A gruesome and senseless murder has shocked the Los Angeles community. The killer is still on the loose and LAPD detectives are urging anyone with information on the case to call 877-LAPD-427.
According to the Los Angeles County coroner’s office and the Los Angeles Police Department, Eshagh Natanzadeh, 62, of Beverly Hills died at the scene of the crime at about 9:30 a.m. Tuesday November 3rd at his jewelry store, Gold Palace, located in the Los Angeles Jewelry District at 700 South Broadway.
According to eye witnesses, brothers Habib and Eshagh Natanzadeh entered the store and disarmed the alarm around 9AM, locking the door while they removed the inventory from the safe and set up the showcases.
Then Habib Natanzadeh left the store for the bank and when he returned, the door was unlocked and he found his older brother Eshagh, lying on the floor dead in a pool of his blood!
The police arrived shortly and blocked off the area, looking for clues and reviewing video camera footage from the store and surrounding neighbors.
The death of Natanzadeh, an Iranian Jewish jeweler living in Beverly Hills, has shocked the Persian and Jewish communities throughout the west coast and the world, and people are in disbelief.
Gold Palace is located on South Broadway in the Los Angeles Jewelry District, a place known for large manufactures and bulk wholesalers of gold and diamond jewelry. There have been robberies, smash and grabs and thefts in that area for years, but murder is extremely rare due to the heavy security and camera presence throughout the district. Police are convinced they will find the killer once the detectives review the clues and crime videos, hopefully tracking the perpetrator by camera throughout the area.
One local source told Bling Beverly Hills reporters that an African American man entered the business the day before and purchased a gold chain from Natanzadeh with an Employment Development Department Debit Card or EDD card. The next morning the same man returned to Gold Palace, asked to return the chain for a refund on his card. According to the source, Natanzadeh could not refund the EDD card so the man demanded a cash refund. When Natanzadeh refused, the man stabbed him multiple times in the chest and fled the store.
At the time of this article LAPD said no arrests were reported, and no suspect description was available.
The Natanzadeh family suffered another tragedy in 2011 when Natanzadeh’s 15 year old daughter Elena died at Beverly Hills High School after she collapsed and fell down a flight of stairs.
A friend of the Natanzadeh family has set up a Go Fund Me page in support of the family.
View Natanzadeh Go Fund Me Page Here
On the day following Natanzadeh’s murder, his son, Omid posted a photo of his late father and sister with a message to friends and family on his Facebook page.
“My dad’s physical being was taken from us and he is now with my younger sister, Elena, “ wrote Omid. “My family and I truly appreciate all of your calls and messages with kind words. I’ve been hearing nothing but ‘your dad was the nicest man I knew, your dad was such a kind soul, your dad was so giving, your dad was like my own brother’ — and while all of these are so heartwarming to hear, nothing will ever be the same.”
The LA Jewelry District has experienced a slow and steady decline in business and importance as the local jewelry trade struggles to stay above water. The recent Covid19 pandemic has hurt many jewelers downtown, yet some experienced a surge of business when locals and out-of-towners flocked retailers with real and fraudulently acquired EDD cards.
