Superior Court Judge Alexandra Gordon, who presided over the original trial, issued the tentative sentencing figure during a contentious hearing and said she would make a final statement after a court recess. She also ordered Momeni to pay restitution fines, the amount of which has not yet been determined.

Gordon rejected defense arguments that errors during the 2024 trial warranted a retrial, saying there was no factual evidence to support the request. At one point she told Momeni's attorney he was "conflating" parts of the case and that his recollection of some trial events was "not what happened."

"We can agree to disagree on this one," Gordon said after a back-and-forth with the defense.

Momeni, wearing an orange jumpsuit, appeared in court and gestured several times to his mother, who sat in the front row holding small posters of her son, including childhood photos framed in a heart shape. Members of Lee's family were also present, including his brother, father and ex-wife.

After the ruling, Lee's brother Oliver Lee addressed the court, describing a close bond with his brother and recalling road trips and fishing trips together. He spoke about Lee's children.

"They won't get to make any more memories with their dad," Oliver Lee said. "He'll miss the rest of their lives."

Oliver Lee looked directly at Momeni as he read his remarks and accused him of lying on the witness stand during the 2024 trial. Momeni shook his head several times during the statement.

Momeni was convicted in December 2024 after a two-month trial that featured dozens of witnesses, including Momeni himself, his sister Khazar Momeni and Jeremy Boivin, a man accused of being Lee's drug dealer. Jurors found that Momeni stabbed Lee to death beneath the Bay Bridge on April 4, 2023, after the two left a gathering at Khazar Momeni's Millennium Tower apartment.

Prosecutors argued that Momeni killed Lee after learning that Boivin had allegedly sexually assaulted his sister. Momeni's trial attorneys contended that Lee became enraged over a "bad joke" and that the stabbing was self-defense.

Since the verdict, Momeni's defense team has argued the trial was unfair. Attorney Daniel Shriro, who took over the case in June 2025 after Momeni dismissed his trial lawyers, filed a nearly 100-page motion earlier this year accusing the judge, jury, police witnesses and others of errors, and alleging that prosecutors Dane Reinstedt and Omid Talai hid evidence.

In court on Tuesday, Shriro sought to overturn the verdict under the California Racial Justice Act, arguing that errors in police testimony prejudiced Momeni, who was born in Iran. He also alleged that prosecutors used inappropriate language, including "psycho" and "animal," to characterize Momeni.

Gordon rejected that claim, saying the words were taken out of context and were quoted verbatim from Khazar Momeni's text messages to her brother, which were presented at trial.

"It is dangerous to quote selectively," Gordon said.

Shriro also argued that the judge's facial expressions during the trial influenced the jury. Gordon dismissed the suggestion, noting she wore a mask and glasses during the 2024 proceedings.

"It's a new one for me," she said. "It would be really hard to see facial expressions."

Shriro further pointed to a video shown at trial, taken by a San Francisco police officer who was surveilling Momeni days before his arrest. The video showed Momeni and his then-attorney talking in a parking lot, with Momeni appearing to make stabbing and throwing gestures. Shriro claimed the video violated attorney-client privilege, but Gordon ruled it was admissible because it had no audio and was filmed in public view.

Shriro also raised objections to cellphone evidence and DNA analysis of the knife used in the killing, which Gordon did not accept. Assistant District Attorney Talai called some of the defense arguments "completely out of context," "misleading" and "flat-out incorrect."

Momeni was initially charged with first-degree murder. The second-degree murder conviction means the jury found he intentionally killed Lee but without premeditation.

Since the trial ended, Lee's family has pushed for additional lawsuits against the Momeni family, alleging they helped cover up the murder. The case also exposed elements of San Francisco's tech party scene, with testimony describing Lee's drug use in the days before his death.

Loved ones from both families were expected to speak later Tuesday afternoon before Gordon imposes the final sentence.