Chinese-American property heiress Tiffany Li lured her children’s father to his death, prosecutor says at murder trial
- Opening arguments made in trial of Tiffany Li, who posted US$35 million bail after being charged with murder in 2016 killing of her children’s father
- Li’s lawyers argued that she is innocent, and murder was carried out by another man in foiled kidnap plan
A San Francisco Bay Area heiress charged with murder in the death of her children’s father is wrongly accused of a crime committed by someone who plotted to kidnap him, her lawyers said Monday.
Prosecutors said in opening statements that Tiffany Li lured Keith Green to her Hillsborough mansion to discuss a custody dispute, where her boyfriend Kaveh Bayat fatally shot the victim in the mouth. The pair then hired a friend to dispose Green’s body and took steps to cover their crime by creating alibis for themselves, San Mateo County prosecutor Bryan Abanto said.
Li, a naturalised American citizen who was born in China, has pleaded not guilty. Her case drew national attention when Li, backed by the wealth her family made in real estate construction in China, posted an astonishing US$35 million bail that allowed her to stay in her home pending trial.
Her co-defendant, who also has pleaded not guilty, remains in jail on US$35 million bail.
Abanto told jurors he would present evidence that gunshot residue was found in the garage of Li’s house and Bayat’s DNA on a gun magazine.