The deadly San Francisco stabbing of Bob Lee, a technology executive who created Cash App, has unnerved people in the city. San Francisco officials on Thursday announced an arrest was made in the case and police said the suspect and Lee knew each other.
On Friday, an arraignment hearing for the tech consultant arrested and charged with murder in the stabbing death was postponed until Tuesday, April 25. Court document released show Lee was stabbed to death after an argument about the suspect's sister.
Here's a look at the latest on what police are saying, what we know about the suspect, how the death reignited debate over public safety, and how Lee made an impact on the tech industry.
NEW: Court documents reveal timeline of events leading up to killing of Bob Lee
Get a weekly recap of the latest San Francisco Bay Area housing news. Sign up for NBC Bay Area’s Housing Deconstructed newsletter.
Lee was stabbed to death after an argument about the suspect's sister, according to court documents, which also reveal a timeline of events leading up to the slaying.
View the court documents below.
Cash App founder Bob Lee identified as deadly stabbing victim
At 2:35 a.m. Tuesday, April 4, San Francisco police responded to the 300 block of Main Street for a reported stabbing. Responding officers found a 43-year-old victim, later identified as Lee, suffering from apparent stab wounds. Lee was transported to a hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries, according to police.
"There is no place for this kind of violent crime against anyone in our city," San Francisco police Chief Bill Scott said in a statement. "I want to assure everyone that our investigators are working tirelessly to make an arrest and bring justice to Mr. Lee and his loved ones, just as we try to do on every homicide that occurs in our city."
Police announce arrest, say suspect and Lee knew each other
A 38-year-old technology consultant was arrested Thursday, April 13, in Lee's death, police said.
The suspect was identified as Nima Momeni, 38, a resident of Emeryville.
Scott said Momeni and Lee knew each other and did not provide any additional details during a Thursday news briefing. The police chief said an investigation is ongoing.
"I hope today’s arrest can begin a process of healing and closure for all those touched by this tragedy,” San Francisco Supervisor Dorsey said in a tweet.
Who is Nima Momeni, suspect in Lee's killing?
On his LinkedIn profile, Momeni describes himself as an “IT Consultant/Entrepreneur” as well as the owner of a company called Expand IT. Business filings with the state list Momeni as the chief executive officer, secretary and chief financial officer of Expand IT INC, described as an information technology consulting business. He signed the filing in August 2022.
According to his LinkedIn profile, Momeni has been “a dedicated technology partner since 2005” and that he started Expand IT in 2010.
Criminal records show Momeni was charged with carrying a switchblade in 2011, a misdemeanor offense. The case was dismissed the following year after he took a plea.
Momeni will be charged with murder, with an allegation that he used a deadly weapon, in the Lee killing, according to San Francisco's district attorney.
Police dispatch audio reveals moments after Lee was stabbed
Police dispatch audio reveals what happened in the minutes after Lee was stabbed. In police scanner audio posted online, a dispatcher can be heard relaying information about the stabbing to responding units. View it below.
Security camera video shows moments after Lee was stabbed
In surveillance video obtained by DailyMail.com, Lee is seen collapsing after being stabbed. He's able to get up and try to flag down a car for help, but the driver did not stop and Lee's attempts to ring a doorbell and call for help didn't work either.
Police following leads, reviewing other surveillance video
Police a week before announcing an arrest was made said investigators collected video from several security cameras in the area Lee was stabbed.
Lee's attack occurred in a densely populated Rincon Hill neighborhood, near Google’s office and Oracle Park, home to the San Francisco Giants. The neighborhood is a mix of offices and modern condo buildings.
San Francisco police investigations Deputy Chief Raj Vaswani also called for the public's help in the investigation. In a series of tweets, Vaswani said police believe the stabbing occurred around 2:30 a.m. and asked anyone who may have video while in the area from 2:10 a.m. to 2:35 a.m. Tuesday, April 4, to contact police.
