Crime

How a Woman Kills 11 Husbands Over 22 Years Faces Execution

Published by Tope Fakinlede on August 15th, 2025.

How a Woman Kills 11 Husbands Over 22 Years Faces Execution

A 56-year-old Iranian woman is facing the death penalty after allegedly murdering 11 of her husbands over a span of two decades in a calculated scheme to inherit their wealth.

Kolsum Akbari, who has been dubbed a “black widow” by local media, is accused of marrying elderly, often ailing men and systematically poisoning them using a combination of diabetes medication, sedatives, and industrial alcohol. In some cases, when the drugs failed, she reportedly resorted to suffocation using pillows or towels.

Authorities say the killings spanned from 2000 to 2023 and went unnoticed for years, as most victims were elderly and their deaths appeared to be due to natural causes. The alleged murders only came to light after the suspicious death of 82-year-old Gholamreza Babaei, Akbari’s latest husband.

Babaei’s son raised concerns after a family acquaintance revealed that his own father had once survived a poisoning attempt by a woman named Kolsum—who turned out to be the same woman now married to Babaei. This connection prompted the family to alert authorities.

Under interrogation, Akbari admitted to the killings but gave conflicting accounts of how many men she had killed. “I’m not sure how many… maybe 13 or 15. I don’t remember exactly,” she reportedly said.

Her criminal pattern allegedly began following her early marriages. Akbari first married at 18, but the union ended quickly, with relatives describing her first husband as mentally unstable. She later married an older man with children, enduring years of reported abuse in a remote northern village.

Following the death of her second husband, she began attending women’s social gatherings, seeking out elderly, wealthy, and isolated men. Investigators say she used connections—often through the victims’ daughters or family friends—to find suitable targets. Once she confirmed a man’s financial standing, she would propose marriage, often insisting on a large dowry.

Authorities believe her motive throughout was financial gain, as she consistently targeted men with property, savings, or valuable dowries. In each case, she acted alone, with no evidence of accomplices.

Akbari is now awaiting sentencing, and the families of her victims are demanding the maximum penalty — execution.