Man Sentenced to 18 Years in Prison for Murder After Bludgeoning and Choking Victim

In Tavush, a man bludgeoned his victim with a hammer and wood, then placed a pillow over his mouth and pressed down on his neck. The Tavush Regional Court found him guilty of murder, sentencing him to 18 years in prison.

According to reports from Factinfo, the altercation between the 35-year-old man (who was 33 at the time of the incident) and the victim arose from domestic issues. Specifically, the younger man had gone to the victim’s residence to cut down dry trees in the latter's garden. He used a chainsaw to chop the trees until he ran out of fuel.

The man informed the homeowner about the fuel issue and, at the homeowner's suggestion, went inside the house to eat. After some time, while under the influence of alcohol, the 64-year-old homeowner asked why he had stopped cutting wood. The young man responded that he had run out of fuel. In an intoxicated state, the homeowner verbally abused the younger man and then struck him with a piece of wood.

In retaliation, the younger man struck the homeowner with wood and a hammer on various parts of his body, then placed a pillow over his mouth and pressed down on his neck, resulting in the homeowner's death from asphyxiation. A criminal case was initiated regarding the incident, and the man was charged under Article 104, Part 1 of the Armenian Criminal Code for murder.

During the trial, the 35-year-old man acknowledged his guilt regarding the charges but claimed he did not place the pillow over the victim's mouth and did not accept responsibility for that part. He stated that he had no intention to kill and had only struck the victim with a hammer. After the victim fell to the ground, he claimed to have grabbed him by the throat and clothes, lifted him, and placed him on the bed, checking for a pulse and upon finding none, he left the scene.

It should be noted that despite the defendant's assertion that he had only struck the victim, the autopsy concluded that the cause of death was mechanical asphyxiation due to the compression of the neck organs from blunt instruments. Furthermore, toxicology tests on blood samples taken from the body confirmed that the victim was intoxicated at the time of the incident.

Upon reviewing the evidence collected in the case, the Tavush Regional Court found the 35-year-old man guilty and sentenced him to 18 years in prison, leaving the chosen preventive measure of detention unchanged.