: I wasn't surprised to learn that he was known in 540 00:31:20,680 --> 00:31:25,600 Speaker 12: this network of sex workers, but I was surprised to 541 00:31:25,680 --> 00:31:27,120 Speaker 12: learn that he had a bad reputation. 542 00:31:27,880 --> 00:31:30,200 Speaker 1: This is David again, Nina's good friend. 543 00:31:30,480 --> 00:31:36,040 Speaker 12: It's disappointing, very very disappointing, because I've never thought of 544 00:31:36,120 --> 00:31:41,200 Speaker 12: him as someone who would escalate violence, you know, not 545 00:31:42,000 --> 00:32:03,880 Speaker 12: bring a knife to a fistfight, right yeah. 546 00:32:04,080 --> 00:32:07,160 Speaker 1: Prosecutors have suggested Momeni's sister was at the center of 547 00:32:07,200 --> 00:32:10,280 Speaker 1: a confrontation between Momeny and Lee, who were seen together 548 00:32:10,400 --> 00:32:15,080 Speaker 1: leaving Hussar Momente's apartment building prior to the stabbing. Police 549 00:32:15,120 --> 00:32:18,040 Speaker 1: eventually released security footage from the night of the murder. 550 00:32:18,480 --> 00:32:20,680 Speaker 1: It was not good for Nima and it put his 551 00:32:20,760 --> 00:32:24,920 Speaker 1: sister Khazar in the spotlight. Video from Millennium Towers showed 552 00:32:24,920 --> 00:32:29,080 Speaker 1: Bob and Nima leaving Kazar's apartment together at two three am. 553 00:32:29,880 --> 00:32:33,360 Speaker 1: They climb into Nima's car, Nima drives and then pulls 554 00:32:33,440 --> 00:32:37,640 Speaker 1: up next to an empty lot under the Bay Bridge. 555 00:32:37,760 --> 00:32:41,840 Speaker 1: After parking for several minutes. Security footage showed Bob stumbling 556 00:32:41,880 --> 00:32:46,080 Speaker 1: away from Nima's car and Nima's speeding off. The video 557 00:32:46,160 --> 00:32:50,000 Speaker 1: shows him driving erratically back across the Bay Bridge to Emeryville, 558 00:32:50,080 --> 00:32:54,120 Speaker 1: where he lived. He was home in thirteen minutes, about 559 00:32:54,160 --> 00:32:56,160 Speaker 1: as long as it took for the police to find Bob. 560 00:33:03,520 --> 00:33:06,719 Speaker 1: The morning of April fourth, at eight am, six hours 561 00:33:06,760 --> 00:33:11,000 Speaker 1: after the attack, Kazar called Bob twice. Two hours after that, 562 00:33:11,440 --> 00:33:12,680 Speaker 1: she texted, Bob. 563 00:33:13,000 --> 00:33:15,400 Speaker 2: Just wanted to make sure you're doing okay because I 564 00:33:15,440 --> 00:33:17,960 Speaker 2: know Nima came down way hard on you, and thank 565 00:33:17,960 --> 00:33:20,560 Speaker 2: you for being such a classy man handling it with class. 566 00:33:21,160 --> 00:33:21,480 Speaker 2: Love you. 567 00:33:21,800 --> 00:33:26,320 Speaker 1: She sounds concerned, but there's no indication she knows he's dead. 568 00:33:27,760 --> 00:33:31,920 Speaker 1: At ten pm April fourth, twenty hours after Nima stabbed Bob, 569 00:33:32,360 --> 00:33:33,440 Speaker 1: Kazar texts. 570 00:33:33,160 --> 00:33:36,640 Speaker 2: Nima, Nima, I'm a bit conflicted about you. 571 00:33:37,480 --> 00:33:41,600 Speaker 4: Cozi, call me when you're sober. No, Nima, that stuff 572 00:33:41,640 --> 00:33:42,600 Speaker 4: messes up the mind. 573 00:33:43,320 --> 00:33:44,719 Speaker 2: I don't even want to talk about it. 574 00:33:45,480 --> 00:33:47,240 Speaker 4: Getting ready, I'll talk to you later. 