| For Immediate Release Case # 06HF1654
February 10, 2009 |
Susan Kang Schroeder Public Affairs Counsel Office: 714-347-8408 Cell: 714-292-2718 Farrah Emami |
HUSBAND FACES TRIAL FOR STABBING AND MURDERING WIFE AND MOTHER-IN-LAW AND LEAVING BODIES ON ICE IN BATHTUB
SANTA ANA – A husband faces trial tomorrow for stabbing and murdering his wife and mother-in-law and leaving their bodies in an ice-filled bathtub in his Irvine home. Bahram Nazeri, 51, Irvine, is charged with two felony counts of murder and a special circumstance allegation of committing multiple murders. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of life without the possibility of parole. Opening statements are expected to begin tomorrow, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2009, in Department C-30, Central Justice Center, Santa Ana. The time is to be determined.
On Aug. 20, 2006, Nazeri is accused of murdering his wife, Nooshin Mirabadi, and mother-in-law, Parvane Ghararyankordestan, because he believed that his wife was having an affair. Nazeri is accused of using a double-sided knife, stabbing his wife 25 times, and stabbing his mother-in-law 26 times. The defendant is accused of placing both bodies in a bathtub of a downstairs bathroom in the Irvine home he shared with Mirabadi and their two young daughters, ages 6 and 8 years old. He is accused of telling his daughters that their mother had gone on a business trip and instructing them not to open the door to the downstairs bathroom.
Over the next couple of days, Nazeri is accused of continually filling the bathtub with ice to suppress the smell of the dead bodies. On Aug. 22, 2006, a visitor came to the house and noticed the foul odor and that Nazeri was behaving oddly. The visitor left the residence and went to the Irvine Police Department because he believed something was wrong. When officers arrived at Nazeri’s home, the defendant is accused of running into his backyard and instigating a stand-off with the police. He is accused of claiming to have a gun and threatening to kill the officers. The officers used less-than-lethal force to subdue the defendant.
Mirabadi and Nazeri’s two daughters were placed in protective custody.
Senior Deputy District Attorney Dan Wagner of the Homicide Unit is prosecuting this case.
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