Opening statements moved, star witness not testifying in Keith Green murder trial, district attorney says
HILLSBOROUGH, Calif. (KGO) -- Major developments in the case of the Hillsborough heiress accused of killing the father of her children.
"It has taken twists and turns and I dare say I think there will be more twists and turns in this road," said San Mateo County District Attorney, Steve Wagstaffe.
Wagstaffe decided Monday in court when opening statements were meant to be heard, not to call key witness Olivier Adella to testify in the murder trial of Tiffany Li and Kaveh Bayat.
"The nature of what he has been doing over the course of the last couple years, that have caused us to no longer have trust, that the testimony he would provide to a jury, would be reliable, and a basis of which to convict two people of murder," said Wagstaffe.
The decision was another bombshell, after Wagstaffe decided last week to make a motion to revoke the DA's plea deal with Adella, after he says Adella violated conditions of their agreement.
"He was to have no contact with witnesses, and he was to not engage in the use of social media to reach out to anything connected to the case."
Li, an heir to a wealthy Chinese family, and her boyfriend, Bayat, are accused of murdering Keith Green, Li's former boyfriend and father of her two children.
Green was shot in 2016-- his body found dumped in a field in Sonoma County.
Adella, Li's trainer, pleaded no contest to accessory to murder, for dumping Green's body.
Now it's possible that Wagstaffe's office will prosecute Adella for Green's murder since they asked the court to set aside Adella's plea agreement, which by operation of law would reinstate the original murder charge against him.
"In some way, yeah, we're celebrating a little. On the other hand, this doesn't mean the end of the case," said Geoff Carr, who is Li's lead attorney.
Carr has always felt that Adella played a larger role in Green's murder. But even so, without Adella on the stand, his defense strategy has to change.
"It turns the case into an entirely different animal. You work for three years and a case has a particular posture, with a lead witness for the prosecution, I was gearing up to cross-examine them and there was going to be weeks of this going on, and now all of a sudden he's gone. That changes everything," said Carr.
Adella's attorney, Dek Ketchum, said Monday night, "Mr. Adella did not violate his plea agreement with the District Attorney's office."
The trial is now scheduled to start next Monday morning, but that could change again after the defense and prosecution go to court and file their motions with Judge Robert Foiles this week.
For the latest on this case go here.
