NEED TO KNOW
- The widow of a Los Angeles doctor who was shot and killed in 2024 filed a lawsuit against the man’s ex-wife, who is awaiting trial after being accused of orchestrating his murder
- Attorneys for Ghazal Simorgh said they filed the lawsuit to protect assets they allege the ex-wife may have hidden or moved
- Simorgh says she misses her husband every day and is sad for her young daughter
The widow of a Los Angeles doctor who was shot and killed in an “ambush-style attack” outside of his addiction treatment center last year has filed a lawsuit against the man’s ex-wife, who is awaiting trial after being accused of orchestrating his murder, authorities allege.
On July 21, Ghazal Simorgh and her 1-year-old daughter with the late Dr. Hamid Mirshojae, 61, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Ahang Mirshojae, 53, and four others, for intentional infliction of emotional distress, survival claims and fraudulent asset transfers, KTLA 5 reports.
Simorgh filed the lawsuit to protect assets that her attorneys believe were hidden or moved by Ahang Mirshojae, said one of her attorneys, Alex Guerrero, at a press conference Monday, Aug. 25, NBC4 and ABC 7 report.
“We also believe there’s currently, in the past year, some movement of the assets that’s going on right now,” said Arya Tahmassebi, another one of Simorgh’s attorneys, NBC4 reports.
Mirshojae was gunned down on Aug. 23, 2024, as he was leaving his practice, Detox Woodland Hills, which his website says has helped patients including celebrities and athletes withdraw from alcohol and opioids.
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On Dec. 12, 2024, Ahang Mirshojae was arrested on suspicion of murdering her ex-husband, the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) announced in a release.
“Revenge and jealousy” allegedly led Ahang Mirshojae to order the hit on her ex-husband, her lawyers said.
Evan Hardman, 41, and Sarallah Jawed, 26, were also arrested and charged with murder with special circumstances. Another suspect, Ashley Rose Sweeting, 40, was arrested and charged with accessory to murder.
“The [LAPD’s] investigation revealed that these five persons conspired to commit murder, culminating in the ambush and subsequent demise of Doctor Mirshojae,” authorities said in the release.
The doctor was leaving his clinic when he was shot in an “ambush-style” attack by a “masked man” in the parking lot, the LAPD said in the release.
Just as the doctor “approached” the driver’s side of his car, the masked man “emerged from hiding around the corner of the clinic and ran toward him” and shot him before fleeing “back toward the rear of the clinic,” according to the release.
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Simorgh grew emotional when she spoke about her late husband at the press conference.
“It’s not fair for my 1-year-old baby to lose her dad at a very young age,” she said, NBC4 reports.
All the defendants have pleaded not guilty and are awaiting trial.
Their attorneys did not respond to requests for comment.