A podcast host and her husband were fatally shot after a man broke into their Redmond home on early Friday morning. The Washington state podcast host, Zohreh Sadeghi, had feared for her safety and had requested a protection order after the suspect harassed and tormented her and her husband for months.
The protection order was filed by the podcast host, Zohreh Sadeghi, on March 3, just a week prior to the incident. In the documents, Sadeghi stated that she first asked the stalker to leave her alone in November. She also claimed that he called her phone over 10 times a day and left more than 20 “vulgar and threatening” messages for her husband, which caused her a lot of insomnia and anxiety. In her petition for the protection order, she wrote that the man has “delusions” and “bursts of anger” that make her fear her life.

According to police, the suspect is 38-year-old Ramin Khodakaramrezaei, a Texas truck driver, who according to his ex-wife, became despondent after the podcaster broke off their friendship. The former had become infatuated with the host after he found out about her through the social media platform ClubHouse.
The ex-wife, Neda Meshabim, who did not want to have her voice recorded or face to be shown, said that her ex-husband’s admiration for the 33-year-old podcast host eventually turned into a friendship. Not only did they talk on the phone but they’ve also met in person on more than one occasion. In December, he also went to her house to deliver flowers after knowing that she was home alone. He continued to send her gifts for several weeks up until February.

Meshabim and Khodakaramrezaer had been married for seven years and had a daughter together. Despite having filed for divorce several years ago, however, the man often shared details about his personal life with Meshabim as he doesn’t have any relatives in the United States.

Eventually, Sadeghi, who was 33 years old and married, ended the friendship, which allegedly crushed him, according to Meshabim. However, she never imagined that he was capable of murder. After fatally shooting the couple in their home, he turned the gun on himself. Fortunately, the podcast host’s mother, who was also in the house at the time, was able to escape to a neighbor’s, where she called 911.
According to the district court, Khodakaramrezaei had had a bench warrant issued for his arrest on March 2, after he was charged with two counts of phone harassment and one count of misdemeanor. Later on March 3, Sadeghi was granted a temporary protection order with a hearing set for a later date.
At the subsequent hearing, the man was ordered to give up his weapons. However, according to police, he was never actually served with the order as he lived in another state and they weren’t able to get in contact with him.