40-Year-Old Man Confesses to Serial Killing of Seven Women in Gilan

The mystery surrounding the suspicious deaths of seven women in Gilan has been solved. With the arrest and shocking confessions of the perpetrator of these seven murders, the case of the “Night Bat,” which became notorious in the 1970s, has been brought to mind once again. The 40-year-old man committed these murders with the complicity of his ex-wife.

This 40-year-old man, posing as a taxi driver and employing the methods of the serial killer of women in Tehran during the 1970s, would pick up women in his car and, after gaining their trust, would plan and execute their murders.

Confessing to Seven Murders

Gilan police have released very limited information about the perpetrator of these seven murders. According to the Shahrvand newspaper, the killer initially confessed during preliminary interrogations to murdering four women aged 57 to 60, and in subsequent interrogations admitted to three more horrific crimes.

So far, it has been determined that the first three murders occurred between 1387 and 1388 (2008-2009). The 40-year-old killer told police in his statement: “Except for two bodies, I mutilated the rest of the corpses. I would take the mutilated bodies to the outskirts of cities and remote roads in Gilan Province and hide them there.”

Following the shocking confessions of this man, the body of one of the victims, who had been reported missing since 1388 (2009), was recently discovered in one of the villages near Rasht.

This 40-year-old man confessed to seven murders while claiming that his ex-wife also accompanied him throughout all the killings.

Murder of Seven Women with Ex-Wife’s Complicity

Since last year and following the suspicious disappearance of four women in Rasht and surrounding villages, police launched investigations to uncover the mystery of these cases, which were believed to be connected to one another.

In police investigations with the families of the victims, one prominent common point emerged in the case: all the victims were either divorced or on the verge of divorce. Police subsequently discovered the connection between one of the victims and a 40-year-old man.

Following the surveillance of this man, it became clear he had also been in a relationship with another one of the victims. It took four months for police investigations to be completed and to successfully arrest this man.

According to police, the killer of these seven women claims that after separating from his first wife, he harbored a grudge against women and, in the role of a taxi driver, would identify them and after killing and stealing their gold jewelry, would mutilate their corpses.

Interview with the Brother of One of the Victims

Days after the arrest and confessions of the serial killer from Gilan, the bodies of some victims remain undiscovered. One family had been waiting since June of last year for any trace of their sister. A sister who left home one day and never returned—until after 10 months, just days after news of the arrest of this 40-year-old killer was published, police informed the family of her confirmed death. The Shahrvand newspaper interviewed the victim’s brother.

“We had gone to Gilan for the holidays. On the second day of our trip, my sister left the house in the morning and never returned. We informed the police, but 10 months passed with no news or sign of our sister until last week when police contacted us and said my sister had been killed. So far, we’ve only learned that the killer is from Zibaakanar in Rasht, but what does that matter to us? Our sister has been killed, in a horrific manner, and her body hasn’t even been found—we don’t even know if there’s anything left of her.”

The Night Bat of Gilan

With the revelation of the mystery surrounding the serial murders of these seven women, the name of the controversial case that became very famous in Iran in the 1970s has come back into public discourse. Many Iranian newspapers have referred to this 40-year-old man as the “Night Bat of Gilan.”

The Night Bat was a man named Gholamreza Khoshro, who began a series of murders of women in Tehran starting in 1971. He was arrested in 1376 (1997) and executed for seven murders.

The announcement of the arrest of this 40-year-old man, the killer of seven women in Gilan, has sparked widespread reactions. Some official bodies have promised cooperation in supporting the families of the victims, and police have announced that more details about the perpetrator will soon be made available to the media.

Source: DW