Man set to be tried abroad
Daily News
Los Angeles Daily News
Aug. 19, 2006
A Glendale man who fled to Armenia when he came under suspicion of
strangling his 23-year-old girlfriend is scheduled to be tried next
week for murder.
If convicted in an Armenian court, Artur Khanzadyan, 25, could serve
up to 12 years in jail. He was arrested there in November, just two
months after investigators found the body of his girlfriend, Odet
Tsaturyan, in the trunk of his car.
Glendale police and U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Pasadena, have asked local
authorities to return Khanzadyan to the United States for trial, where
he could face up to life in prison if convicted, but Armenian officials
refused. The two nations do not have a formal extradition treaty.
Tsaturyan’s father Shagen Tsaturyan, who insisted Khanzadyan be
brought back, will be attending the hearing with two Glendale police
officers. Hrachooe Tsaturyan, his wife, said he wanted to ensure
Khanzadyan is convicted, despite being tried overseas.
The Glendale Police Officer’s Association and St. Peter’s Armenian
Church paid for Tsaturyan’s $1,500 airfare.