A white supremacist in Southern California was sentenced Friday to 56 years to life in prison for a fatal stabbing in 2015 that happened within three months of him being released from prison.

Craig Matthew Tanber, 42, was convicted on Dec. 18 of second-degree murder and personal use of a weapon for stabbing Shayan Mazroei, a 22-year-old Iranian-American man.

The incident began when Tanber’s then-girlfriend Elizabeth Thornburg and Mazroei got into a verbal altercation outside a bar. Thornburg reportedly shouted racial slurs and spat on him. After being asked to leave by a bouncer, Tanber came back to the bar and stabbed Mazroei in the heart and shoulder.

Mazroei later died at a hospital.

Tanber fled but was arrested three days later.

“Shayan's parents were robbed of their only son and a lifetime of memories,” Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said about the sentencing. “The sentence handed down... will keep [Tanber] behind bars for his entire adult life and prevent a cold-blooded killer from harming other innocent people and destroying more lives.”

Prior to this, Tanber pleaded guilty in 2007 to voluntary manslaughter. He had reportedly beaten a 26-year-old man to death for stealing money from a fellow member of his white supremacist gang. He was released from prison only three months before stabbing Mazroei.

“We lost everything,” Shahzad Mazroei, the victim’s mother, said in court. “The only justice… is that no other parents go through what we went through.”

“To all that have suffered due to this, I deeply apologize,” Tanber said before his sentencing. “No parent should outlive their child. If I could do one thing today, I’d bring your son back to you. I hope this closure starts the healing process to your hearts.”

Judge gavel
California's highest court orders a review of the murder conviction of Scott Peterson, accused of killing his wife and unborn child, on allegations of juror misconduct. Joe Raedle/Getty Images
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