Murder in Pushkino: Suspect Identified

On August 17, at 23:30, a report was received by the police from the 911 service of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Lori Province regarding a house fire in Pushkino village.

The operational group that arrived at the scene found that the summerhouse of 1973-born Zhirayr Basmajyan in Pushkino was burnt down, and his charred body was discovered in the kitchen of the summerhouse.

On August 18, the body underwent a preliminary examination by an expert, revealing multiple stab and cut wounds on the body. On the same day, a criminal case was initiated under Article 104, part 1, and part 2 points 1 and 2 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia.

Thanks to extensive operational and investigative measures carried out by the officers of the Lori regional police, Stepanavan division, and Stepanavan investigative department, the crime was solved in a short period.

It became clear that around 22:00 on August 17, a dispute occurred between Zhirayr Basmajyan and a 20-year-old resident of Gargarr village regarding personal issues, during which they mutually pulled and struck each other. The young man then picked up a knife from the kitchen table and inflicted numerous stab wounds on Z. Basmajyan's body, ultimately killing him.

To conceal the traces of the crime, he set Z. Basmajyan's body and the summerhouse on fire using gasoline. Following this, he changed his clothes at home, placed the blood-stained clothing he was wearing at the time of the incident and his shoes into a polyethylene bag, and discarded them in the Chaylakh River flowing near Gargarr village.

As a result of the investigative experiment and search operations, the kitchen knife, which was the tool of the crime, was found in the burnt summerhouse in a partially burned condition, with blood-like traces on the blade. The 20-year-old was arrested on the same day on suspicion of committing the crime. The pre-investigation continues.