Suitcase Victim an Iranian Bride; Mate Kills Himself : Her Body Discovered at Airport

Three days after his bride’s body was found in a suitcase on a luggage carrousel at Los Angeles International Airport, the grieving Iranian bridegroom who had evidently tried to smuggle her into this country shot himself to death in Sacramento, authorities said today.

Coroner’s officials here and in Sacramento pieced together the newlyweds’ story early this morning after Mahmoud Ayazi, 31, was found shot to death Thursday in his car in the parking lot of his Sacramento apartment building.

The circumstances of his death and information from a friend led investigators to link him to the young woman--now identified as Kataun Safaie, 20, of Iran--whose body was found at the Los Angeles airport.

Married 3 Weeks Ago

Police and coroner’s investigators learned that about three months ago, Ayazi--who had lived in this country for about four or five years--had returned to his native Iran, and there, three weeks ago, had married Safaie.

The newlyweds had flown to Frankfurt, West Germany, where investigators believe they were told by U.S. consulate officials that while Ayazi, who reportedly holds a “green card,” could return to America, his bride would have to wait as long as a year for her visa, according to Bob Bowers, Sacramento’s chief deputy coroner.

Rather than send her back to Iran, or have her wait in Germany, investigators think Ayazi opted for a risky gambit for the young woman--to stow her away.

“As we put it together,” Bowers said, “it appears he decided to try to smuggle her over here in a suitcase.”

But when the suitcase arrived at the airport Monday morning, the young woman was already dead, coroner’s investigators believe--asphyxiated, her chest compressed, perhaps from the weight of other pieces of luggage against the 26-by-33-inch, soft-sided suitcase in which she crouched.

Labels Stripped Off

The luggage, with no identification, was opened at 3:45 p.m. Monday in the customs baggage area at the airport after it had sat unclaimed for several hours.

“He (Ayazi) apparently stripped all the labels off the suitcase, left Los Angeles, and returned to Sacramento late Monday,” Bowers said.

Sometime in the next two days, the reportedly distraught Ayazi bought two handguns, Bowers said, and on Wednesday night he confided to an Iranian friend what had happened. Thursday morning, Ayazi was found shot to death by one of those weapons--a .45-caliber handgun--and slumped in his car in the apartment’s parking lot, apparently a suicide.

Investigators searching his apartment found his airline ticket from Frankfurt to Los Angeles, and also Safaie’s passport, which they forwarded to the Los Angeles county coroner’s office, which had been holding Safaie’s body as Jane Doe No. 3. The identification matched.

Today, the coroner’s office officially listed her death as accidental, according to spokesman Bill Gold.

“It’s extremely sad,” Bowers added.