Podcast Host Zohreh Sadeghi and Her Husband Killed by Stalker

By Michael Hein

Podcast host Zohreh Sadeghi was murdered on Friday by a stalker from across the country. According to a report by KOMO News, 33-year-old Sadeghi and her 35-year-old husband Mohammed Naseri were both shot by 38-year-old Ramin Khodakaramrezaei in the early hours of Friday morning. Khodakaramrezaei then turned the gun on himself and was found dead on the scene when police arrived.

Khodakaramrezaei reportedly first learned of Sadeghi through a podcast she hosted aimed at Farsi-speaking people in North America. Sadeghi was also active on social media sites where Farsi speakers gathered, and exchanged messages with Khodakaramrezaei on an app called Clubhouse. However, Khodakaramrezaei's messages became more and more alarming to Sadeghi until finally she contacted the police in November of 2022. Some disturbing stalking incidents followed, and eventually, a judge granted Sadeghi a protective order against Khodakaramrezaei in March.

Sadly, that was not enough. Police said that on Friday Khodakaramrezaei violated the restraining order and broke into Sadeghi and Naseri's home in a suburb of Seattle, Washington. Armed with a gun, Khodakaramrezaei reportedly climbed through a bedroom window and shot Naseri. Sadeghi's mother was able to escape to a neighbor's house where they helped her to call 9-1-1. When police arrived, they found Sadeghi and Khodakaramrezaei both dead of gunshot wounds close together.

Naseri was reportedly still alive when police arrived on the scene. They treated him with CPR but were unable to revive him. He was pronounced dead shortly after. Local police chief Darrell Lowe called this case the "absolute worst outcome for a stalking case," adding: "This is every victim's, every detective's, every police chief's worst nightmare."

There had been ample warning of Khodakaramrezaei's behavior ahead of this murder-suicide. Khodakaramrezaei was a truck driver from Texas, yet he had made multiple visits to Sadeghi's home on the other side of the country, many unannounced. In December, Sadeghi called the police when Khodakaramrezaei arrived with flowers precisely after her husband left the house, suggesting that he may have staked out the location and waited for an opportunity. He had also harassed her by various digital means and made threatening remarks.

Lowe told reporters he had just been briefed on this case less than a week before Sadeghi's death. He noted that Khodakaramrezaei had been charged with misdemeanor stalking earlier in March and there was an order for his arrest. Because the trucker's permanent address was in Texas, police were unable to find him. They do not know how long he was in Washington before this attack. Police spokesperson Jill Green said: "It's just unfortunate that the stalking ended in such a tragic way."

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