Hillsborough heiress murder trial: Defense motion for mistrial denied as jurors deliberate for 10th day

Thursday, November 14, 2019
HILLSBOROUGH, Calif. (KGO) -- A judge in the murder case against a wealthy Peninsula woman accused of killing the father of her two children denied a defense motion Wednesday to declare a mistrial. The request was the result of the jurors being given CDs containing metadata with cell phone tracking information, which was a key element in the prosecution's case.

Tiffany Li and her boyfriend Kaveh Bayat are on trial for 2016 killing Keith Green, the father of her two children The defense maintains that the real killer is Olivier Adella, who was the couple's friend and had worked as a bodyguard and personal trainer for Bayat.

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Wednesday marked the tenth full day of deliberations without a verdict.

The judge admonished jurors Wednesday morning to ignore any information they may have gleaned from the CDs they were given that contained the cell phone data. The judge said that information was the foundation for an expert's testimony and was not meant to be relied on solely as evidence.

"I don't think that bell can be unrung," Geoff Carr told San Mateo County Superior Court Judge Robert Foiles when making a motion for the mistrial.



Bayat attorney James Thompson suggested the jurors may have been off track in their deliberations for asking about the data.

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"The jurors seem to be wanting to solve the case," the defense attorney said.

San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe reiterated the judge's decision outside court Wednesday when asked about it by reporters.
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"The judge advised them today, that 'no', they are not supposed to be considering this metadata that underlies the testimony of one of the experts on the cell phones," Wagstaffe said.

Jurors filed out of court just after 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday. They will return to deliberations at 9 a.m. Thursday.

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