Bhubaneswar, Sep 2: In a case that has shocked the world, 56-year-old Iranian woman Kolsum Akbari has confessed to poisoning at least 11 of her husbands over a span of 22 years, earning her the grim nickname of Iran’s “Black Widow.”

Her crimes, which remained undetected for decades, were finally exposed in 2023 following the suspicious death of her latest husband, 82-year-old Gholamreza Babaei.

Akbari’s murderous spree began after her second marriage to an abusive elderly man. Driven by revenge and greed, she began targeting wealthy, elderly, and lonely men, marrying them and later killing them using a mix of industrial alcohol, sedatives, and diabetes medications. In cases where poison failed, she resorted to suffocation using pillows.

Her victims’ deaths were often dismissed as natural due to their age and health conditions. Akbari moved across cities, marrying and murdering without raising suspicion. Locals believed she was a grieving widow repeatedly struck by tragedy, while she was in fact orchestrating the deaths for financial gain.

The breakthrough came when Babaei’s son grew suspicious of his father’s sudden death and launched a private investigation. This led to Akbari’s arrest and eventual confession. During interrogation, she admitted to killing 11 men and claimed she might have murdered 13 or even 15, though she couldn’t recall the exact number.

Akbari now faces trial in one of Iran’s most extensive serial murder cases, with over 45 plaintiffs demanding justice. Prosecutors have charged her with 11 counts of premeditated murder and one count of attempted murder.