Exactly one year and two days after Dr. Hamid Mirshojae was gunned down outside his office in Woodland Hills, his family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against his ex-wife and the four others accused of orchestrating his murder.
The beloved physician was shot and killed in the parking lot of the Warner Plaza Medical Center, located at Topanga Canyon Boulevard and Oxnard Street, around 5:30 p.m. on Aug. 23, 2024.
The preliminary investigation into the incident revealed that Mirshojae, 61, was likely targeted in an “ambush-style murder,” the Los Angeles Police Department said at the time. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Months passed before it was announced that five people were arrested in connection with the slaying, including Mirshojae’s ex-wife, Ahang Mirshojae (she has also been named as Ahang Kelk). She was arrested on Dec. 12, 2024, while the other suspects — Sarallah Jawed, Shawn Randolph, Evan Hardman and Ashley Rose Sweeting — were all arrested arrested days earlier; police had been seen searching Ahang Mirshojae’s Calabasas home hours before her arrest was announced.
On Dec. 13, Jawed, a 26-year-old Canoga Park resident, and Hardman, 41, of Tomball, Texas, were both charged with one felony count of murder, one felony count of assault with a deadly weapon and special allegations that the murder was intentional and carried out for financial gain. Hardman received additional special allegations of carrying out the shooting by lying in wait and that he personally and intentionally used a handgun. Sweeting, 40, of Reseda, was charged with accessory after the fact.
According to prosecutors, Hardman fatally shot Mirshojae from behind, while Sweeting drove him to and from the crime scene. Jawed, meanwhile, was said to have helped facilitate the murder and drove Hardman out of state after the fact, and Randolph is believed to have supplied the ghost gun used in the killing.
L.A. County District Attorney Nathan Hochman announced on Dec. 16 that Ahang Mirshojae and Shawn Randolph were both charged with murder. The former was also charged with assault with a deadly weapon and is accused of hiring a hitman to kill her ex-husband in a financially motivated crime.
“The horror and betrayal of this crime are beyond words,” Hochman said in a statement released after the Dec. 16 news conference. “The depth of the deceit and violence involved in this case is chilling, and we will not rest until justice is served.”
Since the charges were announced, all of the defendants pleaded not guilty in their related criminal proceedings.
On Monday, the late doctor’s family filed a lawsuit against his ex-wife and the four co-conspirators alleging intentional infliction of emotional distress, wrongful death, survival claims and fraudulent asset transfers.
In addition to wrongful death and emotional distress claims, the lawsuit also alleges that Ahang Mirshojae fraudulently transferred assets in an attempt to shield them from legal accountability following the killing.
“The plaintiffs are pursuing remedies under California’s Uniform Voidable Transactions Act to recover those assets,” attorneys explained.
Mirshojae’s widow, Ghazal Simorgh, was reportedly visiting family overseas in Turkey with the couple’s 6-month-old baby at the time of the shooting. It was reported that she quickly flew back to the U.S. when she learned of her husband’s murder.
“This has been a nightmare for Dr. Mirshojae’s widow, Ghazal Simorgh, and their young daughter,” said Alex Guerrero, lead attorney for the plaintiffs, in a statement released to KTLA. “To lose a husband and father to such a cold-blooded, calculated act of violence is devastating. Our lawsuit seeks justice for this family and holds accountable those responsible for this horrific crime, not just criminally, but civilly as well.”
Simorgh spoke at a press conference alongside her attorneys on Monday morning.
“I miss my husband every day, and it’s not fair that my 1-year-old baby lost her dad at a very young age,” she said. “I live with fear every day after my husband’s murder, but I try to be strong for my children. I just want justice.”
The highly respected doctor is survived by his wife and four children.