‘Black widow' who fatally poisoned 11 elderly husbands for inheritance faces execution
Kolsum Akbari, 56, systematically married elderly men before murdering them with diabetes drugs and industrial alcohol to inherit their property and dowries.
The killings went undetected for more than two decades because victims appeared to die of natural causes due to their advanced age and existing health conditions.
Akbari confessed to the killings and she is awaiting sentencing, with victims' family members calling for her execution.
The killings began in 2000 and continued until 2023, when the death of her final victim, 82-year-old Gholamreza Babaei, led to her arrest.
Babaei's son became suspicious after a family friend revealed his own father had previously been married to a woman named Kolsum who had tried to poison him.
The family recognised her as Babaei's most recent wife and contacted police.
During interrogation, Akbari confessed to the murders, though she gave conflicting accounts on the number of victims.
Unsuccessful union
'I don't know how many I killed. Maybe it was 13 or 15 people. I don't remember exactly,' she said.
She first married at the age of 18 in what relatives described as a brief and unsuccessful union with a man suffering from mental health problems.
Her second marriage was to a much older man with children from a previous marriage. She lived with him in a northern village for years while reportedly suffering repeated beatings from her husband and stepsons.
After his death, Akbari would attend women's gatherings and express interest in marrying elderly, lonely men.
She would gain access to potential victims through their daughters' acquaintances and after confirming their financial status, she would agree to marriage with high dowries.
She then gradually poisoned victims with combinations of blood pressure medications, diabetes drugs, sedatives and in some cases industrial alcohol.
When drugs alone proved insufficient, she would suffocate victims with pillows and towels.
The murders happened across multiple cities in northern Mazandaran province, including Sari, Neka, Mahmoudabad, Babol and Qaemshahr.
Geographic distribution
The geographic distribution helped prevent authorities from connecting the deaths for years.
Among the confirmed victims were Mirahmad Omrani, 69, who died a month after their marriage in 2013, Esmail Bakhshi, 62, who died two months after their 2016 wedding, and Ganjali Hamzei, 83, who died 43 days after marrying.
One man, Masih Nemati, survived Akbari's poisoning attempt in 2020 after drinking contaminated syrup.
He expelled her from his home but did not file a police complaint.
At Wednesday's hearing in the Sari Revolutionary Court, families of four victims demanded Akbari's execution under the Islamic law.
The case involves more than 45 plaintiffs, including direct heirs and relatives of dead family members.
Akbari initially denied the charges but confessed to the killings when crime scene reconstruction footage was played in court.
Her lawyer argued for a mental health evaluation, but plaintiffs rejected the claim.
Property and dowries
'Such a skilful plan that deceived many prominent families cannot be the work of an insane person,' one family member said, mentioning the sophisticated drug combinations and careful planning involved.
The indictment includes 11 counts of premeditated murder and one count of attempted murder.
Akbari typically transferred inherited property and dowries to her daughter's name, prosecutors said.
The case has become a cultural phenomenon in Iran, spawning jokes among couples and inspiring a popular state television series that aired during Persian New Year holidays to name a character after her.
While the show did not explicitly reference Akbari, Iranian audiences understood the connection and generated additional satirical content about the case.
Victims' families expressed frustration that the case has become fodder for social media jokes.
