Details of the Brutal Murder Committed at "Yerevan City": "Stabbed Sleeping Man in the Neck"

The court hearing for Sergey Vardanian's case has concluded at the Yerevan General Jurisdiction Court located in the Nor-Nork administrative district, presided over by Armen Vardapetyan.

Sergey Vardanian, 51, was charged with deliberate murder under part 1 of Article 104 of the RA Criminal Code. According to the indictment, lacking permanent employment, he had sold shoe inserts at various markets in Yerevan.

In mid-December 2017, about two weeks before the incident, Vardanian had gone to a market located at 14 Safaryan Street in the 1st district of Nork to sell shoe inserts. At one of the stalls on the first floor, he requested Julieta A. to weigh his products. Julieta A. refused, stating that the scale was malfunctioning. This explanation did not convince Vardanian, leading to a conflict with Julieta's husband, the victim Levon A.

According to media reports, the argument escalated, with both parties exchanging insults and physical blows, resulting in Vardanian being removed from the market by a market employee.

Offended and enraged by the insults exchanged during the argument, Vardanian intended to take revenge on the unfamiliar man. He purchased a kitchen knife, approximately 20 cm in length, for 900 drams from a store and went to the aforementioned market on December 22 around 11 AM with the intent to kill Levon A.

Upon entering the first floor, Vardanian immediately spotted Levon A. sitting on a chair in front of his stall. Without approaching him initially, he went to the back of the market to buy coffee, smoked, and then around 11:30 AM, approached Levon A., pulled out the knife from a white cloth bag he had, and stabbed Levon in the neck. Caught by surprise, Levon attempted to stand up, but Vardanian continued to stab him and then fled the scene. Due to the injuries, including internal organ damage and bleeding, Levon fell into a shock state and died on the spot.

Sergey Vardanian has no citizenship, no job, and is unmarried. His passport is still from the Soviet era, lacking an Armenian citizenship passport. In response to inquiries about his health, Vardanian remarked, "I might be a little nervous." He admitted in court to having stabbed the victim but did not plead guilty, arguing that the details leading to his actions were not included in the indictment: "The victim hit me, threw me off balance... I was not in an adequate state..." He then stated he would not comment further.

According to the scene examination report, there were two pools of blood in front of the stall marked "Vegetable and Fruit" on the first floor, a black piece of clothing, a white chair with blood-like stains, a sheet with blood-like stains, and more. The video footage from surveillance cameras on the first floor have been seized and attached to the criminal case.

In January 2018, Vardanian, who was considered a suspect, indicated the bus stop on Gayi Avenue where he got off on the day of the incident. He entered the market, saw Levon A. sitting in a chair, did not approach him, went to the back of the market to drink coffee, smoked, and then approached Levon A. He took the knife from the white cloth bag and immediately stabbed Levon A. in the "neck." The victim stood up, and Vardanian stabbed him several more times, after which Levon took a few steps and fell, while Vardanian exited the market, disposed of the knife in one of the trash bins, and took trolleybus number 10 from the Gayi Avenue stop back home. Vardanian stated that he killed Levon A. because of the argument that had occurred between them about ten days earlier.

The knife, which was the murder weapon, was never found in the bin pointed out by the suspect.

According to the findings of a psychiatric-psychological examination, Sergey Vardanian does not suffer from mental illness and has been found to be culpable. Certain pathological traits associated with his personality were identified, but they did not reach a level of disturbance. At the time of the incident, he was not in a state of physiological effect; he was stressed and upset...

The court was in the process of listening to arguments.

Prosecutor A. Karapetyan stated that during the preliminary investigation and trial, the charges against Sergey Vardanian had been fully substantiated.

The prosecutor requested that Sergey Vardanian be found guilty of deliberate murder under part 1 of Article 104 of the RA Criminal Code and sentenced to 13 years of imprisonment.

The representative of the victim's legal successor disagreed with the charges, stating that the murder was committed out of hooligan motivations, with Sergey Vardanian stabbing an unfamiliar man with a knife in a public place, in front of witnesses. The act should be classified under part 2 of Article 104 of the RA Criminal Code rather than part 1. Vardanian did not express remorse for his act, and, when asked by the court why he stabbed the victim, he responded that the knife cost merely 900 drams...

Sergey Vardanian has taken the life of a good father and a working man. On the day of the incident, the victim had brought goods for sale to the market and sat down to rest for a while. At the moment Vardanian approached and struck the first blow, Levon's "eyes had been shut," and the knife strike was dealt to the neck of a sleeping man...

The representative of the victim's successor demanded a commensurately severe punishment for the defendant regarding the brutal act.

The defender representing the defendant, Edward Aghajanyan, stated that the defendant had not denied from the outset that he had dealt blows with the knife; through his confessions, he had assisted in disclosing the crime. Vardanian claimed he did not intend to kill Levon, but rather reacted to the insults he received.

The defender noted that, according to the expert's conclusion, Sergey Vardanian was not in a state of physiological effect at the time of the incident, but was in a state of emotional tension and irritation. The defender emphasized that his client is 52 years old, has a positive characterization, has never been previously sentenced, and has already spent 1 year and 3 months in custody, while caring for a mentally ill brother.

The defender requested that these circumstances be taken into account, and that a commensurate sentence be imposed on Sergey Vardanian.

Sergey Vardanian stated that he had nothing to say. He did not wish to make a final statement, did not request leniency from the court and repeated that he had nothing to say.

In his reply, the prosecutor reminded that the defendant had stated his act's consequence was "the same to him," meaning he was aware that stabbing the victim would result in death, thus the intention to kill was evident... The representative of the victim's successor reiterated that the act should be classified as murder motivated by hooligan impulses. The defendant pointed out circumstances that were not substantiated in the case; witnesses did not state that the victim insulted his mother.

The defendant exhibited aggressive behavior even in court, claiming that he did not trust justice, and thus had taken revenge with his own hands...

The court retired to the advisory room. A short time later, the verdict was announced.

Sergey Vardanian was found guilty of deliberate murder under part 1 of Article 104 of the RA Criminal Code and sentenced to 12 years in prison.

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