(Tehran) Iranian director Dariush Mehrjui and his wife were stabbed to death at their home by an unknown assailant, state media reported on Sunday.
The official IRNA news agency quoted Hossein Fazeli, a judicial official, as saying that Mehrjhi and his wife, Vahideh Mohammadifar, were found lifeless with wounds to their necks.
Mr. Fazeli said it was the filmmaker’s daughter, Mona Mehrjui, who made the grisly discovery when she went to visit her father on Saturday evening at his home, located in a suburb about 30 kilometers to the west of the capital, Tehran.
Authorities are investigating the killings but are offering no speculation on a motive, although the woman has complained about a threat on social media in recent weeks.
Dariush Mehrjui, 83, was known as the co-founder of the new Iranian cinematic wave in the early 1970s that focused primarily on realism. He has received numerous awards, including a Silver Hugo from the 1998 Chicago International Film Festival and a Golden Seashell from the 1993 San Sebastian International Film Festival.
The Iranian director studied in the film program at the University of California, Los Angeles in the early 1960s.
