Under cross-examination Tuesday, the friend who was with Nima Momeni's sister on the day before Bob Lee's murder told prosecutors that Khazar Momeni has a tendency to exaggerate.
The prosecution rested last week in the trial of Nima Momeni, having presented evidence about how the crime scene and murder weapon were processed, and having called witnesses, including sister Khazar Momeni, to testify about the events leading up to and following the April 2023 killing of tech entrepreneur Bob Lee. Prosecutors also showed jurors two piece of video evidence: one video, taken from a Nest camera a considerable distance away and several stories up, investigators believe captures the moment of the murder, in which a grainy figure, Momeni, can be seen thrusting toward another figure three times; and in a second video, shot clandestinely, shortly before Momeni's arrest, Momeni can be seen pantomiming the three thrusts while conferring with a defense attorney's investigator.
Khazar Momeni testified that she was taken advantage of in a drugged state inside the apartment of Jeremy Boivin, where Bob Lee and another friend had left her earlier in the day, on the Monday before the killing took place. She said that Boivin had removed her clothes without her consent, and that she'd woken up from a GHB-induced stupor to find herself in a bathing suit, and Boivin walking around in nothing but some red shorts.
That encounter was witnessed by a third person, Aranza Villegas, the friend whom Khazar had called to join her at Boivin's apartment, where the group had been doing various drugs all afternoon — including whip-its, LSD, and cocaine.
Villegas was called as one of the first witnesses for the defense late last week, but her testimony under cross-examination, when the trial resumed Tuesday morning, sounds like it was more damning than helpful for the defense.
As KTVU reports, Villegas told the jury that she didn't necessarily consider herself a friend of Khazar Momeni, only that they "socialized" together. And she said she was not friends with her brother, Nima Momeni.
Villegas testified last week that she was offered GHB by Boivin, who described it to her as "ecstasy but only lasting 45 minutes." As Mission Local reported from the courtroom, Villegas recounted how she took three shots of GHB, felt ill, passed out "momentarily," vomited, and then felt "perfect." She also remembers Khazar Momeni getting upset, crying, and calling her brother to pick her up.
Villegas, under cross on Tuesday, told jurors that Khazar was known to "exaggerate," and that she had no memory of a non-consensual sexual encounter occurring. Earlier testimony suggested that Villegas had been crying and upset, but she said that nothing inappropriate had gone on, and that Boivin did not act improperly with her or with Khazar. She also contradicted testimony that Boiving forcibly pulled off Khazar's pants, saying he was simply helping her out of her clothes.
As Mission Local reports, when describing Momeni's demeanor under defense questioning last week, Villegas said he arrived at Momeni's apartment and was "calm, normal, just in resolving mode," and did not seem angry at Boivin.
And Villegas said she was contacted afterward by Nima Momeni, and had a text exchange in which she explained exactly what had gone on between his sister, Boivin, and Lee. And she said Momeni wanted to "sue" Boivin.
A text message from Momeni to Villegas said, "I will not talk about any of this to my sister or her husband and you don't need to protect her cause she already told me about him getting naked and stuff."
An attorney for Boivin, who has not been called to the stand, has previously told reporters that her client looks forward to clearing his name, and that he has had an ongoing, consensual relationship with Khazar Momeni. Prosecutors mentioned that she had contact with Boivin just in the last few weeks, in spite of her claim of being "scared" of him.
Villegas was set to continue testifying under cross-examination Tuesday afternoon.
It remains unclear whether the defense intends to call Nima Momeni to testify in his own defense. Given he would face a tough cross-examination, that seems unlikely.
This post will be updated with further reports on Villegas's testimony.
Previously: Bob Lee Murder Trial: Jury Shown Controversial Video of Momeni Appearing to Reenact Stabbing