HOUSTON – A son accused of playing a role in the 2012 murder of a graduate student appeared in court Friday. Nasim Irsan is charged with murder in the death of Gelareh Bagheerzadeh.
Detectives said his father, Ali Irsan, a conservative Muslim, was angry that Bagherzadeh turned his daughter, Nesreen, from Islam to Christianity. When he could not find his daughter, investigators say he harassed Bagherzadeh, but the woman would not tell him of his daughter's whereabouts. That daughter's husband, Cody Beavers, was murdered in November 2012.
Authorities also charged Ali Irsan's wife, Ashmou Alrawabdeh, with murder. Alrawabdeh is currently in federal custody awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty to Social Security Fraud.
Ali Irsan's daughter, 30-year-old Nadia Irsan, is charged with stalking. Investigators said she was trying to help her father locate her sister and also made threats. Nadia Irsan is currently in federal custody awaiting sentencing in the same Social Security fraud case.
Cory Beavers, Coty Beavers' twin brother expressed his relief Wednesday, by phone.
"We know there's still a long way to go but it feels like there's been a huge weight lifted off our shoulders with these arrests," Cory Beavers said.
In 1999, Ali Irsan shot and killed his son-in-law. That killing was originally deemed to be an act of self-defense, but the case has since been reopened.
Ali Irsan is being held on a federal fraud charge stemming from his June 2014 arrest, with that trial tentatively slated to begin this summer.
"Let these charges be a reminder to other violent offenders that law enforcement in Houston will not give up until justice is served," said FBI Special Agent in Charge Perrye K. Turner in a statement.
Son accused in 2012 murder of graduate student appears in court
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