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Her final date will be with the executioner.
A serial spouse-slayer nicknamed Iran’s “Black Widow” has been sentenced to death after a lethal marriage spree that left at least 10 husbands in the graveyard over two decades.
Kolthoum Akbari, 56, confessed to much of the horrific body count, the Mazandaran Province public relations office told Iranian state media last Sunday.
It’s unclear how many of her former spouses perished, but the number is as high as a dozen or more and only one is believed to have lived, authorities said.
Most were killed using rubbing alcohol, sedatives and other meds. Authorities speculate the motive is greed, and that Akbari collected gold, cash and other dowry wealth from her victims.
Her devious run finally ended in 2023 following the death of 82-year-old husband Gholamreza Babaei, according to authorities.
He had complained to family members that Akbari had been forcing him to take medications, and died shortly thereafter, according to Iranian media.
“I don’t know how many I killed. Maybe it was 13 or 15 people. I don’t remember exactly. I’d drug them and then use a towel,” she said in a confession a year ago, the Telegraph reported.
Ten families opted for qisas, Iran’s eye-for-an-eye punishment, while at least one family agreed to accept blood money — diya — rather than a sentence, as proscribed in Islamic Sharia law.
Her cruel method was to obtain “temporary” marriages, known as sigheh – contractural relationships in Iran that include a dowry and a set period of marriage – with the elderly men before drugging them.
Her poison of choice ranged from ordinary meds like those to treat diabetes, industrial alcohol that she sneaked into drinks, and sedatives, according to Iranian media and Saudi-based Iran International.
Born in the village of Malekabad, Akbari divorced her first husband, according to Iranian site Faraz Daily. The site said she confessed to killing her second husband, a man named Alijan, reportedly telling his family members she had endured beatings in the past, and confessed to pouring industrial alcohol into his mouth and suffocating him. Victims were spread around various towns, which kept her from being discovered.
The court handed down 10 death sentences and years for the attempted murder.
Victims’ families have until the end of the month to seek an appeal, according to the Jerusalem Post.
Another Iranian serial killer, Mahin Qadiri, was executed in 2006 after being convicted of killing five women.
The looming state execution, usually done by hanging in Iran, comes after the UN and other human rights groups have repeatedly admonished the country for killing political prisoners – Akbari is not one of them – including killing 56 people on dubious national security charges since March.
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