From Iran to Michigan to the Grave

Only 13 hours elapsed from the moment that Sanaz Nezami called the police for help from her home in Michigan to the second her eyes closed forever in Marquette General Hospital, where her unconscious body was transferred by ambulance. But those scant hours sealed the destiny of the 27-year-old Iranian woman who had only emigrated to the United States months before.

The details surrounding Sanaz's death in America were shadowy, a challenge to any reporter trying to cobble together a picture of a relationship that started between two continents and ended in violent tragedy. But for me, an Iranian journalist based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, this was a particularly difficult and harrowing story. 

Every journalist covers one or two stories in a lifetime that will remain etched one's mind forever, and Sanaz's death, I know, will be one of these for me. Once I began reporting her story, I couldn't get the image of her lying on the hospital bed out, her battered face puffy from blows and her eyes half closed, out of my head. In photos from Iran her eyes shined bright and full of passion for life. What could have happened?

As this is the 21^st century, Facebook was the first source that came to mind. With some apprehension, I sent friendship requests to a number of Sanaz’s friends and explained what I was trying to do. Four accepted my requests and two of them replied to my messages. A college friend of Sanaz wrote that she would prefer to put me in contact with Sanaz’s sister out of respect for the grieving family, fearing she might say something that could cause offense.

A Shining Classmate

“I hadn't heard from her for a long time,” the other friend wrote. “I only heard that she had been accepted by a university and had gone to the US. Sanaz studied hard. I was not surprised that she'd been accepted because I dare say she was my most intelligent classmate.”

I soon found Sara Nezami, Sanaz’s sister, online, and sent her a message, even though I was not sure whether she would be willing to speak to me in the early days of mourning. Perhaps in the end she communicated with me out of a sense of responsibility, to set her sister's public image straight.

Contrary to some reports, Sanaz had not traveled to the United States on a spousal or dependency visa, according to Sara, who is married, 31, living in Iran.  As an elite Iranian student she had been accepted by two universities, a Canadian university in Ottawa to study for a PhD in French literature, her major, and the other from Michigan University for environmental studies.

She had submitted a study paper on Michigan Lake to her university advisor and it was well received. “Sanaz wanted to meet her advisor the moment she arrived in Michigan and thank her,” says Sara. “But it never happened. She didn't meet her professor.”

Sanaz had met her future husband, Nima Nassiri, online in 2012, when they began a relationship over the internet. In August 2013 their families both traveled to Turkey so the two young people could meet. Nima was born in California to Iranian parents but had never visited Iran. Sanaz had lost her mother a year before the meeting. Sanaz’s father and her elder sister were against the marriage, but after promises and inducements by the Nassiri family they eventually gave their consent.

According to Sara, Nima’s parents were very insistent on marriage. They praised Nima’s moral and psychological fitness and promised to take care of Sanaz like their own daughter.

In any case, what emerges is that Sanaz was heading for the US, with or without Nima. My talks with Sara were interrupted time and again, so I don’t exactly know why the Nezami family and her father eventually consented to the marriage. What occurred to me is that perhaps in Iranian culture it is more acceptable to emigrate to the new world married rather than as a single woman. Isn’t being alone and the possible lack of support what worries Iranian parents most when their children emigrate?

The Last  Glimpse

On August 8, 2013, Sanaz said goodbye to her family as she departed from Turkey, the last real-life glimpse of Sanaz that her sister and father had. From Turkey she flew to Los Angeles and shortly thereafter moved with Nima to Michigan to start her studies. Their life together in Michigan, however, lasted no more than two weeks.

Now it is only the forensics report that talks about the night of the event, though I still don’t know what happened before Sanaz contacted the police. This is what the post-mortem report states:

“In the late evening of 12/8/13 a phone call by Mrs Nezami had indicated that she had been assaulted by her husband... Mrs Nezami had sounded lethargic and Houghton County Sheriff deputies were dispatched to the residence. At the time of their arrival they found Mrs Nezami unresponsive with some blood around her mouth.

“According to her husband...he had grabbed her hair and slammed her head on the floor several times. Mrs Nezami was taken to Portage Health System where a CT scan showed a right-sided subdural hematoma. Mrs Nezami’s condition continued to deteriorate and she was transferred immediately to Marquette General Hospital. While at Marquette General Hospital, Mrs Nezami was placed on a ventilator and declared brain dead shortly after her arrival. Mrs Nezami was pronounced dead at 13:10 on 12/9/13.

