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Family mourns loss of shark victim
By Kelly Wilkinson
Amid the wails of traditional Iranian music, about 30 people gathered this past Sunday evening to comfort each other after the bizarre assumed death of Nahid Davoodabadi, the Sunnyvale women who apparently bled to death after a shark attack in Maui last month.
Davoodabadi's husband Mark Monazzami held the memorial service in his apartment complex's clubhouse off of Evelyn and Wolfe avenues from 6 to 8 p.m. Family and friends sat facing a table decorated with candles, flower arrangements and a picture of Davoodabadi. There was no official service or eulogy given--only hushed conversations, music, and sobs filled the room during the two-hour memorial. For the most part, people sat looking dazed and uncomprehending in their grief.
Monazzami said that he was "hanging in there" under the circumstances and wanted to provide a "moment of peace" for Davoodabadi with the memorial service, as well and for their family and friends.
According to the Maui police, there have been no new leads in the case, but the investigation remains open despite the fact that the search for Davoodabadi's body was called off March 25. Monazzami is planning on returning to Iran April 12. In the meantime, he is flying to New York to tape a segment for Good Morning America, which will air this Thursday. He has retained a lawyer for counsel, but no charges have been brought against him according to Maui police and his law firm.
The ordeal began March 19 after Monazzami and his wife had been enjoying a day of kayaking while on vacation in Maui.
Unexpected high winds picked up, pulling their craft further and further from shore and into treacherous waters. The rough seas caused their boat to repeatedly capsize, which exposed Davoodabadi to the shark attack. After the attack, Monazzami formed a tourniquet from the drawstring of his shorts and applied it to his wife in an attempt to stop the bleeding, according to reports. But his efforts failed, he said, and his wife died in his arms. After the craft flipped over another time, he lost his hold on her and she fell into the sea. Monazzami eventually drifted ashore on Kahoolawe, a deserted island that once served as a Naval testing base. Monazzami wandered the island for two days before finding a phone among the supplies left behind by the Navy. He dialed 911 and rescue teams picked him up on March 21.
Monazzami was treated for dehydration at the Maui Memorial Medical Center and returned to Sunnyvale two weeks ago.
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Sunnyvale, California Since 1994
