Hillsborough heiress murder trial: Tiffany Li found not guilty in killing of Keith Green, hung jury for Kaveh Bayat

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ByVic Lee KGO logo
Saturday, November 16, 2019
Jury finds Tiffany Li not guilty in Hillsborough heiress murder trial
A jury has found Hillsborough heiress Tiffany Li not guilty for the murder of Keith Green.

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. -- A jury has found Hillsborough heiress Tiffany Li not guilty for the murder of Keith Green.



A hung jury was declared in the case against Li's boyfriend, Kaveh Bayat.



Tiffany Li -- the daughter of a rich family from China -- and her boyfriend, Kaveh Bayat, were charged with the murder of Li's former lover and father of her two children, Keith Green.



MURDER MYSTERY TIMELINE: The disappearance of Millbrae resident Keith Green





Green disappeared in April 2016 after meeting Li at the Millbrae Pancake House.





The next month, Green's body was found in a field in Sonoma County dead from a single gunshot wound to the mouth.



Authorities believe Green was killed in Li's Hillsborough mansion.



RELATED: Who's Who in Hillsborough Heiress murder case



It took the prosecutor Bryan Abanto just two hours to get through closing arguments.



He led jurors meticulously through a timeline that started when Li and Green broke up in October 2015 to when Li, Bayat and a third suspect Olivier Adella were arrested in May 2016.



Adella was charged with the dumping of Green's body.



He entered a plea deal but was re-arrested after contacting a former girlfriend and a witness in this case.



The timeline of events included text messages which the prosecution said was meant to distance the couple from Green's whereabouts when he was shot.



RELATED: Video of detectives confronting Tiffany Li with evidence shown to jurors



The prosecution told jurors, Li's motive for the murder: messy child custody lawsuit and that "Li's clear frustration led to anger about Green's constant request for money."



Bayat's motive, Abanto said was his fear that Green would get back with Li.



"That derailed the money train for Mr. Bayat as long as he (Green) was alive."



Defense Attorney Geoff Carr told jurors in his closing that the case against Li was solely based on circumstantial evidence and that the prosecution was neglecting factual evidence.



Carr contends that it was Adella who killed Green.



"There seems to be more evidence of it being a failed kidnap than it being a murder. Something went wrong."



"I want to hear the details and the proof that they presented to know whether that was just a theory argued by attorneys or whether there are some facts to support it," said San Mateo County District Attorney Stephen Wagstaffe.



Wagstaffe says he will take look at the case in the weeks ahead and then determine whether or not to re-try Bayat.



Li's attorneys say she hopes to eventually regain custody of her children, who are currently being looked after by her mother and Green's mother.



Take a look at the latest stories and videos about the death of Millbrae father Keith Green.

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