The Latest: Heiress' lawyers says wrong people are on trial
REDWOOD CITY, Calif. (AP) — The Latest on the trial of a Chinese real estate heiress charged with killing her children's father (all times local):
4:45 p.m.
Lawyers for a San Francisco Bay Area heiress charged with killing her children's father say she's been wrongly accused of a crime that was committed by someone else.
Defense attorneys for Tiffany Li and her boyfriend Kaveh Bayat said Monday they will argue that prosecutors put the wrong people on trial for the killing of 27-year-old Keith Green.
Li is accused of conspiring with Bayat to kill Green because she feared losing custody of their two young daughters. Her case caught national attention when Li, backed by the wealth her family made in real estate construction in China, posted an astonishing $35 million bai.
Her lawyers said they will present evidence that Green was killed in a foiled kidnapping plan. They declined to comment on the motive for the kidnapping because it hasn't been presented at trial.
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1 p.m.
Opening statements have begun in the trial of a Chinese real estate heiress who posted $35 million bail after being charged with murdering her children's father.
Prosecutors told a packed courtroom in Redwood City, California, on Monday that Tiffany Li conspired with her boyfriend Kaveh Bayat to kill 27-year-old Keith Green over fears she would lose custody of their two young daughters.
They say they plan to show jurors evidence that Green was lured to a meeting with Li and was shot by Bayat in the garage of her San Francisco Bay Area mansion in 2016. They said the pair paid a friend named Olivier Adella $35,000 to dump Green's body and took steps to cover up their crimes.
The defense argued that Green was killed by Adella as a result of a foiled kidnap plan and asserted that investigators overlooked certain evidence in an attempt to pin the crime on Li and Bayat.
Li's family made a fortune in real estate construction in China and she posted an astonishing $35 million bail that has allowed her to stay in her home pending trial.
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9 a.m.
Opening arguments are scheduled to begin Monday in the trial of a Chinese real estate heiress who posted $35 million bail after being charged with the 2016 killing of her children's father.
Prosecutors say Tiffany Li orchestrated the killing of 27-year-old Keith Green over fears she would lose custody over her children. Li's boyfriend Kaveh Bayat also is charged with murder.
Li's family made a fortune in real estate construction in China and she posted an astonishing $35 million bail that has allowed her to stay in her San Francisco Bay Area mansion pending trial.
Opening statements in the trial have twice been delayed. Prosecutors last week revoked a man accused of dumping Green's body after revelations that he contacted a defense witness.
