A former medical examiner and a friend of Nima Momeni's sister took center stage on Tuesday in the high-profile trial.
Prosecutors started the day with their cross examination of Aranza Villegas. She testified about Momeni telling her he wanted to sue Jeremy Boivin, the man who gave her and Momeni's sister the party drug "G," which made her sick.
Then, she produced a text message between her and Momeni. In it, he asks her to write everything down for use in a possible lawsuit. In that text, Momeni mentioned Bob Lee for the first time. That text happened two days after Lee was killed and several days before Momeni was arrested for the murder.
Legal Analyst Steven Clark said her testify might have actually hurt the defense.
"If this was self-defense, why didn't Mr. Momeni call the police? Why didn't he render aid? Why did he throw away the knife?” he said. “All of those things the prosecution is going to say goes to "consciousness of guilt." And now you have a text exchange between Mr. Momeni and a friend ,in which Mr. Lee is now dead. But there's no mention of this."
The next key witness for the defense is Dr. John Maraccinni. He’s a former medical examiner in Miami and Palm Beach, Florida. On the stand, Maraccinni was asked by the defense about their theory that it was Lee who had the knife and Momeni was able to redirect it to first stab in the back hip, and then, two times in the chest. Maraccinni testified it is possible.
The prosecution immediately began asking him if that was simply a theory. He said it is and if there are other possible ways it could have happened. He testified there are other possible ways.
The trial continues Wednesday at the San Francisco Hall of Justice.
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