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Sheila Davalloo, an Iranian-American research scientist, shocked the nation with a string of brutal crimes driven by jealousy and obsession in the early 2000s. Born in 1969, Davalloo lived a seemingly successful life behind a deceitful web that ultimately unraveled with the 2002 slaying of her co-worker, Anna Lisa Raymundo, and the 2003 attempted murder of her husband, Paul Christos.
Her actions, driven by an affair with Nelson Sessler outside of marriage, were exposed through a careful police investigation, DNA testing, and her suspicious behavior. The case, characterized by savage brutality and complicated lies, continues to fascinate true crime fans for its psychological sophistication.
Davalloo’s story has been featured in several true crime shows, offering detailed accounts of her crimes and their fallout. Viewers can watch episodes on platforms like Oxygen and Discovery+.
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Who was Sheila Davalloo?
Sheila Davalloo was born on May 11, 1969, in Iran and immigrated to the United States with her family in the late 1970s to escape the Iranian Revolution. Raised in Yorktown Heights, New York, she excelled academically, earning a biochemistry degree from SUNY Stony Brook and later pursuing a master’s at New York Medical College.
There, she met Paul Christos, a fellow student, and began an affair while married to her first husband, Farid Moussavi. After divorcing Moussavi, she married Christos in 2000 and settled in Pleasantville, New York. Sheila Davalloo worked as a research scientist at Purdue Pharma in Stamford, Connecticut, where she met Nelson Sessler, sparking another affair.
Despite her professional success, Davalloo’s personal life was marked by secrecy and manipulation. She concealed her marriage from Sessler, claiming she was divorced, and became increasingly fixated on him. Her ability to maintain a facade of normalcy while harboring obsessive tendencies puzzled those around her, as per Oxygen.
The murder of Anna Lisa Raymundo
On November 8, 2002, Sheila Davalloo targeted Anna Lisa Raymundo, a 32-year-old coworker at Purdue Pharma who was romantically involved with Nelson Sessler. Driven by jealousy, Davalloo went to Raymundo’s condo at Stamford, Connecticut, and attacked her, striking her head multiple times and stabbing her nine times in the chest, neck, and face, as per Murderpedia.
The crime scene showed signs of a struggle, with blood splattered throughout and a clump of hair found in Raymundo’s hand. Davalloo attempted to cover her tracks by washing her hands, leaving a bloodstain in the bathroom sink, and making an anonymous 911 call from a payphone near a restaurant. In the call, she falsely claimed to have seen a man attacking Raymundo, as per Oxygen.
Although the call was traced, it provided no immediate leads. The lack of forced entry suggested Raymundo knew her attacker, and Davalloo’s DNA later linked her to the scene.
The attempted murder of Paul Christos
On March 23, 2003, Sheila Davalloo turned her violence toward her husband, Paul Christos, at their home in Pleasantville, New York. Seeking to eliminate him as an obstacle to her relationship with Sessler, she proposed a “guessing game,” blindfolding and handcuffing Christos to a chair.
But instead of a game, Davalloo stabbed him twice in the chest with a paring knife. When Christos begged for help, she claimed the 911 line was busy, delaying aid. After nearly an hour, she drove him to Westchester County Medical Center but stopped in the parking lot to stab him again.
A passerby’s intervention saved Christos’s life, and he underwent emergency open-heart surgery. Police later discovered that during the incident, Davalloo had called Sessler for dinner, not 911. This connection led investigators to link her to Raymundo’s murder, as Sessler was a common thread, as per Oxygen.
Investigation and convictions
The investigation into Anna Lisa Raymundo’s murder initially stalled, but the 2003 attack on Paul Christos provided critical leads. DNA from the bloodstain in Raymundo’s sink matched Sheila Davalloo, and her voice was identified in the 911 call. Her fabricated accounts of a fictional love triangle involving “Melissa” and “Jack” further implicated her.
In 2004, Sheila Davalloo was convicted in New York of attempted murder, assault, and weapon possession, receiving a 25-year sentence. In 2012, she faced trial in Connecticut for Raymundo’s murder, choosing to represent herself. The prosecution presented DNA evidence, the 911 call, and testimony about her obsessive behavior.
She was convicted of murder and sentenced to 50 years, to be served consecutively with her existing sentence. Appeals in 2014 and 2020 were denied. Davalloo is currently incarcerated at Bedford Hills Correctional Facility and remains linked—though uncharged—to the unsolved 2001 murder of Nancy Smith, as per Oxygen.
Stay tuned for more news and updates.
