Officials said they hope the reward will produce new leads in the January 15 slaying of Gelareh Bagherzadeh, 30, who was shot in her car near her family’s townhouse.
“Rewards of this size work,” Katherine Cabaniss, Crime Stoppers of Houston executive director, told a news conference last week announcing the record offer.
Bagherzadeh was a student in molecular genetic technology at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.
It appeared nothing was taken from Bagherzadeh’s car, and police said they haven’t determined a motive for the mysterious shooting.
“We are not ruling anything out at this time,” Houston police Sgt. J.C. Padilla said.
“The more we talk to people, the more we realize we need the community’s help in solving this. We’ve done it in the past and we can do it again.”
The Houston organization’s largest previous reward was $100,000 offered for information in the 2003 deaths of four young people. A Crime Stoppers tip helped crack the case three years later, Cabaniss said.
Bagherzadeh lived with her parents and two brothers, who all attended last Tuesday’s news conference. The family came to the US eight years ago.
“The people who did this are from this planet, not another one,” said her older brother, Kaveh Bagherzadeh. “If you know anything, come forward.”
Tips can be made anonymously in any language, Cabaniss said.
Although Bagherzadeh sometimes spoke out against the Iranian government, Padilla said her political views did not seem to be a reason for her death. “There’s nothing to suggest that being an advocate was a motive for her death,” Padilla said. “But we’re not ruling out anything.”
Anyone with information should call Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS (8477), submit information online at 222.crime-stoppers.org or send a text message – TIP610 plus your tip – to CRIMES (274637).
The organization will pay up to $200,000 for any information that leads to the filing of felony charges or arrest of a suspect.
