Kulthum Akbari, born in 1967 in Sari, Mazandaran Province, Iran, is an Iranian convicted serial killer known as Iran’s Black Widow, who was sentenced to death in September 2025 after being found guilty of murdering 11 of her husbands over approximately two decades. She is widely regarded as the most prolific known female serial killer in Iranian history and the second female serial killer ever recorded in the country.
Kultum Akbari Profile
| Name | Kultum Akbari |
| Real Name | Kulthum Akbari |
| Date of Birth | 1967 |
| Nationality | Iranian |
| Occupation | N/A |
| Religion | Islam |
| Marital Status | Widow |
| Net Worth | N/A |
| Copied from | content101.com |
Educational Background
Kulthum Akbari’s formal educational background is not available to the public. She was first married at the age of eleven and spent her life moving between cities across northern Iran, including Sari, Neka, Mahmudabad, Babol, and Qaem Shahr, targeting victims across different locations to avoid detection.
Career
Kulthum Akbari did not have a documented professional career. Her pattern of activity, which investigators described as a calculated criminal enterprise, began in the early 2000s and continued until her arrest in 2023.
She would seek out elderly, wealthy men living alone, marry them on the condition of receiving substantial dowries in cash or property, and within three months poison them using dissolved sugar or blood pressure medication administered in drinks. In the early stages of poisoning, she would take victims to the hospital, presenting herself as a caring spouse saving their lives.
She would then increase the dosage until the victim died, with their pre-existing health conditions providing cover for the cause of death. Investigations confirmed she had 19 official marriages and 18 concubine arrangements, all of which ended in the husbands’ deaths. Authorities believe she may have killed more than 20 men in total.
Controversies
Kulthum Akbari’s crimes came to light in 2023 when her intended 82-year-old victim, Gholamreza Babaei, grew suspicious and refused to file a police report after a near-fatal episode.
His son later connected with the son of another survivor, Masih Nemati, who had previously thrown Akbari out of his house after becoming suspicious. Together the two men identified her and alerted authorities, leading to her arrest in September 2023. Upon arrest, she confessed to the murder of her husband and 10 others, though she admitted she could not remember the precise number of people she had killed.
In September 2025, a court in Mazandaran found her guilty of 11 counts of murder, sentenced her to 10 death penalties at the request of victims’ families, with one family accepting blood money instead of execution. In place of receiving a 10-year sentence for attempted murder. Her case drew international attention and reignited public debate in Iran about the regulation of temporary marriages and protections for elderly and vulnerable citizens.
Kultum Akbari Social Media Handle
Kultum Akbari does not have any official or publicly known social media handles.
Personal Life
Kulthum Akbari was born in 1967 in a village near Sari, Mazandaran Province, Iran, making her approximately 58 years old. She was first married at eleven years old and had a son who died of heart disease.
Her subsequent husband also died, the beginning of a pattern that would continue for over two decades. She is currently on death row in Iran following her conviction for 11 counts of murder, with 10 death sentences handed down by the court in September 2025.
Kultum Akbari Net Worth
Kultum Akbari’s net worth is not available to the public.