Ali Irsan

Ali Mahmood Awad Irsan (; born December 27, 1957 ) is a Jordanian-American convicted murderer held on Texas death row. He was sentenced for the murders of Iranian-American activist Gelareh Bagherzadeh , a friend of one of his daughters; and his son-in-law, Coty Beavers, in Greater Houston.

Multiple media reports described the crimes as honor killings.

Background Ali Irsan and his family Ali Irsan was born to a father in the Jordanian Army.

Irsan, using a student visa, came to the United States in 1979, and became a naturalized United States citizen. in unincorporated eastern Montgomery County, Texas, near Conroe. Craig Malisow of the Houston Press stated that Irsan "considered himself to be a devout Muslim." Irsan studied in a "medical laboratory" program at Kirkwood Community College. He stated in court filings that he studied in a medical program at a tertiary institution in Jordan, and he also stated that he had a Houston Community College "diploma of auto-mechanic". They married circa 1980, who was approximately 15 arrived in the U.S. circa 1995. Alrawabdeh had eight children with him while they lived in the United States; She naturalized as a U.S. citizen in 2001. the husband of Nasemah Rachelle Irsan , as area law enforcement believed him to be innocent. Nasemah was sent back to Jordan, where she remarried; she later returned to the U.S. with her new husband. After Irsan suffered a heart attack and was diagnosed with a heart condition, Nesreen and Nadia were able to convince their father to allow them to go to medical school to become doctors and ensure their father's health would be properly maintained. To their surprise, Irsan allowed Nadia and Nesreen to enroll in a tertiary institution, a biology program at Lone Star College-Montgomery. Candace Strang, a professor at Lone Star who taught the women, stated that, as paraphrased by Malislow in a Houston Press article, Nadia and Nesreen "fought hard to convince their father to let them enroll". and medical researcher, had molecular genetics as her area of study. She was born in France and was from Tehran. She studied biology in Tehran and later attended university in Budapest, Hungary, before moving to Houston in 2007 to join her parents, who bought a house near Uptown Houston (the area around the Houston Galleria) so she could live there; this residence was within the Woodway Point townhomes, where a nearby street would become the site of her death. Nesreen introduced Coty Beavers's twin brother, Cory, to Bagherzadeh.

Irsan had earlier told his daughters that they were not allowed to date. According to court testimony, Irsan threatened the girls with death if they engaged in romantic relationships, and also stated he would kill their boyfriends if that were ever the case. The relationship between Nesreen and Nadia deteriorated. Nesreen later found employment at MD Anderson Cancer Center.

Kidnapping, escape, harassment, and marriage Irsan learned about Nesreen's relationship with Beavers while he was in Jordan with his son. In June 2011, his wife, Alrawabdeh, held Nesreen against her will at Irsan's residence; Nesreen accused her sister Nadia of also holding her against her will. Nesreen and Beavers chose a gated apartment complex, specifically for their protection; they rented a third-floor unit to minimize their possibility of being attacked. Whenever Nesreen left the apartment to travel to and from work, Beavers escorted her to her car to protect her. He also had an assault rifle in case he needed self-defense.

In an interview with the Houston Chronicle, Nesreen stated that, historically, law enforcement in the Houston area had difficulty dealing with honor crimes, as they did not understand the culture, and the ramifications for violating honor codes. on offenses related to fraud perpetrated against the Social Security system. All three suspects were also held at Federal Detention Center, Houston in Downtown Houston. The FBI raided the house again on June 5, 2014 . to "conspiracy to defraud the United States", while Alrawabdeh and Nadia were convicted of "making false statements". Irsan was sentenced to 45 months' confinement and a fine of $290,651 by Judge Lynn Hughes. hitting Bagherzadeh in the head with one bullet that went through the passenger side window of the car she drove.

Bagherzadeh was driving home while talking on the telephone with a former boyfriend. Up to three other bullets were fired at her car. Prosecutors stated that Irsan, Alrawabdeh, and Nasim Irsan were together in a car. Shortly after the killings, Bagherzadeh's allies and friends believed that the Iranian government had had Bagherzadeh assassinated.

Beavers's murder Coty Beavers was murdered at his residence at the Legacy Park apartments, around 5:45a.m. According to court testimony, Irsan had anticipated that Nesreen would be with him and intended to kill her too. Cory Beavers told the news channel KPRC that his brother "said basically if I'm ever killed or murdered it was Ali Irsan. I mean he was that specific about it." Beavers's mother, Shirley McCormick, stated at Irsan's trial that "We knew who was responsible, but we didn't know who all had helped him. I told [the police officers] it was Ali Irsan, and he also had to be the one who killed Gelareh." She stated "If a girl ran away from home, it would bring disgrace to the family." Devon Anderson, the Harris County district attorney in 2015, stated that Irsan "believed that [Nesreen] and others, including the two victims, had violated his honor as a Muslim." Harris County district attorney Anderson did not say why the initial charges were dropped with newer ones later filed; Michael Barajas of the Houston Press stated "It appears that decision was purely strategic". Nadia Irsan received charges accusing her of stalking her sister, a felony of the third degree; the maximum possible sentence, if convicted, would be 10 years. Prosecutors can file murder charges against her if they find that she had helped plan any murders, due to the law of parties statutes. Alwarabdeh also was charged with Bagherzadeh's murder, In the courtroom, Irsan asked for the state to not notify the Jordanian government , citing that he was a citizen of the United States.

After state criminal charges had been announced, an anonymous person claiming to be one of Irsan's children created a petition stating that "racial prejudice and discrimination" had victimized the family.

The prosecutors sought the death penalty against Irsan, making it the first death penalty prosecution in Houston in 2018, and also the first death penalty case during the tenure of Kim Ogg, the Harris County district attorney since January1, 2017. Anna Emmons, Marie Primm, and Jon Stephenson were appointed special prosecutors, as did Cory Beavers, who lost his twin brother and girlfriend, Other relatives resident in Jordan used Skype to communicate with the court. Arabic translators translated testimony from people who lacked English fluency. The sentencing phase lasted two weeks as the same jury deliberated between life without parole or the death penalty.

Irsan's conviction and death sentences were affirmed on direct appeal by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on February 26, 2025.

Subsequent developments In August 2019, Nasim Irsan, already in correctional custody for more than four years, reached a plea deal: he pleaded guilty to murder instead of capital murder and received a 40-year sentence, with time off for time already served. He may apply for parole around 2039. Alwarabdeh refused to testify against Nasim, and prosecutors stated this complicated their case against him.

Aftermath and analysis Governor of Texas Greg Abbott wrote on Twitter that people who commit honor killings in Texas would be sentenced to death in state court.

Brian Rogers of the Houston Chronicle stated that experts considered the case to be unusual because usually only the offending woman is killed in an honor killing, and that the Irsan affair increased attention given to honor killings in the United States. Michael Creed, another brother of Coty Beavers, said "You don't have to be Muslim to be a victim of an honor crime. These are not infrequent events that happen in some random part of the world. They're happening in America and they're on the rise."

On January 23, 2012, Bagherzadeh's funeral was held at Second Baptist Church.

Dateline NBC also had a two-hour episode airing in November 2019. They later produced a podcast hosted by Josh Mankiewicz titled Motive for Murder.

In December 2022, Netflix had an episode of I am a Killer called "A Father's Shadow" featuring Ali Irsan's honor murders.