True crime story (with cryptos behind)
People are drawn to sensational stories by curiosity about the motivations of the criminals, concerns about justice and the legal system and the thrill of solving a real-life whodunnit.
This is a reason why "true crime stories" have so many keen supporters, well I'm one of them, and as a fan of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technologies as well, I'm trying to combine them both.
There is a story of a blockchain start-up founder, the application named: Cashapp.
Stabbed to death in a street
Bob Lee, the co-founder of the mobile payment service provider Cash App, was stabbed on a street in the Rincon Hill neighborhood.
His 911 call came in around 2:30 a.m on April 4.
“Help, someone stabbed me,” said the voice on the phone.
Police and paramedics went to the address he mentioned along the city's waterfront, beneath the huge steel beams of the Bay Bridge. By the time first responders arrived on the 300 block of Main Street, the guy who had called 911 was lying bloodied and unconscious on the pavement, his immobile form highlighted by the lights lining the doorway of a data-server firm. He was a Caucasian male wearing black pants, a black T-shirt, and a black jacket.
After Lee was transported to the hospital, physicians worked tirelessly for four hours to save his life.
During the procedure, doctors sought to seal two wounds in Lee's heart and one in his left lung. Despite their attempts, Lee died on the operating table just before 7 a.m.
The autopsy
Lee was "stabbed three separate times, once in the hip and twice in the chest," according to the autopsy records. One of the stab wounds "directly penetrated" Lee's heart, resulting in his death.
The toxicology result showed Lee, 43, had cocaine, ketamine, and alcohol in his system at the time of the stabbing, but the drugs were not a cause in his death.
According to Dr. Kendall Von Crowns, the chief medical examiner in Tarrant County, Texas, the alcohol was comparable to one drink, and the ketamine might have been administered as anesthetic in the hospital.
Von Crowns examined and assessed Lee's toxicology findings for CNN. He added the cocaine looked to have been consumed around the time of Lee's death, although in little amounts.
The investigation
According to the investigation documents, on April 11, detectives discovered a text message from a particular woman to Lee in which indicated that she was checking on Lee.
The text message stated: “Just wanted to make sure you're doing ok Cause I know Nima came way down hard on you. And thank you for being such a classy man handling it with class.”
Who was the mysterious woman and a person, called Nima and above mentioned message?
The investigators decided to take a closer look at the man, whose name was Nima Momemi:
According to his LinkedIn page, Nima Momeni attended the University of California, Berkeley, and has worked in technology since 2005, when he was a systems and network engineer in San Jose. He began working as an IT administrator in the South Bay Area in 2007, and he remained there till 2012. At the same time, he worked as an IT consultant. In 2010, he stated that he became the owner of Expand IT, a firm that his biography described as "providing solid, reliable, and efficient technology solutions" in the Bay Area.
Before the tragedy
Documents from the DA's office detail what officials claim happened before the attack.
A witness, identified as a close friend of Lee's, said he went to an apartment on April 3 after Lee invited him.
Lee was drinking with a lady subsequently identified as Momeni's sister, according to a petition to detain paperwork.
According to the document, the witness informed police that the lady was married, but her "relationship was possibly in jeopardy," and that he was uncertain whether the woman and Lee had an intimate relationship.
Lee subsequently informed the witness that they were heading to his hotel room, and that he had invited the woman, but she declined.
According to the witness, Momeni questioned Lee in the hotel room "whether his sister was doing drugs or anything inappropriate," according to the affidavit. According to the document, Lee informed Momeni that nothing inappropriate occurred.
After the conversation with Momeni, Lee and the witness went to Lee’s apartment until about 12:30 a.m. on April 4, when Lee left.
The tragic moment
Surveillance footage reveals Momeni driving to his sister's apartment building in a white BMW at 8:30 p.m. on April 3, then Lee entering the building at 12:39 a.m. on April 4.
Shortly after 2 a.m., the footage shows Lee and Momeni leaving an elevator together and getting into Momeni's BMW. Additional footage from the area shows the two traveling in the car together.
The recording then shows the BMW driving to a "dark and secluded area" on Main Street, barely out of view for the camera to capture the conversation between the two males, according to the document.
Eventually, the two people, who are unrecognizable by their features but appear to be wearing the same apparel, reappear in a frame. After approximately five minutes, the individual wearing a white-colored top, similar to what Momeni looked to be wearing, "suddenly move(s) toward the other subject," the document states. The two subjects then separated.
The person in dark clothes, who officials suspect is Lee, proceeds northward, while the person in light clothing travels south and pauses beside a fence, where a knife was eventually located, according to the document.
The BMW then rapidly leaves.
Additional facts revealed during investigation
Momeni was formally charged with murder. His courtroom arraignment, originally scheduled for Friday, was delayed until Apr. 25.
Police have established that Momeni, 38, knew Lee, but the nature of their relationship remains unknown. Police detained him Thursday morning at his residence in Emeryville, a California neighborhood approximately 10 miles from San Francisco, according to CBS Bay Area. Neighbors expressed astonishment at the arrest, with public relations representative Sam Singer describing Momeni as a "warm, welcoming, very nice fellow."
Meanwhile, a police record detailing an incident involving a lady and Momeni in August 2022 has been released in the San Francisco Chronicle.
Emeryville police cited and discharged Momeni on a minor violence charge after a lady complained that he had attacked her, according to the newspaper, using papers obtained through a public records request.
CNN has requested the records and contacted Emeryville police.
According to the police investigation, Momeni and the woman, whose name was removed from the report, had an altercation on the afternoon of August 1, 2022.
When police cops questioned Momeni, he rejected the allegations.
During the trial, more controversies and turning points had occured, for those, who are interested, I recommend to visit the resources links.
I hope, you enjoyed while reading my post, thanks for stopping by.
Greetings!
Resources:
https://cash.app/
https://nypost.com/2023/10/02/nima-momeni-accused-killer-of-cash-app-founder-bob-lee-denied-bail-again/
https://edition.cnn.com/2023/05/02/us/bob-lee-autopsy-cash-app-founder/index.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vg19MpMEBRo
https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/tech-exec-nima-momeni-formally-charged-with-murder-in-slaying-of-cash-app-founder-bob-lee/
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/video-shows-cash-app-founder-bob-lee-seen-staggering-asking-help-stabb-rcna78213
https://www.publio.pl/blog/true-crime-ksiazki-ktore-przezywaja-renesans-zainteresowania/