Murder case of Keith Green comes to an end; not the outcome the D.A. wanted

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. - The final chapter in the Keith Green murder case came to a close Friday afternoon. This, after the man who admitted to disposing of Green’s body was released from the San Mateo County jail. But Olivier Adella’s freedom lasted just seconds.

In the blink of an eye, Adella went from former San Mateo County inmate, and into the custody of federal homeland security agents. Those agents then whisked him to a federal office in another part of the Bay Area.

“This is the final chapter. There’s a period on it now. It was not the final chapter that we wanted. Not what we believed occurred, but it is what the evidence showed pursuant to one of our juries. And so it’s done. We now move on,” said San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe.

Adella was charged with accessory to murder in the 2016 homicide of Keith Green. Multi-million dollar heiress Tiffany Li, and her boyfriend at the time, Kaveh Bayat were charged with the actual killing, which was fueled by Li’s fears she’d lose her children in a bitter custody battle with Green. Prosecutors say the pair hired Adella, their former bodyguard, to carry out the crime.

“She orchestrated all of this. I knew her for six years. She was evil. She was evil to me. She was evil to my son. Just evil,” said Keith Green’s mother, Collee Cub, on Nov. 15, 2019, after Li’s trial ended.

But Li and Bayat told jurors Adella was the murderer. He in turn blamed the pair, and was set to testify for the prosecution. But prosecutors say he violated conditions of his immunity deal and his plea was revoked. Adella sat in the San Mateo County jail, until his sentence ended Friday.

“Disappointed in the whole outcome in the case. It’s not what we felt the evidence showed, but it’s what the jury decided. As for mister Adella, we’re disappointed that he turned out to be an untrustworthy witness that we were hoping to rely on,” Wagstaffe said.

No one was ever convicted in the Keith Green killing. The jury acquitted Li. The panel was hung over Bayat’s fate, and he was later released with no further charges. As for Adella, he is now in federal custody, with his freedom still on hold.