Circumstances of 36-Year-Old Man's Murder Revealed: He Had Been Missing for Weeks

On July 27, 2024, at 22:45, a resident of Yerevan reported that on July 25 at 20:00, her husband, I. Simonyan, had left their home and headed to the intersection of the roads leading to Tsoraghbyur and Voghjaberd in the Kotayk region with friends. He got out of the vehicle during the journey, walked in an unknown direction, and did not return.

Following the report, the relevant divisions of the Ministry of Internal Affairs conducted operational search and investigation activities, which, however, did not yield positive results. Based on the available data regarding the individual’s disappearance, on August 2, 2024, the Investigative Committee of Armenia initiated a criminal case under Article 155, Part 1 of the Criminal Code at the Avan and Nor Nork investigative division of the Yerevan City Investigation Department.

Weeks after the citizen went missing, his body was discovered in a ravine near a road section leading to the cemetery of Jrvazh community in the Kotayk region. Immediate investigative measures revealed several circumstances of significant importance to the case. In particular, factual data was obtained indicating that the missing 36-year-old I. Simonyan had become a victim of murder.

The investigative body determined both the motive for the murder and the identities of the alleged perpetrator and those who assisted and organized the crime, which includes the victim's 31-year-old wife, who reported her husband missing, and two individuals aged 25 and 36 who worked in a warehouse belonging to the victim.

The investigation revealed that the motive for the murder was the hostile attitude of one of the workers toward I. Simonyan regarding a personal matter. It was established that these individuals had devised a plan to unlawfully take the victim's life by staging his disappearance. According to the predetermined plan, on July 25, 2024, between 22:00 and 23:00, the 25-year-old individual, along with his 36-year-old colleague and I. Simonyan, had gone to a mountain located in the middle of the Erebuni district of Yerevan and Geghadir community in Kotayk, where they drank beer together.

The 25-year-old injected a sedative into the beer intended for I. Simonyan and passed it to him. After drinking it, he fell asleep. Subsequently, taking advantage of the victim's asleep and helpless state, and with prior knowledge of the young man's intentions, the 36-year-old man struck I. Simonyan on the back of the head with a stone twice, inflicting injuries incompatible with life. After confirming that I. Simonyan was dead, the 25-year-old, along with the 36-year-old, moved the body to the rear seat of the vehicle, drove to the road leading from Nubarashen to the cemetery of Jrvazh community, and disposed of the body in a ravine adjacent to a garbage dump. They then left the scene, attempting to clean up the remaining blood in the vehicle to conceal their tracks.

To divert the investigation, the 25-year-old left one of the victim's phones at the warehouse and took the other one to a different location. It was established that the wife of I. Simonyan, being aware of the murder committed by the 25-year-old and the involvement of the 36-year-old man in the crime, contacted him three days after the incident, asking to show her the place where her husband was murdered. Then, with the intention of obstructing the investigation and assisting the individuals in evading criminal liability, she went to the scene with the 36-year-old man to find the syringe used to inject the sedative into I. Simonyan's beer, but returned without discovering anything.

Later, when interrogated as a witness and being privy to the full reality of the incident, the 31-year-old woman provided the prosecuting authority with misleading information, thus aiding the perpetrators. During the pre-investigation, searches and seizures were carried out, and a forensic examination of the body was commissioned. A petition was submitted to the supervising prosecutor for prosecuting the 25-year-old under Article 155, Part 2, Item 3 of the Criminal Code, the 36-year-old man under Article 46-155, Part 2, Item 3, and the victim's wife under Article 474, Part 1, which were granted, and charges were brought against them.

A motion was filed in court to apply pre-trial detention as a preventive measure against the 25 and 36-year-old defendants, which was granted. The 31-year-old woman was subject to a prohibition on leaving the country as a preventive measure.

Note: An individual accused of a crime is presumed innocent until proven guilty by a court decision that has entered into legal force in accordance with the statutory procedure established by the Criminal Procedure Code of Armenia.