56-year-old Kolsum Akbari stands accused of poisoning and killing 11 husbands over a period of 22 years, but she claims the number could be even higher; she just doesn’t remember exactly.
For more than two decades, Kolsum Akbari was able to get away with systematically marrying elderly men before poisoning them with diabetes drugs and industrial alcohol so she could inherit their possessions and dowries. No one suspected a thing because the men seemed to die of natural causes due to their advanced ages and precarious health conditions. She also operated in various cities to avoid attracting attention to herself. Her killing spree began in 2000 and continued until 2023, when the son of her last victim, 82-year-old Gholamreza Babaei, became suspicious and alerted the police. She now stands accused of killing 11 husbands, but the black widow herself claims the number could be between 13 and 15.