Who was Zohreh Sadeghi? Podcast host and husband killed by stalker in Redmond

Podcast host Zohreh Sadeghi and her husband Mohammed Naseri were reportedly killed inside their Redmond home by a Texas truck driver in an alleged case of stalking. The suspect also took his own life and was identified as Ramin Khodakaramrezaei.

Officials told the Daily Beast that the killer allegedly stalked Sadeghi for several months before breaking into her house through an open window at 1.45 am before fatally shooting Sadeghi and Naseri and turning the gun on himself.

Reports suggest that Sadeghi’s mother escaped the scene and contacted the police from a neighbor’s house. Naseri suffered a gunshot wound to his upper torso and also attempted to flee but ended up collapsing in front of his front door.

Redmond Police Chief Darrell Lowe said officers attempted to perform CPR on Naseri but failed to resuscitate him. He issued an official statement mourning the loss of the couple:

“Our hearts go out to the victim’s family and the Redmond community following this horrific tragedy. This is an incredibly sad situation and the worst possible outcome of a stalking case. We will continue investigating what led to this tragic loss.”

The chief also mentioned that Redmond officers and detectives “were familiar with the victim and residence because of the ongoing stalking investigation.”

Redmond Police Department spokesperson Jill Green said officials were working towards getting a no-contact order for the suspect but were yet to send him the legal document:

“Our detectives had warrants to get information from his phone and were trying to serve the no contact order to the suspect [but] had not done so yet. Being that he is a trucker, he’s hard to pin down.”

Lowe added that a judge issued a temporary protection order against Khodakaramrezaei in March but it was not served at the time of the murder. The Daily Beast reported that the order is usually obtained by people who “are in immediate danger,” per the King County District Court.

However, the police chief said that the order would have prohibited the suspect from contacting Zohreh Sadeghi but would not have provided any material protection:

“I think the key piece here is that a protection order is simply a piece of paper that does not prevent a person from causing harm to another person. It just puts them on notice and gives law enforcement the ability to arrest a person should they violate said protective order.”

Green mentioned that it was “unfortunate” that the stalking case ended in a tragic and brutal manner.

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What is known about Zohreh Sadeghi?

Zohreh Sadeghi was a podcast host based in Washington, who was recently killed by an alleged stalker in a murder-suicide case alongside her husband. She was 33 years old at the time of her death.

The podcast host lived in the in the Seattle suburb of Redmond and officers found her dead body after responding to a report of shots being fired inside a home near the 16700 block of Northeast 89th Street.

Reports suggest that Sadeghi’s home cost approximately $1.6 million and is located in an upscale suburb that is popular for being the site of Microsoft’s headquarters.

Sadeghi reportedly hosted a podcast aimed at helping Farsi-speaking people find jobs in the tech industry and it was through the same show that killer Ramin Khodakaramrezaei first came into contact with Sadeghi.

Redmond Police Department spokesperson Jill Green told the Daily Beast that Khodakaramrezaei started emailing and messaging Sadeghi and they initially had conversations about the podcast before becoming friends.

Green told NBC News that Khodakaramrezaei eventually started stalking Zohreh Sadeghi, prompting the latter to file for a protection order:

“Apparently he got to know her because of a podcast that she was doing and they struck up kind of a friendship, talked. But then he began to just send a lot of messages to the point that she decided to disengage and talk to us and our investigators in getting a restraining order.”

Redmond Police Chief Darrell Lowe told the Daily Beast that Sadeghi and Khodakaramrezaei's cordial relationship took a “concerning turn” and the host became uncomfortable with Khodakaramrezaei’s messages and frequency of contact.

The chief said that Sadeghi first informed him about the “harassing behavior” in December 2022 after Khodakaramrezaei repeatedly contacted the woman by text and over the phone. He allegedly once called her over 100 times in a single day before resorting to in-person stalking.

The officer also said that the suspect allegedly followed Sadeghi to a conference in Denver “in the latter part of 2022” and had visited her residence prior to the night of the murder.

Kirkland resident Jamie Lynn Burns, who is preparing to move into a house across the street from Zohreh Sadeghi, told the publication that the host and her husband were “super welcoming””

“They were just so friendly and inviting. We were like, ‘Oh my gosh, we couldn’t have found better neighbors.’”

As per a protection order obtained by KOMO News, Sadeghi recently had major back surgery, which affected her mobility. This made her fear for her ability to “respond to a crisis” amid the stalking situation.

Unfortunately, Zohreh Sadeghi and her husband were both gunned down by the former’s alleged stalker Ramin Khodakaramrezaei. Not much is known about the former’s personal or professional life at the time of writing.

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A look into Zohreh Sadeghi’s restraining order request against her stalker

Zohreh Sadeghi’s filed a restraining order request against her stalker prior to her murder (Image via @renmusb1/Twitter)

Prior to her death at the hands of her stalker, Zohreh Sadeghi filed for a protection order against her stalker Ramin Khodakaramrezaei.

According to legal documents obtained by KOMO News, Khodakaramrezaei reportedly called and left voicemails for Sadeghi more than 10 times a week.

The order says Sadeghi first spoke out against Khodakaramrezaei on November 6, 2022. However, the man continued to call her from various numbers throughout November and December and even started staying at nearby inns.

The podcast host reportedly began blocking all private numbers to prevent Khodakaramrezaei but failed to stop him from contacting her. Zohreh Sadeghi first called the police on December 20 after the man arrived at her house to deliver flowers following her husband’s departure from the residence.

The outlet noted that Sadeghi mentioned that Khodakaramrezaei threatened that he would show up at her door, “burn himself” and “set fire” on her house by burning the tree that she loves.

She also wrote that the man sent her voicemails saying he won't let her go and the “only thing that will make all this stop is if he killed himself or died.”

Documents revealed that the truck driver also sent Zohreh Sadeghi gifts on two occasions and even hired a jazz band to play outside her house for two hours, the arrangement later being canceled. The man even contacted Sadeghi’s husband and sent him more than 20 messages every day.

Khodakaramrezaei also acquired the numbers and addresses of Zohreh Sadeghi's friends and started contacting them. In the request for the protection order, the woman wrote:

“Khodakaramrezaei has bursts of anger and is completely delusional. These delusions make me fear for my life and the lives of my loved ones.”

She also mentioned that the staking situation negatively impacted her recovery from back surgery:

“All of this has caused me great distress and pain, and now I am suffering from a deep-seated fear for my safety. It has taken a toll on my recovery. I haven’t been able to open the curtains in my bedroom out of fear of him being outside watching me.”

Reports suggest that Zohreh Sadeghi received two voicemails from Khodakaramrezaei on February 28, which were allegedly which “vulgar, angry, and threatening.” The woman said that her stalker even allegedly installed an app on his phone to record her without consent.

While Zohreh Sadeghi is survived by her mother, no other information about her other family members is available at the time of writing. Meanwhile, Ramin Khodakaramrezaei allegedly left behind a daughter.