The married sister of the man charged with Bob Lee’s murder has refused to help police – amid claims she attended drug and sex parties with the Cash App founder.
Khazar Elyassnia, 37, who was with Lee the day he died, has refused to be interviewed by detectives, according to San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins.
Jenkins is part of the team that charged Elyassnia’s brother, Nima Momeni, with Lee’s murder.
Elyassnia is married to plastic surgeon Dr. Dino Elyassnia, but reportedly had a sexual relationship with Lee. Prosecutors believe Momeni killed Lee after questioning him about the alleged affair.
Jenkins revealed that Elyassnia – who is not suspected of wrongdoing – refused to cooperate with the investigation after Momeni appeared in court on Thursday. She attended the hearing without her husband.
Khazar Elyassnia (right: Thursday in court), 37, who was with Lee the day he died, has refused to be interviewed by investigators. She reportedly had a sexual relationship with Lee even though she is married to plastic surgeon Dr Dino Elyassnia (pictured together left)
Nima Momeni is accused of the murder of Cash App founder Bob Lee. He allegedly killed Lee during an affair with his married sister, Khazar Elyassnia
Friends say Cash App founder Bob Lee was a regular at underground sex and drug parties with other San Francisco elites, including the sister of the man accused of killing him
Jenkins said there was “no doubt” that Momeni, 38, is guilty of the murder.
He was arraigned Thursday at San Francisco’s Hall of Justice courthouse and pleaded not guilty to murder.
Khazar has been supportive of her brother since his arrest, but she entered the San Francisco courtroom for her brother’s indictment without her husband by her side. He has been with her at previous hearings.
Judge Victor Hwang denied Momeni bail – and said he would remain in custody until his next hearing.
Nima’s mother, Mahnaz Momeni, was also in court to hear her son plead not guilty.
Prosecutor Omid Talai had argued that Momeni should be denied bail because the stabbing was “premeditated.”
“This was not done by accident, this was done by force,” Talai told the court.
Khazar Momeni arrived without her husband for her brother’s arraignment on Thursday
Khazar pictured in San Francisco court during an earlier hearing with her husband, plastic surgeon Dr. Dino Elyassnia
Lee and Khazar were part of a mob of affluent San Francisco revelers known as “The Lifestyle,” who attended riotous events where swingers and cheaters gathered for casual, drug-fueled sex, it has since surfaced.
The founder of the Cash App was stabbed to death on April 4.
On the fateful night, at a party in San Francisco, Nima Momeni confronted Lee and asked if his sister was on drugs or “something inappropriate.” According to a witness, Lee told Momeni that nothing inappropriate had happened.
Authorities say Nima and Lee met again later that night at Khazar’s luxury apartment in Millennium Tower.
Surveillance footage showed the two getting into Momeni’s white BMW at around 2 a.m. on April 4 and leaving the scene.
He is accused of then driving Lee to a remote area several blocks away, where he stabbed the Cash app founder several times with a kitchen knife.
Momeni then allegedly left Lee to bleed to death in the middle of the street. The grim aftermath was captured by surveillance cameras.
San Francisco Attorney General Brooke Jenkins speaks at a press conference following the indictment of Nima Momeni
Khazar arrives for her brother Nima Momeni’s arraignment
The founder of the Cash App was stabbed to death on April 4. Khazar’s brother is the suspect
Nima Momeni (left) vowed to “come down real hard” on Lee hours before the stabbing. Prosecutors say it was a planned attack in which he used a kitchen knife to stab Lee in the heart
Lee was seen stumbling and begging for help that night before collapsing at the Bay Bridge, just 16 minutes from Khazar’s apartment.
Police have said Khazar texted Lee around the time he died.
“Just wanted to make sure you are okay because I know nima came at you really hard,” she wrote in one of these posts.
‘And thank you for being such a classy man who does it with class. I love your selfish p****s.”
Khazar and Nima Momeni moved to the US from Iran as children.
He was known for being more reclusive, as she married a plastic surgeon and was a glamorous party girl at San Francisco’s so-called “The Lifestyle.”
Thursday’s trial comes after Momeni’s lawyer demanded that her client be released because police relied too heavily on grainy CCTV footage.