ELDERLY MAN ARRESTED IN SLAYING OF FAMILY IN LITTLE ARMENIA

Los Angeles Times
April 22 2010

A man in his 70s has been arrested in connection with the slaying of
three members of a Hollywood family, including an 8-year-old girl.

The suspect, whose name was not immediately released, was initially
detained on an unrelated charge but police said they have evidence
he is involved in the slaying that shocked the Little Armenia area,
law enforcement sources told The Times.

In December 2008, a gunman burst into a Hollywood apartment and shot
Khachik Safaryan and his 8-year-old daughter. Safaryan’s 12-year-old
daughter discovered the bodies later that day.

Eighteen months later, Safaryan’s widow, Karine Hakobyan, 38, was
found slumped in her car with a gunshot wound to the back of the head,
blocks away from the first crime scene. The daughter, once again,
discovered the body.

Several months later, the girl drafted — but never sent — a
letter to President Obama and other leaders, including Gov. Arnold
Schwarzenegger, asking for help in solving the case, recounting how
the loss changed her family.

"I am hoping that you, Mr. President, will find time to put pressure
… to solve the hideous murder of my beloved sister and father,"
she wrote. "I still see the bloody bodies of my sister and my father
as I found them that day."

The family immigrated to the U.S. in 2003. Safaryan worked as a butcher
in Hollywood, and his wife worked as a patient-care service aide at
Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. Police have said they have no evidence
the victims were involved in criminal activities in Armenia or the U.S.

— Andrew Blankstein and Richard Winton

Upper photo: A man walks through the building in Hollywood where
Karine Hakobyan was found shot to death in her car. Credit: Katie
Falkenberg / Los Angeles Times

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress