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They were the lovely, elderly couple next door until the first body was discovered. On May 16th, 2021, 81-year-old retired army colonel Akbar Khorramdin and his wife, Ms. Mousavi––a 74-year-old housewife––were arrested for the brutal murder of their son, Babak. They had poisoned, suffocated, and stabbed him to death before cutting up his body and discarding his mutilated remains in dumpsters around their West Tehran neighborhood.
nytimes.com
Babak’s ghastly crime against humanity? His parents murdered him as he was 47 years old but remained unmarried. While honor killings are not uncommon, this chilling case has rocked Iran to its core. Yet, after the Khorramdins were arrested and confessed to the murder, the case took a surprising and even more horrific turn for the worse––this wasn’t the Khorramdin’s first murder.
reddit.com
Then, he moved to London to study and made several features and shorts, including Oath to Yashar, which tells the tale of a young man who moves to the English capital but desperately misses his parents. Ultimately, Babak returned home to Iran to teach film to students… but it would be his death.
aparat.com
Akbar and Mrs. Mousavi were old, frail, humble, camera-shy, and looked like they wouldn’t say boo to a goose. To the outside world––and to Babak––it was an immensely proud moment, but his parents had been harboring a dark and terrible secret for the last half-decade.
Keep Watching
reddit.com
By around 5 pm, Babak had passed out, so his father tied his feet to a chair with a bootlace, covered his head with a black plastic bag to suffocate him, and then stabbed him multiple times with a knife. Next, they carried their son’s dead body to the bathroom, cut it into pieces, before they placed the body parts in three suitcases, and finally discarded the remains in trash cans around the city.
nytimes.com
Police quickly found Khorramdin’s parents’ address in the sprawling, well-known Shahrak Ekbatan apartment complex. They knocked on the door and entered the dwelling, where they were confronted by a mass of overwhelming, damning evidence of the terrible crime.
theguardian.com
According to Tehran police chief Hussein Rahimi, the Khorramdins targeted their son because he was single and sleeping with his film students. Akbar said they often argued with Babak, and he and his wife never had a single day of peace due to their son’s "harassment.” Yet, if you think this is shocking, this is only the beginning of this story. The elderly couple went on to make two more equally shocking confessions.
haberler.com
While pretending that their bloody, decade-long but sporadic murder spree made the world a better place, they claimed they didn’t act alone. They told police that their daughter, Arezou, was an accomplice to the murder. The spooky thing is, no one had seen Arezou for the last three years since she moved abroad.
tasnimnews.com
They maintain they killed their daughter because she became addicted to drugs and brought boyfriends home. For years, the couple covered up the crimes by nonchalantly telling acquaintances that Faramarz and Arezou had gone missing in separate incidents seven years apart and they had run away to live abroad in Turkey.
reddit.com
In online videos, Khorramdin told reporters: "I don't have a guilty conscience for any [of the killings] … Those I killed were highly morally corrupt," the father coldly stated. His wife said the two had plotted together to kill Bakar, Arezou, and Faramarz. "I'm not sad at all. I suffered a lot because of them," she continued. "We both [planned the murders] … My husband said it, and I said OK."
dailymail.co.uk
Iranian media showed photographs of Mr. Khorramdin flashing the V-for victory sign in prison pajamas. Then, chillingly, he told authorities that if he was released, he might also kill his other two adult children, Afshin and Azar. Murderess Ms. Mousavi was no more repentant than her husband. She told TV cameras: "I have a great relationship with my husband. He doesn't beat me or curse at me."
nytimes.com
Filmmaker Shahram Mokri, who once taught Babak Khorramdin at Iran's Young Cinema, stated: "When we read about a murder that is far from us geographically, culturally...we consider it more like fiction. But, at least to me, this case was notable because I thought it is very similar to the situations we live in; a son who is a university professor, he's successful, calm; and a father and mother who are like other fathers and mothers."
nytimes.com
"We cannot comprehend that murderers were living among us," said nearby-resident Minoo, a 51-year-old mother of two. She would not reveal her last name to reporters as she is afraid of the Khorramdin family. "We may have walked past them every day and said hello. This apartment next to us was a house of horror, and none of us knew."
mauritius-images.com
People took to social media to––deservedly––focus on why Tehran police never investigated the daughter and son-in-law’s disappearances. Finally––ten years after the gruesome first murder––Tehran police are investigating to see if any more family members have mysteriously gone missing.
