In the pre-dawn hours of April 4, 2023, a 911 dispatcher was alerted by a call from an unknown man.
The caller’s voice was weak and difficult to understand, but he managed to utter, “Help. Help me, please.”
Security footage later revealed the man to be Bob Lee, a well-known tech entrepreneur. The video showed him stumbling toward a luxury apartment complex, where he clutched the call box before collapsing.
“He had suffered a stab wound to his right hip,” shared Sgt. Brent Dittmer on a June 11 episode of Dateline: Unforgettable. “Additionally, there were two stab wounds on his left chest, one of which pierced his heart.”
Who Was Bob Lee?
Bob, aged 43, was a prominent figure in the tech industry, known for founding Cash App and contributing to the development of Google’s Android. Though his marriage to Krista Lee ended after a decade, the two maintained a close relationship.
According to Krista, Bob subscribed to a “work hard, party hard” mentality.
“He did partake in parties and drugs,” Krista, who shared two kids with Bob, said. “But he was never the kind of guy that would get out of control.”
What Happened to Bob Lee?
Bob’s glamorous private life—and the people closest to him—steered the case in a darker direction.
One clue arrived in the form of a mysterious text message to Krista.
“I heard that you were talking to the police,” the note read. “Please tell them to check the footage of the Millennium Tower. I’d like to remain anonymous. I fear that I will be stabbed too.”
That tip became a critical lead.
When detectives followed a trail of blood through the streets to a parking lot fence, they discovered a small paring knife. Surveillance footage from nearby businesses also captured a white BMW driving through the area at the time of the stabbing.
When authorities ran the license plate, they learned the car was registered to Nima Momeni.
Who Are Nima Momeni and Khazar Momeni?
Nima was a tech consultant from Iran who moved to the United States at age 14 with his mother, Mahnaz Tayarani, and his sister, Khazar Momeni.
Bob and Nima appeared to lead similar lives, yet there was no evidence connecting them. The missing link, it turned out, was Khazar, who had a reputation as a party girl that moved in elite social circles.
She and Bob had become friends after meeting at an exclusive club.
Khazar and her husband lived in the upscale Millennium Tower—where the anonymous texter suggested that police investigate—though in separate units on different floors.
Detectives soon learned how Bob spent his final hours.
According to tech entrepreneur Bo Mohazzabi, he, Bob and Khazar attended a party at the home of friend Jeremy Boivin.
Bo and Bob left the party and went to a hotel bar, while Khazar stayed behind.
Bo said that Bob eventually headed to Millennium Tower to visit Khazar. Surveillance video captured Bob arriving shortly after midnight and leaving an hour later alongside Nima. The men climbed into Nima’s white BMW and drove off together.
Who Killed Bob Lee?
By now, investigators were focused on Nima.
They began following him, which led them to a parking lot where Nima was speaking to a private investigator.
As undercover officers recorded the conversation from afar, they believed that Nima was pantomiming a stabbing and the disposal of an object.
Investigators finally got the evidence they needed to make an arrest.
When they reviewed text messages on Bob’s phone. One from Khazar, sent after Bob died, read, “Just wanted to make sure you’re doing OK because I know Nima came way down hard on you.”
Nine days after Bob was killed, Nima was arrested for murder. He pleaded not guilty.
But during a search of the siblings’ homes, investigators recovered a knife from Khazar’s kitchen that was the same brand as the one used in the murder. The clue led police to wonder whether Nima had taken the weapon from his sister’s kitchen set.
Why Did Nima Momeni Kill Bob Lee?
In October 2024, Nima went on trial for Bob’s murder.
Prosecutors argued that Nima was the last person to see Bob alive, citing the security footage, along with a grainy video of Nima allegedly lunging toward Bob, then throwing an object over a fence.
Their strongest evidence came from DNA found on the knife handle, 99 percent of which belonged to Nima. Meanwhile, DNA on the blade matched Bob.
Khazar’s testimony also sent shockwaves through the courtroom.
“She testified that she told Nima she had been sexually assaulted at Jeremy Boivin’s,” prosecutor Dane Reinstedt told Dateline. “That’s a pretty clear indication of motive.”
However, while Jeremy admitted to grabbing Khazar’s backside, he denied assaulting her. In fact, he told Dateline that he and Khazar had a physical relationship for months after Bob’s death, though Khazar denied it was sexual.
The prosecution’s theory was that Nima held Jeremy and Bob responsible for the alleged assault on his sister—and took out his anger on Bob.
Then, a dramatic twist came into play: Nima said he killed Bob in self-defense.
According to Nima, on the night of Bob’s death, Bob was sleep-deprived and armed with a knife allegedly used to snort cocaine.
Nima said that while driving Bob to a strip club, Bob spilled his beer and when Nima pulled over to clean it up, he made a rude comment to Bob.
Bob lunged at him with a knife, and in response, Nima said he grabbed Bob’s arm and pushed the knife toward him.
Believing that Bob wasn’t injured, Nima drove away, throwing the knife over the fence.
However, jurors rejected Nima’s self-defense argument and he was found guilty of second-degree murder. He was sentenced to 16 years in prison.