A self-described cracker-bread heiress has been sentenced to three years behind bars for her part in the September 2015 killing of a man at her Glendale apartment.
Sparkle Soojian — who described herself on her website as the granddaughter of the founders of the Ak Mak Armenian cracker-bread company — pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in the Sept. 10, 2015, death of John Michael King-Smith.
Soojian, now 33, was initially charged with murder along with her then- boyfriend, Jared Kasiewicz, in September 2015. The murder charge was dismissed as a result of her plea.
Kasiewicz, a 29-year-old former Marine, pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter. He is facing up to six years behind bars, with the murder charge against him expected to be dismissed when he is sentenced.
Soojian sent text messages to friends after King-Smith — her former roommate’s ex-boyfriend — showed up at her residence, according to testimony presented at a hearing last year in which she and Kasiewicz were ordered to stand trial.
Kasiewicz, who had gotten a text message from Soojian, put the 31-year- old man in a chokehold, according to the testimony.
When Glendale police were dispatched to the home, they found King-Smith in a “state of medical distress.” He was pronounced dead soon after being taken to a hospital. The cause of death was asphyxia and neck compression, according to the coroner’s office.
Soojian and Kasiewicz were arrested that day by Glendale police and have remained behind bars since then. She was sentenced Thursday.
–City News Service