BATON ROUGE - Hamid Ghassemi, the 73-year-old used car salesman serving a life sentence in the 2015 murder of his ex-wife Tahereh Ghassemi, died on Thanksgiving Day.

Hamid Ghassemi was convicted in 2023 in the murder-for-hire death of Tahereh Ghassemi, who was kidnapped, shot to death and buried in a shallow grave in St. Helena Parish.

Three employees of Hamid Ghassemi's used car lot who prosecutors said were paid $10,000 to kill Tahereh Ghassemi ultimately pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the case. The actual triggerman died in prison before Hamid Ghassemi's trial.

Authorities said Ghassemi wanted his 54-year-old ex-wife dead to avoid paying her a $1 million divorce settlement.