Shivangi Sinha
In the early hours of October 2, 2012, Michael, a Newport Beach resident, and his roommate, Mary Barnes, were kidnapped from their home and taken deep into California’s Mojave Desert. There, Michael was brutally tortured and dismembered before both victims were left behind. Mary managed to find help from a nearby police officer, sparking an investigation that revealed far more than expected. The case eventually led to the arrest of Hossein Nayeri, but bringing him to justice was far from simple. ABC’s ‘20/20: Catch Me If You Can’ explores Nayeri’s background, his motives, and how he continuously evaded authorities.
Hossein Nayeri Started a Marijuana Business After Being Discharged From the Marines
Hossein Nayeri was born in Iran in 1978 and moved to the US after completing middle school along with his mother and sister. His father, a doctor, and uncle were already living in the country, and the family eventually settled in Fresno, California. Nayeri attended Clovis West High School, where he made close friends like Ryan Kevorkian and Naomi Rhodus, and he was known for his wrestling skills. After graduating in 1997, he set his sights on a career in the Marines. However, his time there was troubled as he faced a shoplifting charge and was involved in an accident in which he was badly hurt.
Nayeri left the Marines abruptly and was eventually tracked down in Fresno, receiving a “bad conduct” discharge. After his exit from the military, he worked as a day server at Mimi’s Café, where he met Cortney Shegerian, a much younger woman from a wealthy family. Despite their differences, they began a relationship. Around the same time, Nayeri started getting involved in selling marijuana, and by 2003, he was allegedly using his two-bedroom home as a grow house. During this period, he also did business with former school friends Kyle Handley and Ehsan Tousi. In 2005, while driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs with both men in the car, Nayeri crashed the car, and Tousi was killed.
Nayeri was charged with vehicular manslaughter but managed to post bail and fled to Iran shortly after. He remained a fugitive for several years and allegedly re-entered the US through questionable or illegal means. In 2009, he returned to face the charges, pleaded guilty, and was sentenced to five years of probation. The following year, he married Cortney Shegerian, but she kept the marriage secret from her disapproving parents. She later alleged that not long after their marriage, Nayeri became physically abusive. She also claimed that he was using her parents’ money to finance his renewed involvement in the marijuana business.
Hossein Nayeri Stalked Michael Before Planning an Attack on Him
Hossein Nayeri first learned about Michael, a local marijuana dispensary owner, through his business. Michael had previously worked with Kyle Handley, Nayeri’s longtime friend, and had even taken him along on a couple of party trips to Las Vegas. According to Cortney Shegerian, once Nayeri became aware of Michael’s business, he grew convinced that the latter was sitting on large sums of cash. He allegedly asked Kyle to begin monitoring him. Surveillance equipment, like tracking devices and cameras, was set up to follow Michael’s movements. When he observed Michael making a trip out to the desert, he assumed that was where the money was hidden and began planning to steal it.
On September 26, 2012, Nayeri was driving under the influence of marijuana when he got involved in a high-speed chase with the police. Inside his car were surveillance materials used to track Michael, but after briefly evading officers, he grabbed only the cash and drugs and fled. Although the police later impounded the vehicle, they initially failed to conduct a thorough inspection of its contents. Then, in the early morning hours of October 2, 2012, Michael and his roommate, Mary Barnes, were abducted from their Newport Beach home. A neighbor had noticed a suspicious van parked nearby the previous night and noted its license plate. Investigators soon discovered that the van had been rented in Kyle’s name.
Hossein Nayeri’s Former Wife Helped the Police to Capture Him
Police executed a search warrant at Kyle Handley’s residence, where they discovered zip ties and other incriminating items linked to the abduction. Inside the rented truck, investigators found blue gloves, which, after forensic analysis, matched Hossein Nayeri’s DNA. The results were entered into the system by January 2013. Tracing the case further, authorities learned that a vehicle registered under Nayeri’s wife, Cortney Shegerian, had been impounded after the September 26 chase. Upon examining it, they found detailed surveillance footage. When contacted, Cortney was urged to come clean. After her father discovered she had secretly married and learned of the situation, Cortney agreed to cooperate with investigators. She revealed that her then-husband had fled to Iran on October 14, 2012, and that she had met him in various countries afterward, including Turkey and the UAE.
At the request of law enforcement, Cortney agreed to contact Nayeri and set up a meeting under the pretense of reuniting with him in Spain. However, the authorities had coordinated a different plan. Knowing his flight itinerary included a layover in Prague, Czech Republic (a country with an active extradition treaty with the United States), they arranged for his arrest there in November 2013. He remained in custody in Prague for nearly a year while extradition proceedings played out. In September 2014, he was successfully extradited back to the US, where he was formally charged with kidnapping, torture, and aggravated mayhem.
Hossein Nayeri is Serving a Long Sentence Today
On January 22, 2016, while awaiting trial, Hossein Nayeri was held at the Orange County Men’s Central Jail in Santa Ana, California. His marriage had been annulled by then. There, he orchestrated a daring escape with fellow inmates Bac Duong and Jonathan Tieu. The trio navigated through plumbing tunnels, climbed to the roof, and eventually made their way out of the facility. During their escape, they kidnapped a taxi driver named Long Ma and held him hostage as they fled. Nayeri even filmed parts of their time on the run. The manhunt ended on January 30, 2016, when a vigilant citizen and true crime enthusiast, Matthew Hay-Chapman, recognized Nayeri and Tieu in San Francisco and alerted authorities, leading to their arrest.
A few months before his trial, Nayeri spoke to the media and proclaimed his innocence. His trial began in July 2019 and lasted about a month. In August 2019, he was convicted of two counts of kidnapping and torture in the brutal assault of Michael, but the jury could not reach a unanimous verdict on the charge of aggravated mayhem. In 2020, he was sentenced to two life terms without the possibility of parole for the kidnapping charges, along with an additional seven years for related crimes. In 2023, he was also convicted for his 2016 jail escape and stealing a van during that time, earning an extra two years and eight months. Although he was not charged for the kidnapping of the taxi driver following the testimony of the driver, the added time extended his incarceration. Now 46 years old, Nayeri is housed at Salinas Valley State Prison in Soledad, California. His parole details remain undisclosed.
Read More: Patrick Kearney: Where is the Trash Bag Killer Now?