575 00:33:47,960 --> 00:33:50,240 Speaker 2: No, bitch, blow messed up your mind and makes you 576 00:33:50,280 --> 00:33:53,360 Speaker 2: act lunatic. The Bob thing hit hard. 577 00:33:56,600 --> 00:34:00,000 Speaker 1: These texts would eventually be raised at trial as Evan 578 00:34:00,400 --> 00:34:04,640 Speaker 1: Kazar understanding her brother's role in Bob's death, though she'd 579 00:34:04,680 --> 00:34:10,359 Speaker 1: later deny it. When police recovered the knife later that day, 580 00:34:10,960 --> 00:34:13,920 Speaker 1: Nima's DNA was on the handle and Bob's was on 581 00:34:13,960 --> 00:34:29,040 Speaker 1: the blade. And as a friend, what position does that 582 00:34:29,040 --> 00:34:29,600 Speaker 1: put you in? 583 00:34:29,920 --> 00:34:30,000 Speaker 9: Like? 584 00:34:30,520 --> 00:34:31,600 Speaker 1: How do you think about that? 585 00:34:32,400 --> 00:34:38,439 Speaker 12: So I guess ultimately I'm more interested and why rather 586 00:34:38,520 --> 00:34:38,960 Speaker 12: than whether? 587 00:34:41,040 --> 00:34:41,360 Speaker 8: Why? 588 00:34:42,680 --> 00:34:47,400 Speaker 1: Why? This is what everyone from Bob's family, to Nina's 589 00:34:47,440 --> 00:34:50,520 Speaker 1: friends to complete strangers on the other side of the 590 00:34:50,520 --> 00:34:53,000 Speaker 1: world wanted to know why. 591 00:34:54,480 --> 00:34:59,040 Speaker 12: For how much the activities of all the people involved 592 00:34:59,080 --> 00:35:02,600 Speaker 12: have been mapped and tracked over these days, with all 593 00:35:02,640 --> 00:35:07,200 Speaker 12: of the texts and videos and everything. I couldn't imagine 594 00:35:07,960 --> 00:35:15,000 Speaker 12: Nima getting so upset that he would kill somebody really 595 00:35:15,040 --> 00:35:17,880 Speaker 12: for any reason. But then, you know, I think about it. 596 00:35:17,920 --> 00:35:19,160 Speaker 12: I think there's one reason. 597 00:35:22,960 --> 00:35:26,759 Speaker 1: The text messages between Kazar and Nima also provide a 598 00:35:26,800 --> 00:35:30,320 Speaker 1: possible motive. He texts Kazar referencing Bob. 599 00:35:31,360 --> 00:35:32,920 Speaker 4: I don't know what he ended up doing at the 600 00:35:32,920 --> 00:35:35,440 Speaker 4: bar or strip club. I just came home and started 601 00:35:35,480 --> 00:35:37,839 Speaker 4: preparing for the rape case against both of them. As 602 00:35:37,880 --> 00:35:41,000 Speaker 4: I told you, let's talk when you're calm and we 603 00:35:41,040 --> 00:35:44,480 Speaker 4: can coordinate plans with the attorney. That was a really 604 00:35:44,560 --> 00:35:47,200 Speaker 4: low point you took all of us to today. Hope 605 00:35:47,200 --> 00:35:49,640 Speaker 4: you can make better decisions and find some better goals 606 00:35:49,960 --> 00:35:52,520 Speaker 4: and priorities in life, and start thinking about your place 607 00:35:52,520 --> 00:35:54,920 Speaker 4: in the world and your impact on the world and 608 00:35:55,120 --> 00:35:59,680 Speaker 4: people around you. I'll help start the case against these guys. 609 00:35:59,760 --> 00:36:02,240 Speaker 4: But you fucked up and fucked all of us over 610 00:36:02,480 --> 00:36:04,799 Speaker 4: and over and going to have to work your way 611 00:36:04,840 --> 00:36:06,520 Speaker 4: out of this by yourself. 