Closing arguments begin in sensational Hillsborough murder case

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. (KGO) -- Closing arguments started Wednesday in a sensational Hillsborough murder case. Charged with the killing, the daughter of a rich family from China and her boyfriend. The victim: Her former lover and father of her two children.

The prosecution said there was no other reasonable explanation for any of this except that the murder was committed by Tiffany Li and Kaveh Bayat.

MURDER MYSTERY TIMELINE: The disappearance of Millbrae resident Keith Green

"There's no smoking gun in this case. This is a case that involves lots of pieces of evidence circumstantial that in the prosecution's mind and our offices mind, add up to guilt," said San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe.

Tiffany Li, heir to a wealthy Chinese family, and her boyfriend Bayat are accused of murdering the father of her two young children, Keith Green who 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.

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."

Trial recessed shortly after 4 p.m. Li's attorney will wrap up his closing arguments, then Bayat's lawyer will have his turn.

The jury will then get the case.

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