Keith Green Murder Case: 1st day of trial with Hillsborough heiress Tiffany Li starts with opening statement delays
HILLSBOROUGH, Calif. (KGO) -- In what felt like a series of false starts, the highly anticipated Keith Green murder trial began with two breaks, a delay in opening statements and the judge sending a key witness to jail.
Tiffany Li, who's accused in the murder of Green, the father of her two children, arrived at the courthouse in Redwood City with her lawyers, Thursday morning. The heiress has been under house arrest for two years, spending most of her time inside her Hillsborough mansion.
Li is out on bail. Her friends and family have put up property and cash with a total value of nearly $70 million. Her co-accused, Kaveh Bayat, has been in police custody, leading up to the trial.
MURDER MYSTERY TIMELINE: The disappearance of Millbrae resident Keith Green
Prosecutors say that Li and Green were embroiled in a bitter custody battle over their two children, that Li planned Green's murder and her boyfriend Bayat killed him. Green disappeared in April 2016, a month later his body was found in Sonoma with a single bullet to the neck.
Li and Bayat have plead not guilty to the charges.
Judge Robert Foiles apologized to the 16-member jury for bringing them into court, only to release the group after twenty minutes and a quick briefing on their role in the trial. In the afternoon, Judge Foiles granted a request from the prosecution to remand Olivier Adella in custody. Adella, Li and Bayat's former personal trainer, pleaded guilty to accessory to murder when he dumped Green's body. He served three years in jail and was released in 2017.
The prosecution argued that Adella broke conditions of his plea deal which included not using social media or contacting other witnesses. He is due back in court on Monday.
Li's lawyers said very little outside the courthouse.
"Mr. Wagstaffe and I reached a gentleman's agreement, we didn't want to try this extensively in the press," said Geoffrey Carr, lawyer for Li.
Opening statements are scheduled for next week.
For the latest on this case go here.
