Married Couple Stabbed Wife's Ex-Lover 35 Times Over Leaked Nudes Before Texting Body Photo to Fiancée

Fred Sangan was stabbed 35 times after an affair with Hatice Haydari, following a dispute over explicit photos and videos involving her. Prosecutors later alleged that Haydari's husband, Riza Jafari, murdered Sangan, turning a private relationship dispute into a homicide case that would eventually reach a British Columbia Supreme Court jury. Haydari has not been convicted and her case remains before the courts.

The case began on June 17, 2024, when police were called to the 3800 block of First Avenue in Burnaby shortly after 6pm. Officers found Sangan, 40, suffering from multiple stab wounds. Emergency responders attempted lifesaving measures, but he was pronounced dead at the scene.

Jafari, then 32, and Haydari, then 28, were arrested and charged with second-degree murder the following day. What made the case especially disturbing was the alleged motive.

Court evidence described a relationship between Sangan and Haydari, who had been friends with Jafari. It said Sangan had retained explicit intimate images and videos of Haydari despite requests that they be deleted.

An Instagram account featuring a photograph of Haydari was also created shortly before the killing, with invitations reportedly sent to members of the couple's families. The case later became a courtroom examination of how an intimate-image dispute developed into deadly violence.

Affair, Intimate Images and Deadly Confrontation

According to an agreed statement of facts presented at Jafari's trial, Sangan and Haydari had been involved in an affair. Sangan subsequently came to possess intimate photographs and videos of Haydari.

The court heard that Sangan did not delete the material despite repeated requests. About a week before his death, someone created an Instagram account using a mirror selfie of Haydari as its profile photograph.

Invitations to follow the account were sent to relatives of both Haydari and Jafari, according to the agreed facts. On the afternoon of June 17, Sangan and Jafari met in the 3800 block of First Avenue, with Haydari also present.

The Crown said they became involved in a physical confrontation at about 6.10pm. The Crown alleged that Sangan was stabbed 35 times.

Prosecutor David Meagher told jurors that evidence would include testimony from witnesses, police officers and a forensic pathologist. Police also found two knives in Jafari's vehicle, the Crown said.

Video and audio recordings from nearby vehicles and businesses were expected to show events before, during and after the killing. The brutality of the alleged attack was central to the prosecution's case.

But the number of wounds alone did not establish who inflicted each injury, and that distinction became particularly important as the proceedings unfolded. This nuance shaped the jury's decision.

Police Confirmed No Wider Public Risk

When police announced the charges in June 2024, investigators stressed that the people involved were known to each other. 'As the parties were all known to one another, investigators do not believe there is any ongoing risk to public safety,' said Corporal Esther Tupper of the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team.

Investigators nevertheless appealed for witnesses and dash-camera footage from the area between 5.30pm and 6.30pm. The homicide team said the case was then before the courts and declined to release further details.

That early police assessment helped establish an important point: this was not initially treated as a random attack. Authorities believed the participants knew one another, while the later court evidence provided a far more detailed picture of the relationships and tensions preceding Sangan's death.

Jafari Sentenced to 10 Years for Manslaughter

Last month, the 34-year-old Riza Jafari was sentenced to serve 10 years in prison. The sentence originated after the jury convicted him of manslaughter over the killing of 40-year-old Fred Sangan on June 17, 2024, in Burnaby, British Columbia.

Haydari's legal position was separate. She had also been charged with second-degree murder, but her case did not proceed alongside Jafari's trial.

Earlier court records showed that her matter remained before the courts. Haydari has not been convicted and her case is ongoing.

The case remains a striking example of how a dispute over an affair and intimate images can end with a man dead, two people charged, and one convicted. It also highlights the potentially devastating consequences when private sexual material becomes part of a conflict.

The court proceedings transformed what may have started as a deeply personal dispute into a homicide investigation. Intimate images became part of the evidence surrounding a fatal confrontation, underscoring the dangers of image-based abuse.