Detectives investigating the murder of an Iranian molecular scientist gunned down in her car as she drove home believe she was followed or that someone was waiting for her.
Gelareh Bagherzadeh, 30, who lobbied on behalf of Iranian women’s civil rights, was struck by a single bullet that entered the passenger door window as she talked on her cell phone with her ex-boyfriend.
Her car then rolled into and a garage door yards from her parents’ home in a townhouse community just southwest of Houston, Texas.
The car’s engine was still running when police found her body behind the wheel about 12:30am on Monday.
According to police, someone walked to the passenger’s side of her car and shot her at point-blank range.
Describing what the ex-boyfriend heard, homicide Sgt. Richard Bolton told KHOU-TV: ‘He heard a loud thud – doesn’t recall hearing any gunshots, but a loud thud – and then a screeching noise. He said it sounded like someone driving away.’
Sgt Bolton said police have questioned the ex-boyfriend but he is not a person of interest in the case.
Bagherzadeh was a molecular genetic technology student at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. She also was active in promoting Iranian women’s rights, police spokesman Victor Senties said.
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