5 key details about Gelareh Bagherzadeh's murder
Gelareh Bagherzadeh, an Iranian-American activist and medical student who was 30 years old, was brutally murdered on January 15, 2012, in Houston, Texas. Her murder was later determined to be a premeditated "honor killing" by Ali Irsan, a conservative Muslim and Jordanian immigrant, as reported by CBS News.
Irsan murdered Bagherzadeh because he believed she had persuaded his daughter to become a Christian and marry an American man. This case will be featured on the upcoming episode of Prosecuting Evil with Kelly Siegler on March 22 on Oxygen.
Five key facts about the Gelareh Bagherzadeh case
1) Background and Activism of Gelareh Bagherzadeh
According to CBS News, Gelareh Bagherzadeh was an outspoken human and women's rights campaigner in Iran. She protested for SabzHouston, a campaign against the government of Iran following its controversial 2009 election.
Bagherzadeh was a convert to Christianity and enjoyed her free speech in America. She campaigned for democracy and equality and earned respect from Iranian-Americans in Houston. She was a peaceful individual who wanted to improve society, friends and family said.
2) The night of the murder
January 15, 2012, was the night Gelareh Bagherzadeh was shot while sitting in her car outside her parents' house in Houston's Galleria neighborhood, as reported by CBS News. She had been talking to her ex-boyfriend on the phone when she was attacked. Witnesses reported hearing shots before her car crashed into a garage door.
Police found her slumped over the steering wheel with the engine running and tires spinning. Her purse and cell phone were still inside the vehicle, ruling out robbery as a motive. It was subsequently determined by detectives that Nasim Irsan, who is the son of Ali Irsan, executed the deadly shots via her car window.
3) The investigation and breakthrough
According to CBS News, the original investigation of Gelareh Bagherzadeh's murder was extremely difficult for detectives to make headway. They, however, began associating her murder with Ali Irsan upon discovering her close relationship with his daughter, Nesreen Irsan.
Nesreen had run away from home to marry Coty Beavers, a Christian man, in outright defiance of her father's rigid rules. Ali Irsan blamed Bagherzadeh for brainwashing his daughter. In 2014, Irsan was arrested on separate charges of fraud, allowing officials to build their case against him for killing Bagherzadeh. The investigation also linked Irsan to Beavers' murder nine months later.
4) Trial and sentencing
According to CBS News, Ali Irsan was prosecuted for capital murder in 2018. Prosecutors had argued that he had planned both murders as an "honor killing" due to his belief that his family had been brought into shame.
Evidence presented in court indicated that Irsan had a manipulative and violent attitude within his family. He was found guilty of the two murders and sentenced to death. His son Nasim was a murderer and was sentenced to 40 years in jail for his role in the murder of Gelareh Bagherzadeh.
5) Connection with Coty Beavers' murder
According to CBS News, the most important detail in this case is its connection with Coty Beavers' murder. Beavers was Nesreen Irsan's husband and was killed in November 2012 in the same manner. Ali Irsan viewed Beavers as an additional threat to his family's honor because of marrying Nesreen following her conversion to Christianity.
Prosecutors demonstrated how both murders constituted premeditated crimes to punish those who disobeyed Irsan's authority.
Watch Prosecuting Evil with Kelly Siegler on March 22 on Oxygen.
