Imagine that you are reading a story about someone who has been killed on a cold rainy night. What do you think about the killer? There is a higher chance that you think of a strong man committing the murder. This is inevitable because the first suspect that comes to our mind is usually a guy killing someone brutally. But, this is not the case here. I’m going to change this hypothesis by telling you some stories of Iranian female murderers.
Table of Contents
Madly in Love
Have you ever been in love? Are you able to think about what you would do for someone you are in love with? How far are you willing to go for someone that you love so much? You may have answers to these questions right away, but they are not very simple. How many of us were in a situation where we had only two choices, save the life of our loved one, or die?
There are some stories of people who were madly in love and did something stupid. But we usually hear the happy ending side of the story when the couple is living their lives after a difficult time. However, Shahla Jahed’s story has another side.
Shahla Jahed, a Young and Beautiful Lady
Shahla, also known as Khadijeh, was born in 1969. If you look at her pictures, you see a gorgeous young woman who looks back at you with her big brown eyes. Besides being very pretty, Shahla was an intelligent and mellifluous young lady. After getting her diploma, she studied nursery and worked in a hospital for a while. Her passion for education continued even when she was in prison as she was studying psychology remotely.
Like many young girls in those years, she was fascinated with superstars and celebrities. One of the most famous athletes and football players of that time, Naser Mohammad Khani, was the man of Shahla’s dreams. This love was not just an innocent, simple crush. Shahla adored Mohammad Khani when she was about 13 and met him once, but she could not get over him. Her affection for Naser continued till she became an adult and temporarily married him eventually. (You can get married to someone temporarily in Iran and the marriage certificate becomes void.)
Stabbed to Death
This was just a background for you to get to know Shahla better, but the real story behind it was at the beginning of October. It was an autumn day when Tehran’s weather was getting cold, and plane trees’ leaves were falling on the ground that a young boy and girl were coming back from school to witness something that they would carry with them for the rest of their lives. The young children of Naser Mohammad Khani, open the door, walk up the stairs and see their mother stabbed to death, laid on the floor in a big pile of her blood.
These events happen when Naser Mohammad Khani is on a football trip abroad.
Police Investigation
The police forces come to the scene and start their investigation to the point that a girl called Shahla Jahed has gone to the bank, the day of the incident and cashed a check with Naser Mohammad Khani’s name on it. They dug deeper since they could not find any relationship between the one who cashed the check and the victim’s family. By doing more investigation, they became suspicious of Naser Mohammad Khani and his denial of knowing Shahla. Then, they noticed that Shahla is, in fact, Naser’s temporary wife, and she has been living in a house that Naser bought for her. Everything was as normal as it could be during these moments until the police found some new evidence that made them investigate Shahla as their primary suspect. The first piece of evidence was Shahla’s diary that she used to write daily about every little detail of her life. When the police found the diary, they noticed that some pages about the day of the incident were ripped. By talking to people who knew Shahla, they noticed that she was extremely jealous of the victim, Naser Mohammad Khani’s wife, which made them focus on Shahla more.
However, Shahla did not confess to killing Laleh, the wife. The lab showed that the victim’s body was stabbed 37 times, and the police found zero evidence of forced entry to the house, which suggested that the killer had a key. Shahla had the key!
Confession
The investigation continued since Shahla was not confessing, so the police had to dig more. They even arrested Naser Mohammad Khani as a part of their investigation. This arrest was the last straw, and Shahla confessed to killing Laleh. Everything gets more suspicious when we find out that Shahla and Naser met each other when Naser was arrested, but no one knows what they said to each other.
The Scene
The creepiest part of this story is when the police brought Shahla to the crime scene to recreate the events. This is when they realized that Shahla is telling them the details that they did not notice. She mentioned that she entered the house the night before and waited for the perfect moment to do her job. She even shows the blood on the other side of a mattress. Shahla’s words made the police believe that they had arrested the right criminal. But, Shahla denied everything a few days later by saying that she was just trying to protect Naser and she did not do anything.
One of the Most Complicated Trials
After months of investigation, Shahla went to a trial to get heard by a judge, but the first trial had no end, just like the second one and 32 other trials after that. After being observed by 35 judges, only 7 of them considered Shahla not guilty. The rest found her guilty, and she was sentenced to death by being hanged. Eventually, Shahla was hanged on December first, 2010, and her case got closed after almost 8 years.
Delara Darabi: The Teenage Painter
On a cold winter night in the middle of January, a distressed man enters the police station and tells the police that he wants to report a murderer! When the police hear the story, they become shocked because the man is pointing at his daughter as the killer. There have been many murder reports to the police, but they rarely see a father accusing his daughter of killing someone. That is why they start their investigation very soon.
The Murder Plan
There are three forces that can make human beings make the most disgusting things: love, money, and power. This story is a combination of all these three. Delara was in love with a young boy and would do anything for him. One day, she gets a proposal from her boyfriend, Amir Hossein, which changes everything for two families. Amir Hosein knew that Delara’s father had a wealthy cousin who lived alone. One day he convinces Delara to visit the cousin and steal some documents and money from her. When they get to the cousin’s house, things escalate, and Amir Hossein hits the lady with a baseball bat. While she is unconscious and laid on the floor, he freaks out and asks Delara to bring him a knife to finish the cousin. When Delara does that, Amir Hossein stabs the lady and runs out of the home, and Delara follows him.
Arrests and Confession
When Amir Hossein and Delara got out of the house, they noticed that Delara’s purse was still in the cousin’s place. They panicked, but Amir Hossein was not willing to go back and get the bag. This was the moment that Delara called her former suitor to seek help. The suitor in love with Delara went to take the purse but realized what had happened and informed Delara’s father.
The poor father had no idea what to do. He talks to Delara, and she confesses to the crime. Then he went to the police station, explaining the situation. The police spoke to Delara and arrested her, which made Delara confess to killing the cousin. But, a few days after the investigation, she denied what she said and stated that she only admitted because Amir Hossein told her that she was under 18, so the police would not arrest her.
Delara’s Trial and Prison
Delara went to several trials and courts for her crimes since she was convicted of murder, illegal sexual relationships, and robbery. The police also found an amount of cash with blood on it on the floor, believing that Delara was the killer. No one listened to what she said about her boyfriend, and after some years of being in prison and an unsuccessful attempt to commit suicide, she got hanged when she turned 18.
Amir Hossein…
After the death of Delara, her mother wrote a letter to Amir Hossein and informed him of what had happened. Amir Hossein had stated several times that Delara was innocent, and when he read the letter, he could not tolerate it and kills himself in prison. You can see how the love story of two naive teenagers ends, and people still talked about how awfully Delara was prosecuted.
Shahab Shabani 
Amin Mahmoudi 
Saman Kohnepushi