Charles Warren Reynolds, 38, of Riverdale, Georgia – or Reno, as he was known – was the suspect charged in the murder of The Iron Sheik’s eldest daughter, 27-year-old Marissa Jean Vaziri.
He would be denied bond pending a hearing after a first appearance before Clayton County (GA) Magistrate Court Chief Judge Michael Baird.
“Apparently, Saturday night (May 3rd, 2003), they were popping pills and drinking,” said Clayton County Police Department spokesperson Jeff Turner.
Something went wrong, and they had a physical confrontation.
There had been a party at the apartment, but after everyone had left, the two had an altercation but nothing that alarmed the neighbors, and that’s when Reynolds killed Marissa.
An autopsy determined that she died of strangulation.
“We want him to be convicted and given the death penalty,” said Vaziri’s uncle Neil Peterson.
Friends and family, including her mother Caryl, gathered at The Iron Sheik’s house to mourn their loss.
The Clayton News Daily reported what transpired before the body was found:
“In spontaneous statements to police shortly after his arrest at about 9:41 a.m. Sunday, Reynolds seemed to express regret and a desire to trade his life for Vaziri’s.
“‘She wouldn’t calm down. What was I thinking?? I was wrong. Now I must die? I want to die; I want to trade,” Reynolds said shortly after his arrest, according to police reports.
“‘She’s such a good girl, but she wouldn’t calm down. I didn’t know what else to do. It wasn’t me. This must be a dream.’”
According to police reports, Reynolds allegedly slept in the same bed with Vaziri in their apartment in the Alexander Falls complex on Lakeridge Parkway after the murder.
The following morning, he called his pastor, the Rev. Mark Medlin, with the Riverdale Church of God at about 8 a.m.
“Medlin told police that Reynolds wanted to pray with him, then asked him to come to the apartment. Medlin and two other church members prayed with Reynolds.
“After praying, Reynolds showed Medlin and the others into the bedroom, where Vaziri’s body was on a bed.
“When police asked Reynolds what had happened, he told them, ‘I’m sure I’m the reason she’s not breathing. She was on pills, I was on pills, and we were drinking. It’s my fault. It’s my fault. Take me; I’ve done wrong. You hear me?’”
Jessica Blankenship, a friend of Marissa’s, stated that she had discovered that Reynolds had been in prison prior for nine years for almost killing a man during a fight.
“He came off as the nicest guy, but we all knew something was weird,” Blankenship said.
According to Blankenship, there was already tension in the relationship as Reynolds grew more possessive, and during an argument, he punched out a window of Vaziri’s car.
Then Wednesday, Vaziri e-mailed Blankenship and indicated that she wanted Reynolds to leave the apartment he had helped her get, but she felt pity for him because he had nowhere else to live.
“I think she finally expressed that feeling (Saturday night), and that’s what started it,” Blankenship reasoned.
A Powerless Father Responds to an Extreme Situation
After the murder of his daughter, a distraught Iron Sheik sought to take the law into his own hands.
Keith Elliot Greenberg, who was the only print reporter to be invited to The Iron Sheik’s room after he won the WWF Championship in 1983 and author of Iron Sheik’s unreleased autobiography, tells the story:
“At the lowest point in his life, The Iron Sheik tucked a razorblade into his cheek and walked into a Jonesboro, Georgia, courtroom.
“He was going to cut a man’s throat and had good reason to do so.
“From the gallery, he narrowed his eyes and contemplated 38-year-old Charles Warren Reynolds, who rose nervously from the defendant’s table.
“When the judge asked him to address the court, Reynolds broke into tears and apologized for the murder of The Iron Sheik’s 27-year-old daughter, Marissa.”
“In court,” Greenberg continued, “The Sheik’s Minnesota-born wife, Caryl, warned the rest of the family about her husband’s homicidal intentions.
“But, despite his recent surgery, The Sheik was strong and skilled enough to barrel through a court officer or two, spit out the blade and draw some blood.
“So, the entire clan surrounded the former bodyguard for the Shah of Iran, boxing him near the wall and refusing to allow him to carry out his plan.”
“You can’t kill him ’cause they’ll put you in prison!” his daughter Tanya whispered.
“I lost my sister and don’t want to lose my father.”
In an interview with Fight Game Media, Greenberg described his completed book, “The Iron Sheik: Listen Jabroni!” which WWE canceled twice, as “the greatest unpublished biography ever.”
According to The Iron Sheik, his daughter’s former boyfriend and killer, Charles Reynolds, got life in prison, although the family called for his execution. However, on May 31st, 2016, Reynolds died in jail. More recent sources claim it was due to a heart attack.
Karma perhaps took control over a situation a grieving father could not.
The Iron Sheik spoke of the murder of his daughter:
“My daughter was murdered, but I’m a survivor.
“He strangled her in a chokehold. We weren’t allowed to see her face or body because the coroner said there was too much damage.”
With tears in his eyes, he continued. “I didn’t even get a chance to see her face.”
“Marissa was in her apartment for one or two days before her boyfriend contacted the authorities. It was the worst year of my life.”
“It broke my heart,” The Iron Sheik professed. “Marissa was beautiful. She was very, very pretty. She was my eldest daughter. Now, she’s gone.”
The Death and Legacy of The Iron Sheik
Years of turmoil would follow for The Iron Sheik. He would turn to drugs for years, characterizing the substances he abused as his “medicine.”
It took hitting rock bottom and several miserable years to kick his habit.
In 2007, while The Sheik was out of town, his wife Caryl wielded the only option she had left.
“I up and moved out on him,” she would say in 2013.
“I could no longer beg him to quit. We had lost our daughter. We were all sad and depressed. But enough was enough.”
The couple would live apart for two years until agreeing to an ultimatum: The Iron Sheik had to sever ties to his closest friend, a man who’d accompany him to the inner city to purchase drugs.
“It was painful for him because they’d really become best friends,” his daughter Tanya admitted. “But he cared about my mother more.”
Sadly, on June 7th, 2023, The Iron Sheik passed away at 81. His official Twitter account announced news of his passing.
From humble beginnings in a faraway land, The Iron Sheik beat the odds to become the WWE Champion and one of the greatest and most recognizable wrestling villains ever while enduring addiction and pain no parent ever should have to.
