Doctor to stars killed outside LA office attacked by men with baseball bats before death
A Los Angeles doctor killed outside the Southern California medical facility where he worked this summer claimed he was in fear of his life, and had been attacked by several suspects with baseball bats in the days prior to his death, new details in the case show.
Physician Hamid Mirshojae, 61, was fatally shot Aug. 23 in the city's Woodland Hills neighborhood, the Los Angeles Police Department previously reported.
“They came and they beat him with baseball bats," one of Mirshojae's colleagues who said they witnessed the assault told the Los Angeles Times . "They were some strangers that we didn’t know.” According to the outlet, the employee requested anonymity out of concern for her safety.
Police confirmed the attack took place to The Times, which also reported, "Mirshojae told her he was in fear for his life" before his slaying.
Police Det. Christine Moselle said homicide detectives are aware of the baseball assault, the outlet reported, which remained "unsolved."
As of Tuesday, the suspect had not been identified, and the killer remained at large, a LAPD spokesperson told USA TODAY via email, adding there were "no updates on the case."
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Coroner: Dr. Mirshojae shot in head outside medical office
The shooting, captured on camera, took place sometime before 6:15 p.m. in a parking lot outside his office at Warner Plaza Urgent Center on Topanga Canyon Boulevard, officials said.
Arriving officers, police reported, found the doctor suffering from a gunshot wound near his vehicle, and officials pronounced him dead at the scene.
According to the County of Los Angeles Medical Examiner, autopsy results found Mirshojae's cause of death was a gunshot wound to the head, and his manner of death was homicide.
At the time he died, Mirshojae lived in Encino, a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley, with his wife and their infant baby.
Doctor was in legal financial battle with wife prior to death
Before his death, court records show, Mirshojae had been in a financial legal battle with his ex-wife identified as Ahang Zarin Kelk.
The couple divorced in 2010, court fillings show, but Kelk continued to work for her husband's office until 2016.
Court documents filed in 2017 show Mirshojae sued his ex-wife for alleged fraud after she allegedly attempted to hide assets after they divorced.
According to court papers Mirshojae claimed his ex-wife transferred assets including a home she lived in to one of her family members after a judge awarded the doctor a settlement in a case.
USA TODAY has reached out to Kelk.
Friends previously told KTLA-TV the victim's new wife and new baby were out of the country when he was killed.
Anyone with information about the killing is asked to call LAPD homicide detectives at 818-374-9550.
Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected] and follow her on X @nataliealund.