US heiress Tiffany Li, who posted US$35 million bail, weeps as jury acquits her of murder
- Real estate scion plans to visit family in China after jury finds her not guilty of conspiring to kill ex-boyfriend over custody dispute
- Lawyer bristles at suggestion that Li’s immense wealth allowed her to build strong defence team that secured favourable verdict
A San Francisco Bay Area real estate heiress who was under house arrest on US$35 million bail for more than two years plans to reconnect with her children and visit family in China after a jury acquitted her of killing the father of her kids, her lawyer said Friday.
After deliberating for 12 days, jurors said Tiffany Li was not guilty of conspiring with her boyfriend to kill 27-year-old Keith Green in 2016 over a custody dispute.
The case drew global attention when Li’s family, which made a fortune in real estate construction in China, posted US$35 million bail for her, one of the highest on record in the United States.
Li wept as the verdicts were read and rushed out of the building afterward. Jurors were still deliberating on murder and conspiracy charges against Li’s co-defendant and boyfriend, Kaveh Bayat.
Lawyer Geoffrey Carr said Li plans to travel to see family in China and strengthen her relationship with her children. She plans on bettering herself as a person, he said.
“Any time any defendant is found not guilty in a serious crime, they’re [given] a gift by somebody – I don’t believe in God, but somebody and they should pay attention,” Carr said.