612 00:36:10,080 --> 00:36:13,520 Speaker 1: These texts from Nima are rather evasive, but here's how 613 00:36:13,560 --> 00:36:16,200 Speaker 1: I read it. He's implying to his sister that he 614 00:36:16,280 --> 00:36:18,560 Speaker 1: dropped Bob off at a strip club or a bar, 615 00:36:19,440 --> 00:36:21,799 Speaker 1: and it seems clear he was under the impression that 616 00:36:21,840 --> 00:36:26,160 Speaker 1: Bob did something to Kazar. This alleged rape that Nima 617 00:36:26,200 --> 00:36:29,440 Speaker 1: was referring to comes up later in the trial, but 618 00:36:29,520 --> 00:36:31,960 Speaker 1: Kazar is emphatic that Nima is wrong. 619 00:36:32,520 --> 00:36:36,320 Speaker 2: Strip club rape case. Nima, you're fucking psychotic at times. 620 00:36:36,600 --> 00:36:38,680 Speaker 2: No one enjoys that company. You scare me. 621 00:36:40,080 --> 00:36:42,759 Speaker 4: Hope it was worth it. Stop text me. I have 622 00:36:42,920 --> 00:36:46,080 Speaker 4: nothing to talk to you about. Go do whatever and 623 00:36:46,160 --> 00:36:49,040 Speaker 4: call whoever you want. You're on your own. You don't 624 00:36:49,080 --> 00:36:50,920 Speaker 4: need to lie about going to sleep again. 625 00:36:51,840 --> 00:36:55,200 Speaker 2: I'm sorry. My heart is just shattered about Bob, like 626 00:36:55,400 --> 00:36:58,000 Speaker 2: it really is hurting my feelings. We're not perfect, but 627 00:36:58,120 --> 00:37:00,240 Speaker 2: I just saw him last night. It hurts. 628 00:37:00,920 --> 00:37:03,200 Speaker 1: It was a few hours later that news broke that 629 00:37:03,320 --> 00:37:06,560 Speaker 1: Bob was dead the next day because our text Nima 630 00:37:06,600 --> 00:37:07,920 Speaker 1: at seven thirty in the morning. 631 00:37:08,239 --> 00:37:10,800 Speaker 2: If I find out anyone hurt him, I'll have no mercy. 632 00:37:11,800 --> 00:37:14,239 Speaker 4: Good morning. Are you okay? You wake up like an 633 00:37:14,239 --> 00:37:15,680 Speaker 4: animal when you take this stuff. 634 00:37:16,400 --> 00:37:19,920 Speaker 2: No, Nima, I'm not okay. My friend is dead. Nima, 635 00:37:20,000 --> 00:37:23,799 Speaker 2: Fuck you, You're an animal. Twenty four to seven. I 636 00:37:23,840 --> 00:37:26,160 Speaker 2: have no more empathy for anyone right now. I'm going 637 00:37:26,200 --> 00:37:27,600 Speaker 2: to get to the bottom of this and find out 638 00:37:27,600 --> 00:37:28,400 Speaker 2: what happens to Bob. 639 00:37:29,120 --> 00:37:30,400 Speaker 4: Okay, sounds good. 640 00:37:31,360 --> 00:37:33,719 Speaker 2: Where do you drop him off? Either I'll ask or 641 00:37:33,719 --> 00:37:35,120 Speaker 2: the cops will. I want to know. 642 00:37:37,040 --> 00:37:39,520 Speaker 4: I talked to an attorney today about your overdose and 643 00:37:39,560 --> 00:37:42,719 Speaker 4: attempted rape case. Really need you to take a few 644 00:37:42,760 --> 00:37:45,640 Speaker 4: tests and talk to attorneys as well. Let me know 645 00:37:45,680 --> 00:37:47,040 Speaker 4: when you're ready to deal with that. 646 00:37:47,680 --> 00:37:48,520 Speaker 2: Llolol. 647 00:37:50,000 --> 00:37:52,400 Speaker 4: In fact, text mom when you get your shit together. 