The California Supreme Court refused Wednesday to hear the case against a man who strangled his wife of 43 years at a senior citizens’ complex in Montebello.
Baghdo Hayrapetyan was found guilty in November 2014 of second-degree murder for the March 5, 2012, killing of his 63-year-old wife, Anahit. Jurors also found that Hayrapetyan was sane at the time of the crime.
Hayrapetyan, who was 72 at the time of the killing, was discovered with self-inflicted stab wounds and was arrested soon afterward.
He was sentenced last year to 15 years to life in state prison after a judge rejected the defense’s request for a new trial.
In May, a three-justice panel from California’s 2nd District Court of Appeal rejected the defense’s contention that the trial court should have instructed jurors on the lesser offense of voluntary manslaughter.
The panel’s May 18 ruling upholding Hayrapetyan’s conviction states that there was “no evidence of any provocation from Anahit that would arouse a strong passion in an ordinary person of average disposition.”
“No one heard the couple arguing or fighting. Indeed, Anahit’s family observed the couple the day before her murder and reported neither Anahit or Baghdo appeared upset or injured,” according to the ruling. “Instead, Anahit’s family testified she and Baghdo helped one another and had a loving relationship.”
—City News Service