“A couple of days later Mrs Nezami was taken off of life support.”

During the course of our interrupted and remote conversations, Sara Nezami sister says that she doesn't know why Nima murdered her sister. They have not been able to talk to Nima after the event and she says the Nassiri family has not tried to contact her family, not even to offer condolences.

Hanif Kashani, my IranWire colleague who was reporting the Michigan side of the story from the United States, has tried to contact Nima’s friends but has been rebuffed by hostile silence. There are many questions that remain unanswered: Was Nima suffering from a psychological disorder? Was Sanaz tortured before that?

I send the coroner’s report provided by Sara to the editor of the English edition of Iranwire. After a few minutes Azadeh Moaveni emails back and asks, “Why was Sanaz’s weight so low? Had she lost weight? Or was she always so thin?”

Sara answers negatively: “Sanaz and I used to go the gym. When she was working out regularly she weighed about 53 kilograms but she never went as low as 49 kilos. We were greatly surprised, too, by the weight specified in the coroner’s report.”

How Sanaz managed to lose nine kilograms (nearly 20 pounds), according to the medical report, is not a simple question to answer. But how can we answer another question: was Sanaz, during her short married life, repeatedly subjected to mental and physical abuse? According to the autopsy report, Sanaz was 172 cm  (5 feet 8 inches) tall and weighed 49 kilos (90 pounds) when she died.

More Than 20 Times

The autopsy report reveals other disturbing points: many purple marks similar in size formed a line over the upper thigh, purple marks on hands, shoulders and knees, and a torn nail from the left big toe. In total the report mentions “purple” more than 20 times in reference to spots or areas on Sanaz's body.

To prove abuse, however, we need more evidence, something Sanaz had said or a change in her behavior. But Sara says her sister never mentioned anything was amiss. “No, she never said anything about torture or abuse. Each time we asked how she was doing, she only replied that she was doing well. But on Saturday, a day before it happened, her behavior was a bit odd. She had translated something for me but it was flawed, so unlike her because she was always obsessively accurate. I was surprised and asked her if she was doing okay. She only answered that she was. My father was online, too, but she refused to turn on the webcam.”

According to the police report, there was alcohol in Nima’s system, even though Nima’s family had claimed that he never touched alcohol. Can it be that their other assurances about his moral integrity and his mental health were untrue as well?

A friend of mine draws my attention to Nima Nassiri’s pictures on Facebook. The photos on his page include a picture of a marijuana leaf and a few strange pictures of a disheveled Nima very unlike the Nima that we see in photos next to Sanaz. I ask Sara to introduce us to the attorney for the case, hoping the attorney could secure us some access to Nima. But Sara tells me the family is still uncertain about how to navigate the American court system. The county provides a prosecuting attorney to attend the charges of second degree murder, but a civil lawyer would enable the family to sue Nima directly. They have not figured out how to hire such a lawyer, and how that case would operate alongside the murder trial.

Hanif Kashani and I are still trying to find more information on Nima Nassiri. Sara will give me the information that she receives from the case officer. The murder took place in Michigan, Sanaz’s family is in Tehran and I am in Kuala Lumpur. It seems that Sanaz’s fate continually refracts back to the online world, from the origins of her marriage to her move to the US to her death in Michigan. Now writing about her is only possible with the help of online media.

Detective Sergeant Thomas Rosemurgy of Houghton County Sheriff's Office in Michigan is the officer responsible for Sanaz’s case. Since this is an ongoing investigation there are many aspects of the case he can naturally not discuss. “He has been charged with second degree murder because at the moment there is a belief that it wasn’t a premeditated act,” he told my colleague Hanif. “It is alleged there was a physical altercation in which he allegedly struck her multiple times in the head. He was taken into custody without incident and is lodged here at the Houghton County Sheriff’s office. Nima has been cooperative up to this point.”

According to Detective Rosemurgy, “January 13 is the date for his preliminary hearing in which they will determine whether or not there is enough evidence to take the case to circuit court.” Nima’s trial, if he is put on trial, may take a year.