648 00:37:53,840 --> 00:37:54,160 Speaker 14: Lol. 649 00:37:54,200 --> 00:37:57,839 Speaker 2: You dumb fuck Bob never touched me, No one did. 650 00:37:58,640 --> 00:38:00,800 Speaker 2: Your dad did who? You kissed his ass and begged 651 00:38:00,800 --> 00:38:03,440 Speaker 2: to get his approval. No, I'll call the cops too, 652 00:38:03,440 --> 00:38:06,280 Speaker 2: since you called them too, call. 653 00:38:06,200 --> 00:38:08,760 Speaker 4: Your mom when you're sober. Don't call me or Dino 654 00:38:08,800 --> 00:38:09,560 Speaker 4: for anything else. 655 00:38:10,320 --> 00:38:12,040 Speaker 2: Nope, the cops. 656 00:38:20,640 --> 00:38:23,759 Speaker 1: The theory that prosecutors would eventually present goes like this. 657 00:38:25,000 --> 00:38:27,920 Speaker 1: Nima was under the impression that something happened to Kazar, 658 00:38:28,640 --> 00:38:32,920 Speaker 1: perhaps rape or an assault. This set Nima off. He 659 00:38:33,040 --> 00:38:36,240 Speaker 1: was defensive of his sister. He had been his whole life, 660 00:38:36,520 --> 00:38:40,799 Speaker 1: and for good reason. Nima played it cool that night 661 00:38:40,840 --> 00:38:44,400 Speaker 1: by offering Bob a ride, but actually he blamed Bob 662 00:38:44,520 --> 00:38:48,400 Speaker 1: for whatever might have happened, and at that moment, Nima 663 00:38:48,480 --> 00:38:51,359 Speaker 1: was hiding a peary knife from Kazar's kitchen in his 664 00:38:51,480 --> 00:38:59,440 Speaker 1: jacket with the intent to kill Bob. I spoke to 665 00:38:59,480 --> 00:39:03,600 Speaker 1: one of nima neighbors, who asked to remain anonymous. He 666 00:39:03,640 --> 00:39:06,799 Speaker 1: recalls an interaction that stuck with him. He said that 667 00:39:06,880 --> 00:39:10,480 Speaker 1: Nima was in quote a weird state of mind. He 668 00:39:10,640 --> 00:39:13,640 Speaker 1: called me and asked me if I had any alcohol, 669 00:39:14,080 --> 00:39:16,719 Speaker 1: can I bring it all over. I thought he was 670 00:39:16,760 --> 00:39:19,800 Speaker 1: having a party. I had no idea what the hell happened. 671 00:39:19,840 --> 00:39:24,000 Speaker 1: I just brought it all over. Nima was alone. He 672 00:39:24,080 --> 00:39:28,440 Speaker 1: was incoherent, more incoherent than normal, unable to tell a 673 00:39:28,480 --> 00:39:31,640 Speaker 1: story coherently. He was like, yo, man I don't know. 674 00:39:31,880 --> 00:39:35,400 Speaker 1: I'm thinking of traveling. Then he tried to give me 675 00:39:35,480 --> 00:39:39,480 Speaker 1: his new EAMs chair. I said, I can't take this. 676 00:39:39,480 --> 00:39:46,080 Speaker 1: This is like a two thousand dollars chair. I looked 677 00:39:46,080 --> 00:39:49,120 Speaker 1: at the call logs to see when Nima dialed his neighbor. 678 00:39:49,760 --> 00:39:53,160 Speaker 1: It turns out it was twice, just hours after the stabbing. 679 00:40:07,200 --> 00:40:10,319 Speaker 9: His life is tarnished. He's probably going to spend a 680 00:40:10,320 --> 00:40:12,960 Speaker 9: lot of years in jail, His youth is going to 681 00:40:13,000 --> 00:40:17,600 Speaker 9: be gone by the time he gets out, and nobody's 682 00:40:17,640 --> 00:40:18,920 Speaker 9: looking at the human part of it. 683 00:40:19,520 --> 00:40:22,839 Speaker 1: That family friend Alex Presha again, we. 684 00:40:22,920 --> 00:40:27,560 Speaker 9: Love Nima, we love Huszar, but our heart was really 685 00:40:27,600 --> 00:40:34,120 Speaker 9: broken for Manos because we know the kind of hardship 686 00:40:34,239 --> 00:40:38,239 Speaker 9: she went through to bring this family to where they're at. 687 00:40:39,760 --> 00:40:43,239 Speaker 9: It didn't come