Iran's 'Black Widow': The Story of Serial Killer Khaltum Akbari

Khaltum Akbari, dubbed Iran's 'Black Widow', was sentenced to ten separate death sentences after being convicted of murdering ten men, the judiciary in Mazandaran province announced. Akbari, arrested in 2023, confessed to involvement in the deaths of 11 men, having married elderly men over the years and caused their deaths, including through drugs dissolved in drinks. The motive attributed to her was financial.

Khaltum Akbari, dubbed Iran's 'Black Widow', was sentenced to ten separate death sentences after being convicted of murdering ten men, the judiciary in Mazandaran province in northern Iran announced yesterday (Sunday). Akbari, arrested in 2023, confessed during her interrogation to involvement in the deaths of 11 men, after years of marrying elderly men and causing their deaths shortly after. According to reports in Iranian media, Akbari used, among other things, blood pressure medications that she dissolved in tea and drinks she served to her husbands. In some cases, she allegedly also used pillows to suffocate them. The motive attributed to her was financial: funds stipulated for her in the marriage contracts, along with her husbands' assets and inheritances. The case came to light in September 2023, following the death of her last husband, an 82-year-old man. Initially, it was believed he died of a heart attack, but his children suspected the circumstances of his death and contacted the police. Akbari, then 56, had married the elderly man in a temporary marriage, with a sum of five billion rials stipulated for her in the marriage contract. Investigators discovered that over about 22 years, she had 13 husbands who died, most of them elderly men, some aged 75 and above. The court sentenced her to ten separate death sentences for ten murders of which she was convicted.