REDMOND, Wash. — A Redmond couple in their 30s were shot and killed around 2 a.m. Friday, before police say the suspect turned the gun on himself.
Redmond investigators say a Texas trucker became obsessed with a Redmond woman who had a podcast-style social media account. It led to a stalking case that ended in the “worst possible outcome,” said Police Chief Darrell Lowe.
The stalking case was severe enough that the chief was actually briefed about a protection order the couple obtained last week — but now it’s become a double-murder and suicide investigation.
Investigators say the suspect gained access to the couple’s home by breaking in through a bedroom window in the 16700 block of Northeast 89th Street.
“This is every victim, every detective, every police chief’s worst nightmare,” said Lowe.
The murder victims are 33-year-old Zohre Sadeghi and her husband, 35-year-old Mohammed Milad Naseri.
“It seems unreal that something like this could happen in our neighborhood,” said a neighbor.
Court documents identify the suspect as 38-year-old Ramin Khodakaramrezaei. The protection order details how the suspect had been in contact with Sadeghi for more than a year, but the stalking escalated in November of 2022 after she told him to stop communicating with her. That’s when he started bombarding the victim with calls, messages, flowers, gifts, and even showing up at the couple’s home in person.
“In one of the reports, she reported over 100 contacts in a single day,” Lowe said.
Sadeghi was a software engineer, according to several social media platforms. She also ran a live podcast-style chat account on the platform Clubhouse.
“The suspect and victim met via a podcast type of chat app that was specifically for Farsi speaking individuals seeking employment in the tech industry,” Lowe said.
When the situation escalated from conversation to stalking and harassment, the couple got a protection order. That document was filed last week on March 3.
In the petition for the protection order, the victim shared her fears, saying:
“Messages to me have been the cause of anxiety and insomnia for me. They include him crying and begging for me to pick up, him threatening to burn himself and the tree in front of my house.”
She later writes, “Mr. Khodakaramrezaei has bursts of anger and is completely delusional. These delusions make me fear for my life and the lives of my loved ones… he has always said the only way he would stop contacting me is if he died… that he won’t let me go.”
The murders happened just one week after the petition order was filed.
Lowe says investigators were trying to track down the suspect to serve an arrest warrant and the protection order, but were having trouble locating him given the nature of his trucking job and constantly being on the move.
Meanwhile, city prosecutors filed misdemeanor harassment and stalking charges against Khodakaramrezaei, and detectives had been working with the victims to help recommend security measures like adding surveillance cameras.
“In this case, the victim did everything that they possibly could. Unfortunately, this person broke into their home and killed her. It is a tragic event,” Lowe said.
Sadeghi’s mother was also in the home when the suspect broke in. Police say she was able to escape and run to a neighbor’s house to call 911.