Iranian Woman Kills 11 Husbands
Last update: August 15, 2025
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‘Black widow’ who fatally poisoned 11 elderly husbands faces execution.
A woman who poisoned 11 husbands to death over a 22-year period is facing execution in Iran.
Kolsum Akbari murdered the men for inheritance with the killings going undetected for more than two decades
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 due to victims appearing to die of natural causes because of 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 as to the number of victims.
“I don’t know how many I killed. Maybe it was 13 or 15 people. I don’t remember exactly,” she said.
Akbari 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.
