Family of slain Minnesotan visits Armenia, appeals to possible witnesses

Associated Press
Oct 16 2004

YEREVAN, Armenia – Visiting the country where her son was killed,
the mother of an American man who was stabbed to death in Armenia
earlier this year made a plea Friday for anyone with information
about the unsolved slaying to come forward.

Maxine Haglund-Blommer said she and two other sons, James and John,
came to the former Soviet republic in part to acquaint themselves
with the places where Joshua Haglund lived and worked before his
killing. At a news conference, Haglund-Blommer gave an address where
possible witness can turn to aid in the investigation.

The body of Haglund, a 33-year-old from Shoreview, Minn., who was
teaching English in Armenia, was found May 17 by his landlady on the
street outside his apartment in the Armenian capital, Yerevan. No
one has been arrested in the killing.

Haglund-Blommer aid that the U.S. Ambassador and Armenia’s chief
prosecutor consider the investigation into his death a priority, and
that police have worked hard on the case, but added that it hasn’t
been enough to solve his slaying.

Haglund was gay, and his family has wondered if his killing was a
hate crime.

Before leaving for Armenia, Haglund’s brother James said he and other
members of the family believed the trip would be part of the healing
process. The family planned to spend 10 days in Yerevan meeting with
local court officials and Haglund’s friends and colleagues here.

At the time of his killing, Haglund had been planning to leave
Armenia for a trip through Iran before returning to Minnesota for
the summer. Before coming to Armenia, a Caucasus Mountain nation
that gained independence in the 1991 Soviet breakup, he had lived
for extended periods in Japan, India and Puerto Rico.

He graduated from Mounds View High School and the University of
Minnesota.