Podcast host and husband shot and killed by stalking suspect in Washington state home invasion, police say
A podcast host and her husband were shot and killed in a home invasion in Redmond, Washington, early Friday morning by a man who had been stalking the woman, police said. The suspect was also found dead in the home.
According to Redmond police, at about 1:45 a.m. local time, officers were dispatched to a report of shots fired at the couple's home. They arrived to find three people inside with gunshot wounds. All three died at the scene, police said.
Redmond police spokesperson Jill Green confirmed to CBS News in an email that the two victims were married and resided in the home. The Associated Press on Saturday identified the victims as Zohreh Sadeghi, 33, and her husband, Mohammad Milad Naseri, 35, and said they had just received the court protection order a week earlier.
The mother of one of the two victims, who also lived in the home, had escaped unhurt and reported the shooting, Green told CBS affiliate KIRO-TV.
"It was reported by the mother who lived in the residence," Green said. "She had escaped from the home and called 911."
According to police, the female victim hosted a podcast which the suspect, identified as 38-year-old Ramin Khodakaramrezaei, had listened to. Green told CBS News that Khodakaramrezaei was a truck driver from Texas.
At some point, Khodakaramrezaei reached out to her, they began communicating and then became friends, police said.
However, "things escalated," prompting her to file a "no-contact order against him," police said in a statement.
Prior to Friday's fatal shooting, police had been aware of the stalking case and had tried to assist the family, Green told KIRO-TV. She said there was a warrant out for Khodakaramrezaei before the attack, but investigators had been unable to locate him. In the application for the protection order, Sadeghi wrote that Khodakaramrezaei threatened to show up at her home and set it on fire and left voicemails declaring that he wouldn't stop unless "he killed himself or died," the AP reported.
Sadeghi tried to cut off contact with Khodakaramrezaei but the harassment continued so she contacted police in December and again in January after his actions intensified.
"They (police) were working with the family, and telling them to be safe, and giving them tips and telling them to call at any time," Green said. "This is the worst possible outcome of a stalking situation."