On a quiet morning in Voorhees, New Jersey, the life of 32-year-old Dr. Payman Houshmandpour was tragically cut short in a premeditated act of violence. As he was leaving for his job at Virtua Voorhees Hospital, he was ambushed in his car on Avalon Court by a former colleague, 39-year-old Dr. Giocondo Navek. Navek fired multiple shots through the window of Houshmandpour's vehicle, killing him at the scene.
Following the shooting, Navek fled in his own car. Eyewitnesses were able to provide a description of his vehicle to the police, who quickly located and pulled him over on Centennial Boulevard. As officers approached the car, Navek took his own life with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He was transported to Virtua Voorhees Hospital, the same hospital where he and his victim had once worked, and was pronounced dead.
The investigation into the murder-suicide revealed a history of professional grievance.
Navek, who had been a medical resident at Virtua alongside Houshmandpour, had lost his job at the hospital approximately a year and a half prior to the incident. Reports suggest that Navek held Houshmandpour responsible for his dismissal from the residency program, a belief that appears to have festered and ultimately culminated in the fatal shooting.
Further investigations uncovered a grim prelude to the events in Voorhees. Navek was also a suspect in the shooting death of his girlfriend in North Carolina, which occurred shortly before he drove to New Jersey. This preceding act of violence painted a fuller picture of Navek's deadly intentions. Payman Houshmandpour was remembered by those who knew him as a married father with a young child.