seattletimes.com
The Iranian people had already been hit hard by COVID-19. Add to this a vaccine shortage, an economy battered by international sanctions and social repression as hard-line conservatives take over the government. Recently, a correlation between the pandemic and a rise in domestic violence and family homicides has been witnessed.
nytimes.com
Babak’s ghastly crime against humanity? His parents murdered him as he was 47 years old but remained unmarried. While honor killings are not uncommon, this chilling case has rocked Iran to its core. Yet, after the Khorramdins were arrested and confessed to the murder, the case took a surprising and even more horrific turn for the worse––this wasn’t the Khorramdin’s first murder.
The Victim
Babak Khorramdin was a relatively unknown Iranian film director. He graduated in 2009 with a master's degree in cinema from the Faculty of Fine Arts of the University of Tehran.
reddit.com
Then, he moved to London to study and made several features and shorts, including Oath to Yashar, which tells the tale of a young man who moves to the English capital but desperately misses his parents. Ultimately, Babak returned home to Iran to teach film to students… but it would be his death.
The Murderers
Babak's parents first had a brief taste of the spotlight five years ago, when Babak invited them on stage after successfully screening one of his films in Tehran.
aparat.com
Akbar and Mrs. Mousavi were old, frail, humble, camera-shy, and looked like they wouldn’t say boo to a goose. To the outside world––and to Babak––it was an immensely proud moment, but his parents had been harboring a dark and terrible secret for the last half-decade.
Keep Watching
The Heinous Crime
The 47-year-old tutor lived with his parents in West Tehran’s Ekbatan housing complex. On Saturday, 15th May 2021, his mother tried to drug him at their family home. She cooked chicken and poisoned it to knock Babak unconscious, but he didn’t touch his dinner and went to his room and slept. So, Mrs. Khorramdin placed the food in the refrigerator. Babak woke up the next day and ate the poisoned chicken.
reddit.com
By around 5 pm, Babak had passed out, so his father tied his feet to a chair with a bootlace, covered his head with a black plastic bag to suffocate him, and then stabbed him multiple times with a knife. Next, they carried their son’s dead body to the bathroom, cut it into pieces, before they placed the body parts in three suitcases, and finally discarded the remains in trash cans around the city.
Gruesome Discovery
Police were called to Ekbatan after sanitation workers collecting trash discovered a bag containing body parts on the night of May 15th, 2021. During the early hours of the next day, police found human remains, including two severed hands in a dumpster next to a wall painted with pastel pink, blue and yellow colors. Khorramdin's mutilated body was identified through fingerprints.
nytimes.com
Police quickly found Khorramdin’s parents’ address in the sprawling, well-known Shahrak Ekbatan apartment complex. They knocked on the door and entered the dwelling, where they were confronted by a mass of overwhelming, damning evidence of the terrible crime.
The Killers Confess
After being taken into police custody, Akbar Khorramdin admitted scattering his son’s remains in the neighborhood, saying: "Because of the disputes we had, I sedated him by giving him anesthetics, then stabbed him to death. Then I dismembered his body and threw it in the nearest trash can on the street with my wife."
theguardian.com
According to Tehran police chief Hussein Rahimi, the Khorramdins targeted their son because he was single and sleeping with his film students. Akbar said they often argued with Babak, and he and his wife never had a single day of peace due to their son’s "harassment.” Yet, if you think this is shocking, this is only the beginning of this story. The elderly couple went on to make two more equally shocking confessions.
A Long History of Murder
This wasn’t the first time they had killed a family member in this way. They also confessed to murdering their son-in-law––Faramarz––using the same sick methods. Ten years ago, the elderly couple killed their daughter’s husband and now claimed he was an abusive drug trafficker.
haberler.com
While pretending that their bloody, decade-long but sporadic murder spree made the world a better place, they claimed they didn’t act alone. They told police that their daughter, Arezou, was an accomplice to the murder. The spooky thing is, no one had seen Arezou for the last three years since she moved abroad.