San Francisco crime back in spotlight after Lee's death
The slaying has prompted some, including Twitter chief Elon Musk, to discuss crime in the city.
"Violent crime in SF is horrific and even if attackers are caught, they are often released immediately," Musk said in a reply to mixed martial artist Jake Shields, who was tweeting about Lee's death.
Musk also tagged San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins in his tweet.
Jenkins in a Thursday, April 13, briefing announcing an arrest in the Lee homicide called out Musk for his comments about San Francisco crime following the tech executive's death.
"Mr. Lee was murdered by somebody that he knew," Jenkins said. "While we're not going to release any additional facts at this time, I must point out that reckless and irresponsible statements like those contained in Mr. Musk's tweet that assumed incorrect circumstances about Mr. Lee's death served to mislead the world in their perceptions of San Francisco and also negatively impact the pursuit of justice for victims of crime as it spreads misinformation at a time when the police are trying to solve a very difficult case. We all should and must do better about not contributing to the spread of such misinformation without having actual facts to underlie the statements that we make. Victims deserve that and the residents of San Francisco deserve that."
Jenkins in an earlier interview with NBC Bay Area's Raj Mathai said crimefighting is headed in the right direction, but it will take time.
"We are not going to correct a problem overnight that took years to cause," Jenkins said, adding she has asked the public for patience. "We are working around the clock to make sure that we are making San Francisco safer, and that we are going into the court rooms advocating for public safety."
San Francisco suffers from property crime more than violent crime such as murder, rape, robbery and assault.
A San Francisco Chronicle analysis of FBI data shows violent incidents like Lee's death are rare in San Francisco when compared to most other large U.S. cities.
SFPD crime data shows between 2019 to 2022, there was a 14% drop in violent crime, a 7% dip in property crime and a 29% decrease in arrests.
In a statement, San Francisco Mayor London Breed called the homicide “a horrible tragedy” and said that the city is prioritizing public safety.
Tech executive Bob Lee was "made for the new world"
Prior to his death, Lee was serving as chief product officer of MobileCoin.
The cryptocurrency platform's CEO, Josh Goldbard, said Lee "was made for the new world."
“From large contributions to Android at google, to being the first CTO of Square, in that time creating Cash App, and working with us here at Mobilecoin, Bob surely had an impact that will last far beyond his short time on earth,” Goldbard said.
Lee came to MobileCoin as an early stage investor and advisor, then became chief product officer and helped launch the Moby app, Goldbard said. Lee was the chief technology officer at digital payments company Square in 2013 when it launched a money transfer application now known as Cash App.
Among the tech leaders to share their devastation about Lee’s death was venture capitalist Wesley Chan, co-founder of FPV Ventures. Chan said he befriended Lee more than a decade ago when they both worked at Google, at a time when software engineers like Lee were helping to build the Android smartphone operating system before its 2008 release.
“He was an incredibly iconic founder in the tech world,” Chan said by phone Wednesday. “He wrote large parts of Android when he was at Google. He became the CTO of Square and helped build Cash App. His resume reads something like a Fortune cover article.”
But Chan said Lee was also generous in helping to coach and champion other engineers and tech entrepreneurs who’d call on him for advice. And he was modest about his key role in developing successful products, such as the widely used Cash App.
“With everything that Bob worked on, it was always a pleasant surprise,” Chan said. “That’s one of the things I loved about him. He was always humble about it, he’d say, ‘Oh, I don’t know if it’s going to work or not, but we’ll try.’”
Prominent venture capitalist Ron Conway, founder of the San Francisco-based investment firm SV Angel, tweeted Wednesday that Lee’s loss was an immense tragedy.
“Deepest condolences to Bob’s family and to the entire tech community,” Conway said. “Remembering fondly when Bob gave an inspiring talk at our CEO Summit. We’ve lost a great innovator, intelligence, and spirit. Praying a suspect is apprehended swiftly.”
NBC Bay Area's Madison Fishman, Kris Sanchez, Sergio Quintana, Stephanie Guzman and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
