Samuel and Ahmed

Ahmed Jahanshah

A.K.A. "The Persian Gladiator"

Ahmed Jahanshah, retired professional boxer and animal control specialist, died in the year 1994 at the age of 42 by intentional overdose in his home in New Orleans, Louisiana after suffering a lifetime of drug and alcohol abuse, orphaning his 9-year-old daughter, Jacqueline Jahanshah, and having never met his infant daughter, Vivian Jahanshah, who resided with her mother, Soraya Jahanshah in Brooklyn, New York City. Ahmed claimed in a letter to Soraya that his suicide had been a direct response to their recent tumultuous divorce and her subsequent relocation to New York.

With the fear that her late ex-husband's turbulent lifestyle had damaged Jacqueline beyond repair and intent on shielding Vivian from an "objectionable influence," Soraya made no effort to reach out to or accept her abandoned older daughter into her home in New York, and chose to ignore and conceal Jacqueline's existence entirely from her younger daughter in the years following Ahmed's untimely death. Many years later, Soraya incorrectly assumed that Jacqueline had perished in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, and Vivian would eventually uncover her mother's cruelty and deciet with the discovery of Jacqueline's identity as the recent owner of one of New Orleans' soon to be most famous establishments, JJ's Gentlemen's Club.

With her newfound knowledge and in defiance of her mother's protests, Vivian would abruptly relocate to New Orleans to connect with her older sister at the age of 29, and later take on the high ranking position of head of security at JJ's Gentlemen's Club.

Photo details:
1982, New Orleans, LA (3 years after The Iranian Revolution)

Samuel Castello Sr.

Samuel Castello Sr. died in the year 1893 at the age of 73 by a self inflicted gunshot wound in his home in Biloxi, Mississippi after years of firmly denying and evading allegations that he had been responsible for the deaths of his younger brother, Eli Castello, and son, Samuel Castello Jr. in 1872. It was believed the two were shot and killed on the outskirts of Vicksburg on Samuel's plantation during a heated dispute regarding his refusal to align with laws enacted during reconstruction.

In his twilight years, he would face further accusations asserting that in his effort to permanently bury knowledge of his crimes in years prior, he had orchestrated the sudden disappearances of his estranged wife, Catherine Castello, and daughter, Ellie Castello in 1889. The loss of two highly beloved members of the community shocked the city of Jackson, and it was never confirmed if any of the allegations against Samuel Castello Sr. had been true.

Not a single member of the family remained by the year 1900, including every one of the six Farrow siblings and their children, and distant relatives of the Castellos scattered across the American South, all having seemingly vanished without a trace before the turn of the century.

In 1916, a bizarre letter was discovered hidden away on Samuel's former property that suggested his suicide had been forced, and that he was somehow solely responsible for the complete and total eradication of his bloodline, despite his being deceased during the time of the continued disappearances of extended family, bringing into question the true fates of his wife and daughter, both assumed dead. The identity of the individual who composed the cryptic letter remains unknown, and today is a subject of great intrigue for local historical societies.

Photo Details:
1868, Biloxi, MS (3 years after the end of the Civil War)