Islamabad, Oct 19, (dpa/GNA) – Police in Iran, say they have identified the main perpetrator in the killing of prominent film director, Dariush Mehrjui, and his wife at their home near Tehran on Saturday.
The investigation was continuing, local media reported on Thursday, citing police sources. This followed the reported arrests earlier of 10 suspects, in the murders.
According to the Shargh newspaper, the couple’s daughter found her 83-year-old father and 54-year-old mother, Vahideh Mohammadifar, dead in their villa. Both had been stabbed in the neck with a knife or sharp object, the newspaper reported.
The Etemad newspaper wrote on Saturday that Mohammadifar said she had previously been threatened. Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi urged law-enforcers to quickly solve the murders.
Hundreds of people including Iranian film celebrities, flocked to Wednesday’s mourning ceremony in Tehran, eyewitnesses said. Iranians far beyond the country’s borders also mourned the famous couple.
Mehrjui influenced Iranian cinema like no other. The filmmaker was one of the pioneers of the New Iranian Cinema, into which he introduced neo-realism.
He won the Audience Award at the Venice Film Festival in 1971, with his 1969 film “The Cow” and gained international acclaim.
GNA