Previously on “I Am A Killer,” we saw the story of Toby, where he blamed PTSD for his crime. In Episode 4 of “I Am A Killer” Season 4, we see a purported religious murder. Two people linked to a girl were killed; one of them was the girl’s husband. Where did the talk of religion come into the picture? Let’s find out who Nasim and Ali Irsan are, and what crime did they commit.
Spoilers Ahead
What Is The Episode About?
The fourth episode of “I Am A Killer” Season 4 starts with Nasim Irsan telling the audience that he got dragged into the mix of his father’s strict behavior and murder. He claims to be innocent and also tells the audience that the religious angle the media started spreading was false. As his name suggests, Nasim Irsan is a Muslim boy. Nasim grew up in a strict Muslim household where prayers were given utmost importance. According to Nasim, his father Ali would start beating him if he missed even one prayer. He had twelve siblings and described two of his eldest sisters as motherly figures. These two sisters, Nadia and Nesreen, fed everyone and cleaned the entire house. While his sisters raised the siblings, the only memory Nasim has of his father and mother is bitter. He says his mother would never make food for the children, and even his father would not help them with household chores much. His father moved to Texas, U.S., from Jordan, which is in the Middle East.
Even though they had been living in the U.S., where freedom is taken for granted, people like Nasim did not get to taste it. Nasim and his siblings were not allowed to make friends. He was even taken out of school when his father, Ali, found out that he had friends. Growing up in a strict household is different from growing up in an abusive household. Nasim did not know how the outer world operated and was not allowed to even move an inch without his father’s permission. He says he always wanted his father’s approval, which led him to commit the crime he and his father collectively did.
When Nadia and Nesreen grew up, they were given a choice. Ali would either send them to Jordan and force them into marriage or let them continue studying if they took the same classes. So, Nesreen and Nadia started attending the University of Texas together. Although they were in college now, one would think some extent of freedom was given to them, this was not the case. Ali expected them to come home directly after attending classes, and he approved of only a specific group of friends they had, and they were Muslims. This shows Ali is a man who looked into his religion too much, and according to his son, Ali believed whoever was not Muslim was not a good person. The daughters were not allowed to date anyone outside of their religion. However, Nesreen secretly started dating a man named Coty, who was Christian. A year into their relationship, Ali found out about it. He eventually locked Nesreen in a room, and she was not allowed to date Coty. By the time all of this happened, Nadia and Nesreen had made friends and seen the outside world. They knew their rights and wanted their rights to be protected. Nesreen fled from their house through a window one day, and things went downhill from there for the Irsan household. On the other hand, Nesreen converted to Christianity after getting married to her boyfriend, Coty.
What Did Ali Irsan Do After Nesreen Left?
Ali Irsan’s motive was to take revenge on Nesreen’s friends. He believed that Nesreen’s friend, Miss Gelareh, helped her flee. He was enraged and wanted to kill Gelareh. He soon started stalking Gelareh, bringing Nasim along with him. Both of them even bought car navigation devices. It was a planned execution.
One night, while Gelareh was in her car, she was shot twice. Her neighbor called the police and informed them that Gelareh was shot dead. When the officers arrived at the scene, it was horrifying for them to witness a dead body in the driver’s seat. The tires of Gelareh’s car were still spinning when her body was discovered. For the first ten months, there were no leads. Gelareh was an active human rights campaigner and 30 years old at the time of her death. She was someone who believed each person deserves freedom. She also believed in equality, and since she was from Iran, where we don’t see equality as we do in western countries, she valued it more. She wanted the same for her countrymen and was seen at numerous protests. Her murder became a big media circus where different theories were shown. One of the theories was that the Iranian government killed her because she was an activist. However, we now know that it was a planned murder executed by Ali and Nasim Irsan.
How Did Ali And Nasim Irsan Get Caught? Was The FBI Involved?
After a few months of no leads, there was another murder. Nesreen called 911 and informed them that her husband Coty had been shot. Now, there are two murders linked to Nesreen. Gelareh was Nesreen’s best friend, and Coty was her husband. The neighborhood where Gelareh lived was considered safe, and a murder taking place becomes a big deal in safe neighborhoods. The same happened with Gelareh’s case, and after Coty got murdered, the FBI got involved. Carlos Acosta was the appointed special agent in this case. He soon interviewed Nesreen, and she informed the police that her father, Ali, was involved in both murders. The police searched Ali’s house and found guns and car navigation devices. These things were enough to prove to the court that Ali was behind the two murders. At first, only Ali was in jail, and the jury decided to give him the death penalty since this was a capital murder. Because he was under strict surveillance, the FBI tapped his calls. During one of his calls with Nasim, the FBI found out that even Nasim was involved. Nasim confessed to his father that he was a bad guy. He was later brought to court, where he pleaded guilty to capital murder. However, since he confessed that his father was the mastermind behind the two murders, he was not given the death penalty. Ali remains on death row, while Nasim is eligible for parole in 2035.
According to Nasim, he is innocent. He did not know any better when he got involved with his father in the so-called honor killing. For him, it was just about getting his father’s approval. However, Nesreen’s life was destroyed in a few months just because she chose freedom over tolerating abuse. Nasim says he does not blame his sister for fighting for her rights. His defense attorney also believes that he did not have any motive for killing Coty and Gelareh. However, he did partake in the crime committed. He even confessed to pulling the trigger and killing Gelareh at first, but now he has changed his statement. His lawyer says it does not matter if he changes his statement now because he was a part of the plan, even if it was his father’s idea and revenge game. Nasim now says that he was forced to take the pistol that was used to murder and bury it in the backyard. Nasim changing his statements all the time is suspicious, and the court has made its decision. According to the law of Texas, he is a criminal even if he claims not to have pulled the trigger.
According to Seth, one of Gelareh’s friends, if Nasim had not pulled the trigger, he could have gone and said something to the police, which he chose not to; also, he was the one who pleaded guilty, so changing statements now makes no sense. Nasim went through the entire process of trials, and the decision was taken after months; it did not happen overnight, and now Nasim says he does not know who pulled the trigger. It just shows that he is still hiding his father’s sick mentality and his involvement in the brutal murder of two innocent souls who kept Nesreen safe.
