Keith Green Murder Case: Hillsborough heiress Tiffany Li, out on $35M bail, heading to trial 3 years later
HILLSBOROUGH, Calif. (KGO) -- The murder was called one of the most sensational crimes on the Peninsula and it is finally going to trial. Tiffany Li, the heir of a wealthy Chinese family, and her boyfriend are accused of murdering the father of her two children.
"Finally we can get this to trial and let members of our community sit on that jury and decide whether or not they committed the crime," said San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe.
On the day before her trial, Li appeared in Court to attend a hearing on last-minute motions filed by her lawyers.
MURDER MYSTERY TIMELINE: The disappearance of Millbrae resident Keith Green
Li had been diagnosed with cancer last year.
"She was almost stage four by the time she got to surgery on her breast cancer and she's lucky to be here at all," said her attorney Geoff Carr.
Li was charged with murder. The daughter from a powerful, wealthy family in China-- living in a mansion which her mother had bought in affluent Hillsborough. Her $35 million bail, said to be one of the top 10 highest bails ever in the country. Her boyfriend Kaveh Bayat-- also charged with murder.
Prosecutors say Li and Bayat killed Keith Green, a former boyfriend and father of Li's two children. They were reportedly involved in a messy custody battle. In April 2016, Li and Green met at the Millbrae Pancake House-- that was the last time he was seen.
The next month, Green's body was discovered in a field in Sonoma County dead from a single gunshot wound to the neck.
Prosecutors say Li planned the murder and that Bayat pulled the trigger.
In June, a Sheriffs SWAT team broke through the steel gates of LI's Hillsborough mansion and arrested the couple.
RELATED: 15-page document reveals new details about Hillsborough mother's murder defense
Li's trainer, mixed martial arts fighter Olivier Adella, was charged with dumping Green's body after the murder. He was arrested at his Burlingame apartment.
Adella pleaded no contest to being an accessory to murder, served three years in county jail and is now free.
"We've determined that what he was guilty of was disposing of the body and he was, our belief is he was not involved with the murder," said Wagstaffe.
Adella made a plea deal with the prosecution and will now testify as the key witness against Li and Bayat.
RELATED: Defense to ask for separate trials in Hillsborough murder caset
Li's attorney, Carr, will argue that the real killer is Adella.
"Mr. Adella and a couple of cohorts possibly were involved in a kidnap plot of Mr. Green that went south in someone. Hard to know....and that he ended up dying in that effort."
Opening statements start Thursday at 9:30 AM at the San Mateo County Hall of Justice.
The trial expected to end in a couple of months.
For the latest on this case go here.