Third Shocking Murder
As if finding out these two monsters had murdered once before wasn’t bad enough, wait... it gets worse. Much worse. The slaying of their son-in-law wasn’t even the second time they had murdered a family member. The Khorramdins also admitted to killing Arezou, their daughter, three years ago in the same manner.
tasnimnews.com
They maintain they killed their daughter because she became addicted to drugs and brought boyfriends home. For years, the couple covered up the crimes by nonchalantly telling acquaintances that Faramarz and Arezou had gone missing in separate incidents seven years apart and they had run away to live abroad in Turkey.
No Remorse
During the initial court hearing, Akbar told Persian-language newspaper Hamshahri that he had zero regrets over the slayings: “I don’t regret what I did with the cooperation of my wife. They were corrupted, and I thank God.” He then said that he and his wife would have killed their two surviving siblings if police hadn't apprehended them.
reddit.com
In online videos, Khorramdin told reporters: "I don't have a guilty conscience for any [of the killings] … Those I killed were highly morally corrupt," the father coldly stated. His wife said the two had plotted together to kill Bakar, Arezou, and Faramarz. "I'm not sad at all. I suffered a lot because of them," she continued. "We both [planned the murders] … My husband said it, and I said OK."
TV Interviews
In subsequent televised interviews, the Khorramdins state they killed their two children because they disapproved of their lifestyles. In addition to Bakar having sex with girlfriends, they also accused him of being physically aggressive and said that he was freeloading off them. Akbar also reiterated: "I have no guilty conscience for any of the murders … I killed people who were very morally corrupt."
dailymail.co.uk
Iranian media showed photographs of Mr. Khorramdin flashing the V-for victory sign in prison pajamas. Then, chillingly, he told authorities that if he was released, he might also kill his other two adult children, Afshin and Azar. Murderess Ms. Mousavi was no more repentant than her husband. She told TV cameras: "I have a great relationship with my husband. He doesn't beat me or curse at me."
Tributes and Social Media Outpouring of Grief
Grieving friends placed flowers on Babak’s grave, and many thousands of Iranians took to social media, trying publicly to make sense of the brutal triple murder. Babak’s former film students paid tribute, with one message reading: “Goodbye, the world’s kindest teacher … from cinema students.”
nytimes.com
Filmmaker Shahram Mokri, who once taught Babak Khorramdin at Iran's Young Cinema, stated: "When we read about a murder that is far from us geographically, culturally...we consider it more like fiction. But, at least to me, this case was notable because I thought it is very similar to the situations we live in; a son who is a university professor, he's successful, calm; and a father and mother who are like other fathers and mothers."
Local Fallout
Residents of the popular, tight-knit Shahrak Ekbatan housing complex–where the couple lived quietly for 40 years–were shocked, perplexed, and frightened but gathered outside the family home to sing mourning songs. Neighbors recall the elderly murderous couple babysitting for people, jovially chatting with shopkeepers, and taking evening strolls in the gardens. No one knows if there could be dozens of more bodies buried on the grounds.
nytimes.com
"We cannot comprehend that murderers were living among us," said nearby-resident Minoo, a 51-year-old mother of two. She would not reveal her last name to reporters as she is afraid of the Khorramdin family. "We may have walked past them every day and said hello. This apartment next to us was a house of horror, and none of us knew."
Occupants of Terror House
With headlines including “SOCIETY IN SHOCK” and “OCCUPANTS OF TERROR HOUSE”, the story has rattled the psyche of many Iranians. Analyst Abbas Abdi tweeted: "The family institution is the most important refuge for Iranians … so everyone has been horrified by the brutal murder of Babak Khorramdin."
mauritius-images.com
People took to social media to––deservedly––focus on why Tehran police never investigated the daughter and son-in-law’s disappearances. Finally––ten years after the gruesome first murder––Tehran police are investigating to see if any more family members have mysteriously gone missing.
Iranian Culture
Across Persia, home is synonymous with sanctuary. Elderly parents––particularly matriarchs––are revered like saints, so the accusations rocked the nation. Yet, this shocking case didn’t only affect Tehran and the Iranian psyche; it has far wider-reaching ramifications. The tragedies highlight tens of thousands of domestic crimes fueled by honor and sexual propriety within the whole society.
seattletimes.com
The Iranian people had already been hit hard by COVID-19. Add to this a vaccine shortage, an economy battered by international sanctions and social repression as hard-line conservatives take over the government. Recently, a correlation between the pandemic and a rise in domestic violence and family homicides has been witnessed.
