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Murder trial begins for real estate heiress accused of killing blue-collar boyfriend

Tiffany Li arrives at a Bay Area courthouse in early September. Opening arguments began Monday in the real estate heiress' trial.
(Tony Avelar / Associated Press)
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Opening arguments began Monday in the trial of a Chinese real estate heiress who posted $35-million bail after being charged with murder in the 2016 killing of her children’s father.

Prosecutors told a packed courtroom in Redwood City, Calif., on Monday that Tiffany Li conspired with her new boyfriend, Kaveh Bayat, to kill 27-year-old Keith Green over fears she would lose custody of their two young daughters.

The district attorney’s office said it plans 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. Prosecutors said the pair paid a friend named Olivier Adella $35,000 to dump Green’s body and took steps to cover their crimes.

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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 bond that allowed her to stay in her San Francisco Bay Area mansion pending trial.

Her co-defendant remains in jail on $35-million bail.

The trial was delayed several times, most recently when Adella, a witness for the prosecution, was arrested earlier this month on charges of contacting a former girlfriend and witness for the defense, a violation of his agreement with prosecutors.

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Adella, a former co-defendant, was expected to testify that Li and Bayat asked him to dispose of Green’s body.

San Mateo County Dist. Atty. Steve Wagstaffe said prosecutors now would not call Adella as a witness.

Last year, the trial was delayed when Li was diagnosed with advanced breast cancer and underwent aggressive treatment, according to her lead attorney, Geoff Carr. The cancer is in remission.

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Green and Li met around 2009, when he was 21 and she was 23. He was a high school football star from a blue-collar neighborhood, while Li was rich and educated.

Green’s body was found along a dirt road north of San Francisco nearly two weeks after he was last seen meeting with Li to discuss custody of their children.

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