Her final date will be with the executioner.
A serial killer, often referred to as Iran’s “Black Widow,” has been sentenced to death following a deadly spree that extended over two decades, resulting in the deaths of at least ten husbands.
Kortoum Akbari, aged 56, has confessed to many of these killings, as reported by the Mazandaran provincial press office to Iranian state media last Sunday.
While the exact number of her deceased spouses remains unclear, officials believe there may be more than a dozen, with just one surviving.
Authorities report that many were killed using methods like rubbing alcohol, sedatives, and various drugs. Greed appears to be a primary motive, with Akbari allegedly seeking money, cash, and dowries from her victims.
Her criminal activities finally came to light in 2023 after the death of her 82-year-old husband, Gholamreza Babaei.
Reports indicate that he died shortly after expressing concerns to his family about Akbari allegedly forcing him to take certain medications.
“I don’t really know how many people I’ve killed. Maybe it was 13 or 15. I can’t remember exactly. After drugging them, I used towels,” she stated in a confession a year ago.
Ten families chose kisas, which is a form of retribution under Iranian law, while at least one family accepted blood money instead, which is typically not permitted under Islamic Sharia law.
Her method was particularly cruel; she would enter into a temporary marriage, known as a “sigh,” with older men before drugging them.
The poisons used varied from common medications, like those for diabetes, to industrial alcohol mixed into drinks and sedatives, as reported by Iranian and Saudi media outlets.
According to Faraz Daily, Akbari hails from Malekabad and had been divorced from her first husband. She confessed to killing her second husband, Alijan, reportedly claiming she had endured assaults in the past. She stated that she choked him by pouring industrial alcohol down his throat. Investigators noted that she evaded capture as victims were found in different locations.
The court has issued ten death sentences alongside imprisonment for attempted murder.
Victims’ families have until the end of this month to file appeals.
Another notorious Iranian serial killer, Mahin Qadiri, was executed in 2006 for the murders of five women.
The upcoming executions in Iran, typically conducted by hanging, occur amid ongoing admonitions from the United Nations and other human rights organizations urging the nation to refrain from executing political prisoners on dubious national security charges—this includes 56 individuals since March, though Akbari is not one of them.
