The 'Black Widow' shakes Iran: 10 death sentences for a serial killer who killed 12 men

Kolthum Akbari, an Iranian woman widely dubbed the “Black Widow,” was convicted of serial murders of elderly men she married, often temporarily.

Official accounts generally center on 11 murders (plus one attempted murder), though Akbari herself gave varying figures and investigations suggested she had many more marriages. 

The sentencing occurred primarily in September 2025 in Mazandaran Province, with ongoing reporting and updates into 2026.

The 56- to 59-year-old killer confessed to killing at least 11 elderly men after temporarily or officially marrying them; Iranian authorities have linked her to additional marriages and possible further victims.

An Iranian court in Mazandaran Province issued 10 death sentences against Kolthum Akbari after her conviction for a series of murders spanning roughly two decades (from around 2000/2001 to 2023).

According to Iranian media and court reports, Akbari confessed after her arrest in September 2023 to killing multiple men, most of them elderly, using a similar method. Investigators said she entered temporary (sigheh) or formal marriages with elderly or relatively well-off men. 

After a short period of living with them, she administered medications (such as blood-pressure pills, diabetes drugs, or sedatives) mixed into drinks and, in some cases, used industrial alcohol or suffocation with pillows or towels. 

The deaths often appeared natural due to the victims’ age and health conditions. She operated across several cities in Mazandaran Province (including Sari, Neka, Mahmudabad, Babol, and Qaemshahr), which helped delay detection. 

The motive was primarily financial—securing dowries, cash, property, or inheritance, some of which was transferred to her daughter.

One of her victims was an 82-year-old man whom she married in a temporary marriage for a dowry of 5 billion Iranian rials (roughly $730 at the time, though values fluctuate). 

According to accounts reported by Iranian media, the man began to feel endangered and told his children from a previous marriage that his wife was forcing him to take blood-pressure and heart medication and that he felt near fainting after consuming drinks she prepared. He died shortly afterward, prompting his sons to alert authorities.

Some reports note an earlier surviving victim, Masih Nemati, who was poisoned in an attempt around 2020 but did not initially file a complaint.

Why 10 death sentences?

The judiciary in Mazandaran Province announced 10 separate death sentences (qisas) against Akbari even though she was convicted in connection with 11 murders. Under Iranian law rooted in Islamic Sharia, the families (heirs) of murder victims hold the right to demand retribution in kind (execution) or to forgive it in exchange for blood money (diya). 

Ten families demanded the death penalty. One family agreed to forgo qisas in return for diya. Akbari also received a 10-year prison sentence for the attempted murder of one man. Iranian media have reported that assets and properties linked to her have been frozen pending possible settlements, and some other families have expressed willingness to consider blood money.

Authorities say Akbari confessed to killing around 11–12 men (including her husband in the final case), with the crimes spanning nearly two decades; she herself sometimes claimed she could not remember the exact number and suggested it might be higher (13–15 or more). 

Investigations indicated she had entered a larger number of marriages—reports mention roughly 18 temporary and 19 formal ones in some accounts—raising the possibility of additional undetected victims. She is regarded as the second known female serial killer in modern Iranian records, after Mahin Qadiri (executed in 2006 for poisoning seven husbands).

The death sentences are not necessarily final or immediately enforceable; under Iranian procedure, they can be subject to appeal, higher-court review, and the ongoing decisions of the victims’ families regarding diya.

Background

In the Islamic Republic of Iran, marriage and women’s legal status are governed by a combination of civil law and Shiite Islamic jurisprudence that creates significant inequalities. 

Girls may legally marry at 13 solar years of age (boys at 15); with the father’s or guardian’s consent and court approval, girls can marry as young as 9 lunar years (approximately 8 years and 9 months), enabling child marriage, which continues to be registered in significant numbers. Forced or pressured marriages of minors remain common despite formal requirements of consent. 

Women face major barriers to divorce: men can initiate it relatively unilaterally, while women must prove specific grounds of hardship (such as abuse or failure to provide) in court, a process that is often lengthy, costly, and unsuccessful. 

Domestic violence is widespread and not comprehensively criminalized; marital rape is not recognized as a crime. Women who kill abusive husbands or attackers in claimed self-defense have frequently been sentenced to death or executed under qisas (retribution) provisions, with courts rarely accepting self-defense arguments fully. 

Broader legal inequalities treat women as second-class citizens in areas such as inheritance (typically half a man’s share), courtroom testimony (often valued at half a man’s), child custody, and freedom of movement. Mandatory hijab laws, enforced since 1979 and intensified after 2022, subject women and girls to arrests, fines, and other penalties for non-compliance.

Source: DPN, AI, News outlets, August 10, 2026

"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted."
— Oscar Wilde

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