New murder may be linked to Gelareh Bagherzadeh's Killing
Huffington Post reports that ten months after Gelareh Bagherzadeh's mysterious murder, her boyfriend's twin brother, Coty Beavers, was riddled with bullets in his home in Houston.
Gelareh Bagherzadeh was an Iranian-American medical student at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center and an outspoken critic of the human rights abuses in Iran. She was shot dead last January while driving her car about 12:30 a.m. outside her parents’ townhome near the Galleria area. Nothing was taken from her vehicle. The mysterious murder prompted Crime Stoppers of Houston, with the help of Iranian American community, to offer a $200,000 reward, the largest cash amount ever in the organization’s history.
Gelareh's boyfriend Cory Beavers has been reportedly in contact with authorities trying to solving the crime. Could it be that Cory was the intended target of the new murder but his "twin" brother, Coty, was mistaken for him? The Sheriff's office hasn't established a connection between the slayings, but is looking for leads.
UPDATE, January 14, 2013: STATEMENT RECEIVED FROM COTY BEAVERS MEMORIAL:
"We believe both cases are connected. It is unfortunate that some authorities did not take the situation more seriously and that proper resources were not available, which could have prevented both murders. We believe Coty was directly targeted and Gelareh's murder was not due to her activism or the result of the Iranian government. Our family has cooperated with authorities since Gelareh's murder and it's our personal belief that Cory is not being actively pursued as a suspect in either case. Right now evidence for both cases is still at the crime lab. For the moment we can only hope and pray the authorities will be able to produce results in time to prevent another tragedy. We would like to express our gratitude to the detectives working Coty's case for their hard work and effort, and to all of our family and friends who have lifted us up in prayer. Both families ask anyone with information to have courage and contact crime stoppers so justice can be served."
Anyone with information about suspects was asked to contact Crime Stoppers of Houston at (713) 222-TIPS (8477). Tips also can be submitted online at www.crime-stoppers.org or sent by text message. Text TIP610 plus your tip to CRIMES (274637). All tipsters remain anonymous. The organization will pay up to $200,000 for any information that leads to the filing of felony charges or arrest of a suspect.
Related:
Iranian woman’s killing prompts the largest Crime Stopping award in US History: $200,000