'This incident was difficult and terrifying for us because the victims of this crime were our fathers,' a family member of one victim said. 'Now instead of witnessing swift justice and a thorough investigation of this case, we are seeing jokes that deepen our grief.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
3 hours ago
- BBC News
Michael Paul Brown, suspect in Montana shooting, arrested by cops
A military veteran accused of killing four people in a bar shooting in the US state of Montana last week has been arrested, according to Paul Brown, a US Army veteran, is accused of opening fire inside the Owl Bar in the city of Anaconda on 1 August. Local, state and federal authorities launched a manhunt, finding the suspect fled to the nearby foothills and shed his clothing after the attack at the pub, where he was reportedly a regular. No motive for the attack has been released. "I am proud of the unrelenting law enforcement effort this week to find and arrest Michael Paul Brown," Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen said, announcing the arrest. He said the suspect had been located in the Anaconda area, a town with a population of almost 10,000 in south-western Montana that is surrounded by dense, mountainous state's governor, Greg Gianforte, posted on X about the arrest and lauded the "incredible response from law enforcement officers across Montana".Officials have said the suspect walked into the pub, which he frequented and lived next door to, and opened fire almost immediately. The bar's owner has told US media that he believed the suspect just "snapped". "He knew everybody that was in that bar," David Gwerder, owner of The Owl Bar, told the Associated Press. "He didn't have any running dispute with any of them. I just think he snapped."The victims have been identified as Barmaid Nancy Lauretta Kelley, 64, and three customers - Daniel Edwin Baillie, 59, David Allen Leach, 70, and Tony Wayne Palm, Brown is a veteran of the US Armed Forces who served as an armour crewman from 2001-05 and was deployed to Iraq from 2004-05, a military spokeswoman told US the shooting authorities found a white Ford-150 pick-up truck that they said the suspect had used to get away, but no sign of also released a photo appearing to show Mr Brown fleeing the area. In the photo, a man is seen shirtless, barefoot and wearing only black shorts, and walking down stairs while leaning against a stone Knudsen said the photo was taken after the suspect got rid of some personal belongings and his believes Mr Brown later got other clothes and shoes, and was "able to get around".
The Guardian
3 hours ago
- The Guardian
Lincoln is out of prison but a ‘lifetime' penalty hangs over him. Does a NSW police anti-firearm scheme go too far?
Lincoln* calls his firearm prohibition order (FPO) a 'lifetime punishment'. It was placed on him after he left prison, and Lincoln says it made it difficult to feel as if he had a fresh start. Even when dating a new partner, he had to have a difficult conversation: that anywhere they went – at home or even in a car – he could be searched by police without a warrant due to the FPO. 'I'd been studying and working, doing all that kind of stuff, but still had that fear that at any minute they could come through the door,' Lincoln, who lives in Sydney, says. Weapon and firearm prohibition orders, which never expire, can be made if police deem that someone is not fit, in the public interest, to possess a firearm or weapon. Thousands of people in New South Wales are living under these orders – some as young as 14, others in their 80s and 90s. A Guardian Australia report in May revealed FPOs are disproportionately placed on Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people. The majority of under-18s served with a FPO identified as Aboriginal. New data obtained from NSW police shows similar results for weapon prohibition orders (WPOs), which are often served simultaneously: of the 78 people served with a WPO under age 18, 55% identified as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander. About 51% of the 4,267 people in NSW with WPOs identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander – a 'concerning level of over-representation', according to Jonathan Hall Spence, the principal solicitor with the Justice and Equity Centre. In response to questions from Guardian Australia, NSW police pointed to recent amendments to the procedures that govern FPOs and WPOs, including an independent review of any applications of FPOs for those under 18 by the commander of the firearms registry and an internal review of adult FPOs every five years. Timothy Roberts, the president of the NSW Council for Civil Liberties, said the FPO and WPO regime is an example of how the criminal justice system is increasingly being used punitively rather than for helping people rebuild or change. 'You've got a situation here where someone can walk out the door of a prison sentence that would serve their debt to the community, but then the police at their own discretion create a debt of their own,' he said. Claude Robinson knows more about this than most. At Rainbow Lodge in Sydney, Robinson helps men who have recently left prison get back on their feet. The long-running residential support program assists all sorts of people, but he's recently had to make a new rule: men with weapon and firearm prohibition orders can no longer stay there. Robinson's particular worry is how police deliver these orders. The first time someone was served with a FPO at the lodge, police called ahead, Robinson says. The next time, it was different: police came early in the morning with masks and weapons with no warning and pulled the man out in his underwear. Robinson says they served the order and searched the man's room, finding nothing. His program tries to teach men that if you behave in what Robinson calls 'a pro-social way', that the criminal justice system becomes irrelevant to your life. A show of force like this risks undoing the work of the program for everyone staying there, he says, and that's why men with these orders can no longer stay at the lodge – cutting off an important rehabilitative opportunity. 