Zialloh Abrahimzadeh, 57, was convicted of murdering Zahra Abrahimzadeh, 44, in front of their oldest daughter and 300 other Now Ruz guests at the Adelaide Convention Centre in March 2010.
South Australian Supreme Court Justice John Sulan sentenced Abrahimzadeh to life in prison with a minimum of 26 years to be served before parole can even be considered.
The couple’s three children said no sentence can satisfy them because nothing can bring their mother back.
Abrahimzadeh had pleaded not guilty at the start of the trial although there was no shortage of witnesses. After 11 days, he changed his plea to guilty. He admitted to stabbing his wife but said he didn’t mean to and it wasn’t his fault. The judge said that did not qualify as a guilty plea. Eventually, he pleaded guilty and said he was sorry for what he had done.
In sentencing Abrahimzadeh, Justice Sulan cited a letter Abrahimzadeh wrote his children after the killing in which he blamed them and their mother for all his troubles.
In the letter, Abrahimzadeh complained that his family put “wealth and materialism” ahead of “integrity, principles and dignity.” But before the murder he had denounced his wife for blocking the sale of their home in Iran, saying that had cost him thousands of dollars.
Justice Sulan said the letter “demonstrates how you are completely self-absorbed and fail to have any regret for the misery you have caused to your family.”
In the letter, Abrahimzadeh blamed his wife and children for driving him “towards insanity” by denying him three-quarters of the equity in their house in Iran. “How much do you think the body and mind of a human being can tolerate?” he asked. “How long can a human being live with fear and anxiety and with no security?”
He fills 1 1/2 pages with details of the family’s material possessions, including televisions, gold and jewels. “I will not allow anybody to take what is rightfully ours,” he wrote. “When someone is trying to destroy you in any possible way, you would defend yourself and sometimes this defense results in the destruction of the opposing party.”
In the letter, he tells his children, “I am really sorry about what happened,” but then adds, “I think I am also a victim of what happened.”
Justice Sulan said, “You were motivated by the fact that you had lost control of your family, in particular your wife. You took action because she continued to disobey your demands that she not proceed with divorce. I accept you were distressed by the family situation….That may go towards explaining your conduct, but it can never excuse it.”
Abrahimzadeh had told the court during the trial that his wife became more independent after getting Australian citizenship and money from Centrelink, the Australian welfare agency.
Her relatives were all in Iran, but they would call and she would become a different person, he said. He commented that he sent her to Iran twice to sell their old house, but each time she returned empty handed and full of excuses. The judge said Abrahimzadeh believed his wife’s family was blocking the sale of the house, although the revenue would have relieved his financial woes.
The court also heard from all three of their children. They said their father regularly insulted, slapped, punched or whipped the family with his belt if they dared talk back or disobeyed his rules.
The one son, Arman, said the violence worsened in 2007 after they confronted Abrahimzadeh about rumors he was having an affair.
His father admitted having “another wife” but said it was none of their business.
Arman said the family moved out in secret after a violent evening during which he had to wrestle his father away from the kitchen knife drawer as he threatened to kill them all.
They bought a new car, stopped going to community functions and changed their habits to avoid bumping into anyone who might tell Abrahimzadeh their new address, Arman said.
Abrahimzadeh denied he was ever violent with his wife in Australia. He also denied having a mistress, saying the woman was just his good friend.
