Iranian woman accused of killing 11 husbands goes on trial

An Iranian woman accused of killing 11 of her husbands over more than two decades has gone on trial in Iran.

Kolsoum Akbari, officially listed as being in her late 50s though victims’ families claim she is significantly older, is charged with 11 counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder. According to court documents, she is alleged to have poisoned her husbands over a 22-year period, beginning in 2001, to claim inheritance and marriage settlements.

According to Iranian newspaper Haft-e Sobh, the case came to light in 2023 when the suspicious death of an elderly man named Azizollah Babaei prompted his family to press for an investigation. Babaei had recently married Akbari, whom the family barely knew. His son told Haft-e Sobh that they were immediately suspicious of the circumstances surrounding his sudden death and requested an autopsy, although no definitive proof emerged at the time.

A breakthrough came when a family friend shared a nearly identical story: his own father had also married a woman named Kolsoum Akbari, who had allegedly tried to poison him with a spiked drink. The man survived and later divorced her. This testimony prompted investigators to dig deeper.

Akbari allegedly used a mix of diabetes and sexual performance medications – sometimes combined with industrial alcohol – to weaken her husbands over time. In one case, she allegedly suffocated a man with a damp towel after drugging him. In another, she is said to have continued drugging a husband who had temporarily recovered, leading to his death.

In each instance, Akbari reportedly demanded inheritance or dowry payments after her husbands’ deaths. Haft-e Sobh reports that her first killing took place in 2001.

She was eventually arrested and confessed to the killings during questioning, although she initially tried to deny responsibility during her court appearance. When prosecutors presented video footage of her re-enacting the crimes during the investigation, she admitted the confessions were accurate but continued to downplay the details.

The case has drawn further attention as more than 45 plaintiffs – mostly family members and heirs of the victims – have joined the prosecution. In court, the families of four victims formally demanded the death penalty, with the remaining families due to present their requests in the next session.

Akbari’s lawyer argued that her mental health should be evaluated, but one of the victims’ relatives rejected this claim, telling the court that “no insane person could orchestrate such a methodical plan and manipulate so many families.”

The judges will begin deliberations to issue a verdict following the conclusion of the hearin