Father of Family Murdered in Pemzashen Talks About Last Conversation with Relatives

Shirak Province resident 31-year-old Zarine Meliksetyan, her 12-year-old daughter, and 8-year-old son were brutally murdered, and so far, the victims' family has no complaints regarding the investigation of the case. This was stated by the deceased family's father, Sevak Meliksetyan, in an interview with News.am.

Sevak Meliksetyan recounted that he has had contact with the two defendants in the case, Vruyr Barseghyan and Arkadi Barseghyan, as a fellow villager. He expressed his disbelief in the mental health claims made about Vruyr, stating, "Does he have mental issues or not? The examination still needs to prove that. Many in our country are exempted from the army under that pretext but do not actually have any mental issues. If he had mental issues, how could he have gotten married and fathered three children? I don't believe that a mentally ill person could commit such a crime, could kill children."

Sevak Meliksetyan mentioned that neither of the accused's families have made contact with him. "They are not in the village. What can they do if they stay in the village, how can they live? They need to understand that they cannot come back. How can I live peacefully knowing that just a few houses down is the family of a murderer?" he reiterated.

Meliksetyan recalled that the last time he spoke with his family was on the evening of the tragic murder. "They were in a normal mood; who would know what awaited us?" he lamented. It is worth noting that a month and a half after the tragedy, police continue to maintain round-the-clock surveillance near both the victims' and the suspects' homes.