Couple stabbed to death at home on Saturday evening (October 14); The filmmaker’s wife said she had received threats weeks before
Iranian filmmaker Dariush Mehrjui, 83, and his wife Vahida Mohammadifar, 54, were killed at their residence near the Iranian capital Tehran on Saturday (October 14, 2023). The two were killed by stab wounds to the head and neck and were found dead by the couple’s daughter.
In an interview with the Mizan Online agency, Alborz Provincial Chief Judge Husein FazeliHarikandi said that the forensic report prepared after the autopsy concluded that the cause of the couple’s death was profuse bleeding due to injuries caused by a were knives or sharp objects.
Recently, the filmmaker’s wife said in an interview with the Etemad newspaper that she had received threats in recent weeks and even reported to the police that criminals had robbed her house.
In the interview with Mizan, FazeliHarikandi said he was unaware of this complaint. “No complaints were lodged regarding the illegal entry into the Mehrjoui family’s home and the theft of their property,” the investigator said.
Career
Mehrjui is considered one of the most respected filmmakers in Iran. He directed some of the major films of the socalled “new Iranian cinema,” with a focus on the 1969 film “The Cow.”
After his success in the 1960s, the filmmaker moved to Paris, where he stayed from 1980 to 1985. In France he shot the film “A Journey to the Land of Rimbaud”. The artist’s other successes were the films “Leila” from 1997 and “The Tenants” from 1986.
Since 2000, Mehrjui has also been a member of the Iranian Academy of Arts.