A podcaster and her husband were killed inside their home in the early hours of March 10 by a man authorities say stalked the couple.
Police in Washington state responded to reported shots fired at a home in Redmond just before 2 a.m. on Friday morning, a news release from the city stated. Upon arrival, authorities discovered the podcaster and her husband shot to death inside the home as well as the stalking suspect, Ramin Khodakaramrezaei, 38, who appeared to have taken his own life, the release stated.
‘Vulgar, angry’ stalker had left 20 messages a day for podcaster, husband before murder-suicide https://t.co/MncrytxUoE pic.twitter.com/RPgPJAGzYn
— New York Post (@nypost) March 11, 2023
Earlier in March, the unnamed podcaster had sought a restraining order against Khodakaramrezaei, who had reportedly messaged the woman incessantly after listening to her podcasts and befriending her on social media. “In one of the reports, she reported over 100 contacts in a single day,” Redmond Police Chief Darrell Lowe said, according to CNN. “There were instances where the individual did show up at the [home]previously bearing gifts,” he continued.
Khodakaramrezaei, who had been a truck driver from Texas, had not yet been served with the protection order before the killings as authorities had trouble locating him, the outlet reported.
Lowe stressed that just because a restraining order is obtained does not mean a stalking victim is protected from possible harm. “A restraining order is simply a piece of paper that allows officers to take enforcement actions should a suspect violate the court order, but a piece of paper does not protect a person when someone is intent on causing them harm,” he stated according to CNN. (RELATED: Woman On Phone With Sister As Alleged Stalker Approaches, Shoots Mom Of Seven Kids)
“This is the absolute worst outcome for a stalking case,” Lowe continued.
The podcaster’s mother was reportedly also in the home at the time of the murder-suicide, but was unharmed in the incident, the outlet stated.