Cultural Stereotypes

“There are a lot of people speculating about this being an Iranian guy or a Muslim,” says Detective Rosemurgy.  “[But] this has nothing to do with him being Iranian or a Muslim. It’s important for people to realize that. Nima Nassiri was born and raised in the US. He is 100 percent American and has never even been to Iran,” even though both of his parents are of Iranian descent.

Detective Rosemurgy is somehow surprised about how little attention the case has received in the media. “There has been very few media outlets that have contacted me to get the correct information”, he says. “You guys (IranWire) are the second or third media organization to contact me. Usually I have to answer tons of questions about homicides, but oddly enough, not this time around.”

The detective has appreciative words about Sanaz’s family. “Sanaz’s sister and father have been absolutely wonderful to work with. They are very kind and understanding. They realize that Sanaz was in love with the US and came to the US for her education.”

Detective Rosemurgy says the case is “one of the hardest emotionally that I've ever had to handle. Even when dealing with what was going to happen to Sanaz after the autopsy, I personally went to the cemetery and took photographs of where she was going to be buried and emailed them to her sister. I’ve picked up Sanaz’s mail for her family to present as evidence and when the case is done I can ship some of these personal items back to the family.”

“Closing bank accounts, contacting attorneys,” the detective adds. “I almost feel as though I am a personal representative for [Sanaz's family] as well, and yes, I do feel honored that I am handling the family’s situation as they are thousands of miles away.”

A Package From Iran

The nurses and doctors at Marquette General Hospital arranged for Sanaz's family in Iran to see her in the hospital, via webcam, during her final hours. Detective Rosemurgy says that the family appreciated this deeply: “As a matter of fact, I just picked up a big package from the post office today that Sanaz’s father has sent from Iran that he wants to be delivered to the nurses and doctors. The package has traditional goodies and snacks and things of that nature that the family wanted to hospital folks to have.”

On the case itself, the detective says that “this isn’t one of those cases that you see on TV where you say ‘It’s just about the facts’. It has really become a personal issue and was emotionally charged to begin with. Day after day my entire day is saturated with this matter and making sure that we have a good solid case.”

Sanaz’s father's mental state has deteriorated since her killing and her family cannot come to the court or witness Nima’s hearing or trial, but the case officer has assured them repeatedly that he would do his utmost to bring the case to a conclusion.

But there is only one thing that can soothe Sanaz’s father, says Sara. “Talking to people who received Sanaz’s organs. We only know that her heart is beating within the chest of a 12-year-old girl. We are eager to know who else has received her organs. How are they doing?” The family had agreed to the donation of her organs before life support was removed and, according to reports, this Iranian woman's life, cut short by violence, has saved seven Americans after her death.

Sara wants the maximum punishment for Nima, which she imagined would be the death penalty. The detective, however, has explained to her that “Michigan is not a capital punishment state, and even to receive a life sentence in prison doesn’t necessarily mean he will be in prison for life. He could serve 25 years. Minimum sentencing for a second degree murder charge in Michigan is a minimum 13 ½ years to life and that is up to the judge, who will take into consideration prior (criminal) history, the manner in which the victim died, etc.”

A Gift From The City

Without any family to handle Sanaz's burial, the details fell to Detective Rosemurgy. There has been talk of sending her body back to Iran for burial, but this would be extremely expensive, around $10,000. Rosemurgy thought raising these funds would be easy, given the sizeable Muslim communities in Detroit and Dearborn, Michigan. He called two organizations but neither returned his calls. “It all worked out in the end,” he said. “Sara told me that her father mentioned to her that the US is where Sanaz wanted to be, and this is where she would have wanted to be buried.”

In the end, Marquette, Michigan, the town where she was murdered, paid for her full funeral expenses as a gift to her grieving family.

Now Sanaz Nezami rests in Park Cemetery in Marquette, Michigan. Observing from across the world, I find it striking how Sanaz's family, with their humane, caring behavior, have managed to impress and move the state of Michigan from their perch in Iran. For me, as a reporter, many questions remain. What happened during Sanaz and Nima's short married life? Was Sanaz a victim of domestic violence before her death? Was she physically or mentally abused or tortured? What happened between Nima and Sanaz the night in question? Perhaps we must wait for the court hearings to find the answers.

With Hanif Kashani in Washington DC