The order barred Rajab Banahi from his parents’ home before he killed three relatives there in January 2023.
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Rajab Banahi was prohibited from being at his parents’ Henrietta home when he entered the property and killed his father, mother and sister, according to prosecutors who secured three first-degree murder convictions.
The existing order of protection became a key part of the case and led to Banahi’s conviction for aggravated criminal contempt in addition to the murder counts. Monroe County Court Judge Michael Dollinger sentenced him July 28 to three concurrent terms of life without parole and a concurrent term of two to four years for contempt.
Prosecutors said the Jan. 11, 2023, attack followed earlier conflict between Banahi and his father, Ali Banahi. They said Banahi previously assaulted his father and threatened to kill him on several occasions. Ali Banahi had obtained an order of protection before the fatal attack at the family’s house on Kathy Drive.
Authorities said Banahi’s anger had often focused on his father and that he blamed him for financial problems and his lack of a place to live. The court’s verdict established that Banahi later killed Ali Banahi, Mastoora Banahi and Masuda Banahi inside the residence.
The Monroe County District Attorney’s Office said Banahi called 911 at about 4:45 p.m. and told dispatchers he had attacked members of his family. Sheriff’s deputies who responded found his parents dead. His sister was taken to Strong Memorial Hospital with life-threatening injuries and died later.
Prosecutors said Ali Banahi was bedridden because of an illness and unable to defend himself. They said Banahi used kitchen knives during the attack, retrieved another knife after one broke and continued the violence as law enforcement officers arrived. The victims also suffered blunt-force injuries, according to the district attorney’s office.
Banahi was arrested at the scene. The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office conducted the investigation, and assistant district attorneys Patrick Gallagher and Michael Harrigan prosecuted the case. Dollinger heard the evidence during an April bench trial and issued the guilty verdict June 23.
At sentencing, Banahi challenged portions of the prosecution’s description and said his family had bullied him. Harrigan said the statement supported the court’s decision rather than changing the prosecution’s view of the case.
Gallagher described the killings as an act of domestic violence that shattered the family. He said the surviving siblings might receive some closure from the sentence but would continue living with the consequences of losing three relatives.
District Attorney Brian Green said the sentence guarantees Banahi will not be able to harm another family member. He also praised investigators and prosecutors for building and presenting the case over the years between the killings and the final judgment.
Banahi, now 43, will serve his three murder sentences concurrently in the New York state prison system without the possibility of parole. His contempt sentence, tied to the violated protection order, will not extend the life terms because it also runs concurrently.
Author note: Last updated Aug. 3, 2026.