Montco Man Arrested in Brutal Beating Death of 23-Year-Old Girlfriend

Investigators say they found photos and a video of the motionless victim after searching cellphones recovered from the man

NBCUniversal, Inc.

A man charged with brutally beating his 23-year-old girlfriend to death in Montgomery County lied as he took her lifeless body to a hospital in an Uber and said she had been jumped by three women, authorities say.

Nicholas Forman, 23, is charged with murdering Sabrina Harooni in his Perkiomen Township home. Charging documents indicate Harooni had been so badly beaten that an emergency room doctor described her pupils as “blown out,” a sign of head trauma or lack of oxygen.

According to the documents, an Uber driver told investigators that he had driven both the suspect and the victim to Forman’s residence Sunday night. On the way there, the Uber driver said, Forman became aggressive when Harooni joked about receiving a text message from an ex-partner.

The driver told investigators that as Forman continued to badger Harooni over wanting to see the text message, he “continued to get angry,” prompting Harooni to tell him, “You’re scaring me.”

Sabrina Harooni
Harooni family
Sabrina Harooni

As they arrived at the residence, Forman threatened to not allow Harooni inside and insisted that she “give me the f-----g phone,” according to the driver.

The driver said he drove up the street but returned with his windows down and could hear the couple arguing. Harooni may have pushed Forman, prompting him to throw something that broke on the street, the driver told investigators. The driver said he waited until he could no longer hear any yelling – around five to 10 minutes – before driving off.

The next day, Forman ordered another Uber, this time to drive a lifeless Harooni to Pottstown Memorial Hospital, according to court documents.

That driver told police that Forman said Harooni was hurt in a fight the night prior.

The charging documents paint a frantic scene as they arrived at the hospital.

A doctor told investigators Harooni was dressed only in loose sweatpants and a puffer jacket. When her pants were later removed, wood chips spilled out, the doctor said.

As police led handcuffed murder suspect Nicholas Forman into the back of a police cruiser, the 23-year-old denied killing Sabrina Harooni then used profanity and the middle finger.

A nurse said Harooni was “ice cold,” with bruising around her neck, dried blood in her nose and dried vomit on her mouth. The nurse told police she overheard a calm Forman tell another nurse that the victim had been drinking the night prior and was jumped but got home and was fine when she went to bed.

As the nurse performed CPR, she told investigators, she could feel fluid in Harooni’s lungs. Another nurse climbed on top of Harooni and continued CPR as she was moved to a stretcher. As the stretcher was being moved to into the hospital and the second nurse performed CPR, Forman tried to give the first nurse Harooni’s cellphone and other possessions she said.

Officers later searched Forman’s home and found a large clump of hair similar to Harooni’s on the street in front of the driveway, as well as a piece of carpet, pillowcase and fitted sheet with blood on them. They also found men’s and women’s clothes stained with blood and dirt.

Forman told investigators that three women had beat up Harooni the night prior. According to the charging documents, he said she was still breathing when he took her to the hospital, which differed from what doctors and nurses told police.

Investigators obtained warrants to search two phones taken from Forman at Pottstown Memorial Hospital. They found a photo taken shortly before midnight Sunday of Harooni, apparently unconscious and with disheveled hair, laying on the grass.

Investigators also found a video of a motionless Harooni on the grass, with what appeared to be blood by her head. According to the court documents, the man behind the camera can be heard saying, “This is what a cheating liar gets. You hear me? Cheating f-----g liar,” as well as other insults apparently directed at Harooni.

Another photo, apparently taken shortly before 2:30 a.m. Monday, showed a woman who appeared to be Harooni laying face-down inside Forman’s home.

Forman was arrested Thursday afternoon. He has yet to be arraigned.

Editor's Note: Police originally indicated Sabrina Harooni was 22 and may have been alive at the time she arrived at the hospital.

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE HELP: The National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-7233 or 800-787-3224 (TTY) provides people in distress, or those around them, with 24-hour support.

Contact Us