Farid Baghlani

Farid Baghlani was born in 1968 in Abadan.

Little is known about his upbringing, aside from the fact that he was raised by mother and grandfather.

According to Farid, he believed that his mother was actually his cousin for the first few years of his life, and even after learning the truth, their relationship was strained, as she often harassed him.

As a result, he grew attached to his grandfather, who was notorious in the area for attacking and beating women on the streets, an attribute which made a great impression on his grandson.

When he became an adult, Baghlani married and had four children, and found a job as a laborer and gardener working for the rich families in Abadan.

Over the years, his misogynistic impulses grew, eventually leading to two assault convictions: one in 1995, for which he served a year, and another in 1999, for which he served four.

While serving his sentence, Baghlani decided that when he was released, he would start killing his victims as payback for throwing him in prison.

Soon after his release in 2004, Baghlani would get back to his old job, but when he left work, he would hop on his bicycle and search for victims in groves.

After his arrest, he confessed to 16 murders in total, two in Khorramshahr and the rest in Abadan.

The murders were as follows:

In November 2008, Farid Baghlani was arrested by Abadan police after he was identified by via photo lineup by a surviving victim.

The woman, Fawzia, had been attacked in September with a knife and left for dead, but managed to survive her injuries and report the attempted murder to police.

In the subsequent interrogations, Baghlani admitted to beating Fawzia, and after evidence pointing towards him as being the elusive Cyclist Killer, he eventually confessed to the 16 murders over the last four years.

Baghlani even pointed out mistakes the media had when reporting on the killings, and correctly reconstructed the crime scene for each murder.

Baghlani explained that he had done out of hatred towards the weaker sex, and that after each murder, he felt a little guilt, but it wasn't sufficient enough to prevent him from committing more.

Following a preliminary psychiatric exam, which deemed him sane to stand trial, he was brought to trial and charged with the murders.

Faced with a likely death penalty, Baghlani recanted his confessions, claiming he had been tortured into signing the confessions by police officials.

His claims weren't taken seriously, and he was sentenced to death.

Farid Baghlani (1968 – November 13, 2010), known as The Cyclist Killer, was an Iranian serial killer who killed 15 women and girls, as well as one boy, in the cities of Abadan and Khorramshahr between 2004 and 2008.

Claiming that he had done it out of a hatred towards women, he was sentenced to death and subsequently executed for his crimes in 2010.

On November 13, 2010, Farid Baghlani was hanged in Karun Prison in Ahvaz, with the execution witnessed by his parents.