Press Releases
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CANDLELIGHT VIGIL
Monday September 28 at 6 p.m.
Orange County District Attorney’s Office , 401 W Civic Center Dr., Santa Ana,
West Coast Trial Lawyers Statement on Behalf of the Mazroei Family
“Our clients lost their only child to a heinous act of racism and violence,” said Neama Rahmani of West Coast Trial Lawyers, the law firm representing the Mazroei family. “We will not rest until we obtain justice against those responsible for Shayan’s tragic death.”
Irvine, CA – September 28, 2015 – West Coast Trial Lawyers represents the Mazroei family for the tragic murder of their only child, 22-year-old Shayan Mazroei. On September 7, 2015, Craig Matthew Tanber fatally stabbed Shayan at Patsy’s Irish Pub in Laguna Niguel, California. Tanber fled the scene with the help of his girlfriend, Elizabeth Ann Thornberg. Tanber is a known gang member, white supremacist, and convicted murderer, who was paroled from prison just a few months ago.
Tanber was at large for five days before he was arrested by the Orange County Sheriff’s Department. Thornberg remains free, even though eyewitnesses state that Thornberg said she hates “f***ing Iranians,” called Shayan a “terrorist,” and spit on Shayan before Tanber repeatedly stabbed Shayan to death.
Shayan was a very loving and social person. He was a promising student at Saddleback College, and he studied mechanical engineering with the goal of owning his own business. During his free time, he helped his father, Hamid, with the family business and spent time with his mother, Shahzad, whom he loved dearly.
Shayan’s murder is a brutal attack not only against a talented young man with a bright future, but against our entire community and the universal values and principles we all hold dear: tolerance, respect, and dignity for all races. We will be relentless in our pursuit of justice for Shayan and will hold all those who are responsible for this tragedy accountable. We demand the following:
1. Elizabeth Thornberg remains free. She has not been arrested, and she has not been charged. This is despite Thornberg’s racism instigating the murder, Thornberg plotting and waiting with Tanber to ambush Shayan, and Thornberg helping Tanber escape. We call on the Orange County District Attorney’s Office to fully investigate Thornberg’s role as a co-conspirator and accessory in Shayan’s murder.
2. Tanber is a white supremacist and convicted gang member covered in gang tattoos. Thornberg is a racist, who stated she hates Iranians and called Shayan a “terrorist” before Shayan was stabbed. Yet the District Attorney’s Office has, without even completing its investigation, been quoted in the press as saying there is no evidence that Shayan’s murder was a hate crime. We call on the District Attorney’s Office, as well as the California Attorney General’s Office, the United States Attorney’s Office, and the United States Department of Justice to fully and completely investigate whether Tanber’s murder was a hate crime and to add additional charges, if appropriate.
If you have additional information about Shayan’s murder, please contact Neama Rahmani and West Coast Trial Lawyers at (888) 888-WCTL (9285) or info@westcoasttriallawyers.com.