'The police turn up here in riot gear and … undo what it's taken us three months to get people to believe in 10 minutes,' Robinson says. FPOs and WPOs are applied at police discretion – not by a court. There is no requirement that the person committed a firearm or weapon-related offence. Alongside criminal history or gang associations, police can consider factors such as traffic infringements that demonstrate 'a general disregard for the law' when considering whether to make an FPO, according to NSW police standard operating procedures obtained by Guardian Australia. While both FPOs and WPOs do not expire, the latter cannot be appealed to the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) – a situation affirmed in a 2020 decision before the tribunal. In his NCAT findings, Geoffrey Walker, a University of Queensland emeritus professor, remarked on submissions that argued 'most Australians would consider it unfair that a person should remain subject to a WPO, with its concomitant liability to warrantless search and seizure … long after the circumstances that caused the commissioner to form the opinion … had ceased to exist.' The FPO scheme's enhanced search powers mean police can search someone with an FPO or their premises or car at any time, 'as reasonably required', to determine if they have committed an offence by having a firearm, firearm parts or ammunition. While they were introduced in 2013 to combat gun crime, legal advocates have raised questions about the efficacy of FPO search powers, and whether they're being used as a surveillance tool rather than gun control. In 2023-24, police found firearms or firearm accessories in only 1.36% of 8,651 searches. The year before, there were only nine occasions when a firearm-related item was found out of 9,731 searches. According to the police FPO procedures, if police find other illegal items during a search, they must identify another legal authority to seize them. Brendan*, a former resident at Rainbow Lodge, didn't know what an FPO or WPO involved when he first received them from police. When he understood the FPO meant anywhere he went could be searched without notice, he stopped socialising out of concern that he would inadvertently bring police to the doors of friends and family. It's hard to move on when 'that's hanging over our head all the time', Brendan says. '[I'm] on edge all the time, waiting [for them] to bang on the door.' Both Lincoln and Brendan agree that they can see the purpose of something like an FPO if someone has committed a violent offence using a firearm, but are frustrated these orders are not decided in court. Typically, no lawyers are present when they're served. Robinson is also worried about the impact of these orders and what he calls the 'carte blanche' of FPO search powers on men trying to rebuild their lives after prison. 'It continues that negative relationship that the men who come here have with the police and [the belief] police do treat them differently,' Robinson says. 'That window of change where things need to get better is small and this doesn't help them.' Lincoln served the time that Australia's justice system decided was his punishment, but now he feels he has another never-expiring penalty hanging over him. 'You're saying, I want to be a completely different person with a different friend group and different work … but I'm also hiding this secret that ties me to a life I used to have and means that I'm different to everyone else. 'It's painful and I don't think it's fair.' * First names only used for privacy reasons.
Daily Mail
3 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Police 'sat on information' that could have stopped dog walker, 80, from being beaten to death by racist teenage thugs, daughter says
The daughter of Bhim Kohli, who was beaten to death by two racist teenage thugs whilst walking his dog, said the police 'sat on information' that could have prevented the attack. Mr Kohli, 80, was walking his dog Rocky in Franklin Park in Braunstone Town, Leicestershire, just yards from his home when he was attacked on September 1 last year and died the following day from his injuries. The boy, then aged 14, wore a balaclava as he beat the retired factory owner with a slider shoe while he cowered on his knees. The girl, then aged 13, used her phone to film the 'pure violence' inflicted on Mr Kohli by her friend and could be heard laughing in footage. In May, a judge refused to allow the teenage killers to be identified and granted them anonymity. Two weeks before he was attacked, Mr Kohli had witnesses another Asian man being racially abused and assaulted by two other boys, aged 12 and 13, on August 17, 2024, in the same park. Now a report, which was given to his daughter Susan Kohli, shows police knew the identities of the boys, but did not arrest them until after her father's death. Ms Kohli believes her father 'would still be here' had police acted sooner over the previous attack. She has questioned the time delay between identifying the boys and arresting them three days after her father was beaten to death. Ms Kohli has asked the police watchdog, the IOPC, to review the investigation again. She said: 'You [the police] sat on it for over two weeks and didn't do anything - it could have sent a message around to the estate. 'When you have either police presence or you take action or have firm words with children that are from the estate, from the same school, word gets around. 'Word would have got around to say, 'you know what? We might need to be cautious about being around this area'.' Leicestershire Police said it had identified 'organisational learning' for logging anti-social behaviour. The boy and girl, now aged 15 and 13, were both convicted of manslaughter. A seven year jail sentence was handed to the boy, while the girl was given a youth rehabilitation order of three years and made subject to a six-month curfew.