cheap. This was the very last thing 688 00:40:43,280 --> 00:40:46,160 Speaker 9: that I think would ever make get on her mind 689 00:40:46,920 --> 00:40:49,160 Speaker 9: that after all of that hard work that she put 690 00:40:49,200 --> 00:40:52,960 Speaker 9: into this family and herself, she ends up defending her son. 691 00:40:57,239 --> 00:40:59,759 Speaker 1: There are many sad things about the stories of Bob 692 00:40:59,840 --> 00:41:04,800 Speaker 1: Lee and Nima. MOMENTI to me one of the sadder 693 00:41:04,840 --> 00:41:08,640 Speaker 1: aspects is that Nima, his sister, and his mom, fled 694 00:41:08,680 --> 00:41:13,560 Speaker 1: Iran to escape his father's alleged violence. They started over, 695 00:41:15,360 --> 00:41:19,480 Speaker 1: but even so, Nima seemingly became a violent person himself. 696 00:41:20,880 --> 00:41:23,640 Speaker 1: He was able to escape his father physically, but not 697 00:41:23,760 --> 00:41:29,760 Speaker 1: the cycle of abuse. What remains frustrating about this story 698 00:41:30,040 --> 00:41:32,480 Speaker 1: is the extent to which it does say quite a 699 00:41:32,520 --> 00:41:36,160 Speaker 1: bit about San Francisco, only not in the way that 700 00:41:36,280 --> 00:41:41,920 Speaker 1: venture capitalists and conservative YouTuber's thought. San Francisco is a 701 00:41:42,000 --> 00:41:45,120 Speaker 1: land of boom and bust. There was the gold rush, 702 00:41:45,400 --> 00:41:48,840 Speaker 1: then the depression, the dot com boom, and then the 703 00:41:48,880 --> 00:41:52,200 Speaker 1: dot com crash, the most recent tech boom and the 704 00:41:52,239 --> 00:41:56,160 Speaker 1: subsequent downturn, and of course we're in the midst of 705 00:41:56,160 --> 00:42:01,960 Speaker 1: an ai boom right now. I think that a lot 706 00:42:02,000 --> 00:42:04,640 Speaker 1: of the issues that you see in San Francisco can 707 00:42:04,680 --> 00:42:09,680 Speaker 1: be tied to this boom and bust cycle, housing volatility, homelessness, 708 00:42:10,200 --> 00:42:15,480 Speaker 1: tremendous wealth disparities, and this general sense of social unrest. 709 00:42:16,280 --> 00:42:21,560 Speaker 1: Boom and bust, boom and bust. That's San Francisco. It's 710 00:42:21,600 --> 00:42:28,600 Speaker 1: also the momenties in Tehran they were wealthy, then in 711 00:42:28,640 --> 00:42:32,440 Speaker 1: the US they started with nothing, they slept in the 712 00:42:32,480 --> 00:42:37,080 Speaker 1: same room of a family friend's house. Then they built 713 00:42:37,120 --> 00:42:44,400 Speaker 1: comfortable lives with luxury clothes, cars, boats, the works. You 714 00:42:44,440 --> 00:42:48,240 Speaker 1: could argue they were the epitome of the American dream. 715 00:42:48,719 --> 00:42:54,160 Speaker 1: Then came bob Anima's decision to attack him the bust. 716 00:43:04,600 --> 00:43:07,239 Speaker 1: As facts about the night of the murder continued to 717 00:43:07,400 --> 00:43:12,319 Speaker 1: stack up, new details and new characters emerged, and as 718 00:43:12,360 --> 00:43:16,279 Speaker 1: the story came together, it simply couldn't look less like 719 00:43:16,360 --> 00:43:20,120 Speaker 1: the random act of violence originally alleged online. 