Iran ‘Black Widow’ Gets 10 Death Sentences
SingTao · 2 SOURCESabout 1 hour ago2 MIN
Summary
An Iranian court has handed Kolthoum Akbari, 56, 10 death sentences after authorities said she poisoned and killed at least 10 husbands over roughly two decades in Mazandaran Province.
Investigators said she targeted older men with financial means, using Iran’s Shia temporary marriage framework to enter short-term unions before drugging and suffocating them.
Prosecutors said she stole gold, cash, dowry wealth and other valuables from the victims after their deaths.
The case came to light in September 2023 after the death of her 82-year-old husband, Gholamreza Babaei, whose family alerted police after he complained she was forcing him to take medication.
Key Points
- Authorities said Akbari typically lived with victims for two to three months under temporary marriage arrangements recognized under Iranian law.
- Investigators said she mixed rubbing alcohol, industrial alcohol, sedatives and other medicines into drinks before using a towel to suffocate victims.
- Because victims lived in different towns and were mostly elderly, several deaths were initially mistaken for illness or natural causes.
- Akbari told investigators she could not remember the exact number killed, saying it may have been 13 to 15 people.
- Ten victims’ families chose qisas, Iran’s retaliatory eye-for-an-eye punishment, while at least one family accepted blood money; she also received prison time for attempted murder.
Why It Matters
For Hong Kong readers, the case is a stark reminder that marriage-related fraud and violence can be intertwined, especially when legal or customary arrangements obscure financial control and inheritance questions.
It also shows how deaths among older victims can go unchallenged for years unless relatives report suspicious medication use, asset transfers or abrupt changes in living arrangements.