‘Absolute Worst Outcome For A Stalking Case,’ Police Say

Topline

A podcast host and her husband were found shot dead Friday in their Redmond, Washington, home allegedly by a man, also found dead, who had been stalking her for months, according to police, who had previously tried to serve a protection order against the suspect.

Key Facts

Ramin Khodakaramrezaei, 38, killed himself after apparently shooting dead 33-year-old podcast host Zohreh Sadeghi and her 35-year-old husband Mohammed Naseri, according to Redmond Police Chief Darrell Lowe.

First responders tried to perform CPR on Naseri after he was found inside the home with a gunshot wound, police said, though he was pronounced dead at the scene.

Sadeghi had been contacted by Khodakaramrezaei last summer after he listened to her podcast, Lowe said, but Sadeghi eventually filed a no-contact order against him after Khodakaramrezaei contacted Sadeghi more than 100 times in a single day and had threatened to show up at her home.

Sadeghi first contacted police in December before she unsuccessfully tried to cut off contact with Khodakaramrezaei, and later called again in January after his actions intensified.

Police said they had tried to serve the protective order on Khodakaramrezaei before the incident, though they had difficulties locating him.

Crucial Quote

Lowe said the incident was “the absolute worst outcome for a stalking case,” adding it was “every victim, every detective, every police chief’s worst nightmare.”

Big Number

3.4 million. That’s the estimated number of people age 16 or older who were victims of stalking in 2019, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, which noted that women were stalked more than twice as often as men. Of those, an estimated 67% said they were fearful of being killed or physically harmed.

Key Background

Sadeghi, who hosted a podcast aimed at Farsi-speaking programmers in the U.S., was a software engineer who worked for Promontory MortgagePath after studying at the University of Washington Tacoma, according to her LinkedIn. Nasiri, who married Sadeghi in 2011, had been working at Amazon since January 2022, according to his blog.

Further Reading

Podcaster And Husband Shot Dead In Seattle-Area Home (AP)