720 00:43:20,440 --> 00:43:23,120 Speaker 14: Obviously, based on this arrest and the storyline, it's quite 721 00:43:23,120 --> 00:43:26,279 Speaker 14: different than what we all assumed it to be, which 722 00:43:26,400 --> 00:43:29,919 Speaker 14: was some sort of homeless robbery type moment that has 723 00:43:29,960 --> 00:43:31,920 Speaker 14: become all too commonplace in SF. 724 00:43:32,400 --> 00:43:36,000 Speaker 1: The person speaking here is David Friedberg, a tech entrepreneur 725 00:43:36,200 --> 00:43:39,120 Speaker 1: and one of the hosts of the popular All In podcast. 726 00:43:40,239 --> 00:43:44,040 Speaker 1: In the early days following Bobley's death, Friedberg and his 727 00:43:44,160 --> 00:43:47,440 Speaker 1: co hosts leaned into this theory that was a random 728 00:43:47,480 --> 00:43:51,560 Speaker 1: act of violence on the street. Now, Friedberg was walking 729 00:43:51,600 --> 00:43:53,040 Speaker 1: some of his assumptions back. 730 00:43:53,440 --> 00:43:55,320 Speaker 14: When I read this this morning, I was like, Man, 731 00:43:55,520 --> 00:43:58,680 Speaker 14: I didn't even consider the possibility that this guy was 732 00:43:58,760 --> 00:44:01,520 Speaker 14: murdered by someone that he knew because I am so 733 00:44:01,920 --> 00:44:04,359 Speaker 14: enthralled right now by this narrative that SF is so bad, 734 00:44:04,360 --> 00:44:06,440 Speaker 14: and it must be another data point that validates my 735 00:44:06,480 --> 00:44:07,480 Speaker 14: point of view on SF. 736 00:44:07,520 --> 00:44:08,840 Speaker 8: Two things can be true. 737 00:44:09,000 --> 00:44:11,400 Speaker 14: A tolerance for ambiguity is necessary. 738 00:44:11,600 --> 00:44:14,480 Speaker 1: His co hosts, however, refused to follow suit. 739 00:44:14,880 --> 00:44:16,759 Speaker 14: But I'm saying I didn't even do that. As soon 740 00:44:16,800 --> 00:44:18,239 Speaker 14: as I heard this, I was like, I was like, oh, 741 00:44:18,680 --> 00:44:22,080 Speaker 14: a fine assumption to David. That is a fine assumption 742 00:44:22,160 --> 00:44:22,360 Speaker 14: to me. 743 00:44:23,160 --> 00:44:27,160 Speaker 1: The other voices here are co host Jason Calacanis, followed 744 00:44:27,160 --> 00:44:29,640 Speaker 1: by former PayPal executive David Sachs. 745 00:44:29,840 --> 00:44:31,680 Speaker 3: That's a final sociological assumption. 746 00:44:31,800 --> 00:44:34,400 Speaker 4: Listen, you made that assumption for our own protection. 747 00:44:35,080 --> 00:44:38,279 Speaker 1: David Sachs went on to become President Trump's AI and 748 00:44:38,360 --> 00:44:41,319 Speaker 1: cryptos are at the time, he had bet that the 749 00:44:41,400 --> 00:44:44,320 Speaker 1: murderer had been quote a psychotic homeless person. 750 00:44:44,719 --> 00:44:47,680 Speaker 3: We got all these reporters who are basically propaganda's trying 751 00:44:47,680 --> 00:44:49,480 Speaker 3: to claim that crime is down in San Francisco. They're 752 00:44:49,480 --> 00:44:52,640 Speaker 3: all basically seeking comment for me this morning, sending emails 753 00:44:52,680 --> 00:44:55,879 Speaker 3: or trying to god on us because we basically talked 754 00:44:55,880 --> 00:45:01,200 Speaker 3: about the Bobbly case in that way. Listen, that we 755 00:45:01,239 --> 00:45:03,719 Speaker 3: didn't know what happened, but if we were to bet, 756 00:45:03,960 --> 00:45:06,040 Speaker 3: at least, what I said is I bet this case 757 00:45:06,040 --> 00:45:07,960 Speaker 3: it looks like a lot like the Brianna Cuffer case. 758 00:45:08,520 --> 00:45:11,400 Speaker 1: Brianna Cuppfer was a twenty four year old woman murdered 759 00:45:11,400 --> 00:45:14,680 Speaker 1: at work in Los Angeles. The man who killed her 760 00:45:14,800 --> 00:45:16,280 Speaker 1: was a repeat violent offender. 761 00:45:16,800 --> 00:45:17,680 Speaker 4: That was logical. 762 00:45:17,760 --> 00:45:19,680 Speaker 3: That's not conditioning or bias. That's logic. 763 00:45:27,560 --> 00:45:28,720 Speaker 1: Do you remember your reaction? 764 00:45:29,400 --> 00:45:32,400 Speaker 12: You know, it didn't make sense to me then, and 765 00:45:32,440 --> 00:45:34,640 Speaker 12: now I've seen most of the trial and all of 766 00:45:34,640 --> 00:45:36,720 Speaker 12: the evidence, and it doesn't make sense to me now. 767 00:45:37,120 --> 00:45:39,200 Speaker 1: Nina's friend David Again, I. 768 00:45:39,120 --> 00:45:42,600 Speaker 12: Told a someone I was hanging out with the other 769 00:45:42,680 --> 00:45:45,640 Speaker 12: day about how, you know, Nima's my friend, and they 770 00:45:45,640 --> 00:45:47,319 Speaker 12: were like, oh, very interested in this, Like oh they 771 00:45:47,360 --> 00:45:49,239 Speaker 12: know about the case and went on They're like, oh, yeah, 772 00:45:49,280 --> 00:45:51,080 Speaker 12: I heard it was like a hit job, like somebody 773 00:45:51,120 --> 00:45:54,120 Speaker 12: you know, blah blah blahlahlah. Like there's been so much 774 00:45:54,520 --> 00:45:59,960 Speaker 12: like wild speculation to fill in the gifts. It was 775 00:46:00,120 --> 00:46:07,279 Speaker 12: clearly a personal dispute of some kind that happened between 776 00:46:07,320 --> 00:46:10,919 Speaker 12: the two men, and because the right wing media picked 777 00:46:10,960 --> 00:46:13,840 Speaker 12: it up to say, you know, the san Francisco is 778 00:46:13,880 --> 00:46:17,160 Speaker 12: going to hell and you know all that stuff, right, Like. 779 00:46:17,760 --> 00:46:20,279 Speaker 1: Yeah, and so they they want to be like we 780 00:46:20,560 --> 00:46:23,680 Speaker 1: got him, and like that shows that we are not 781 00:46:23,880 --> 00:46:25,879 Speaker 1: the broken city that you're saying we are. 782 00:46:26,880 --> 00:46:31,640 Speaker 12: Right, well, it's showing it's a city full of drug 783 00:46:31,760 --> 00:46:38,160 Speaker 12: use and all night partying and you know a lot 784 00:46:38,160 --> 00:46:39,400 Speaker 12: of a lot of wild. 785 00:46:39,160 --> 00:46:45,880 Speaker 1: Living, a lot of wild living inside the clubs, the 786 00:46:46,000 --> 00:46:49,040 Speaker 1: drugs and what came to be known as the lifestyle. 787 00:46:49,560 --> 00:47:00,239 Speaker 1: On the next episode, Foundering is reported hosted an executive 788 00:47:00,320 --> 00:47:04,919 Speaker 1: produced by me Sean Wen. Eric Mesitzi's mental produced our show. 789 00:47:05,480 --> 00:47:09,080 Speaker 1: Bart Warshaw is our audio engineer. Our story editors are 790 00:47:09,120 --> 00:47:13,480 Speaker 1: Joshua Brustin, Tom Giles, Anne vander May, and Nicole Beamster Bower. 791 00:47:14,040 --> 00:47:19,040 Speaker 1: Voice acting by Mark Leydwarf, Eliza Jabaherry and Ramine Kavon. 792 00:47:19,640 --> 00:47:21,760 Speaker 1: Be sure to subscribe and if you like our show, 793 00:47:21,920 --> 00:47:26,359 Speaker 1: leave a review. Most importantly, tell your friends see you 794 00:47:26,400 --> 00:47:26,839 Speaker 1: next time.