Requested an Axe from a Relative but Not Available at Home, Decided to Kill with a Hammer: Investigative Committee

In the framework of a criminal investigation conducted by the Abovyan investigative division of the Kotayk regional investigative department of the RA Investigative Committee, significant circumstances related to the murder of a resident of the village of Dzoraghbyur have been uncovered as a result of extensive and systematic investigative actions.

According to the investigation, it has been established that a 42-year-old man from the village of Dzoraghbyur, during visits to his cousin's house, noticed the gold chain around his cousin's neck and planned to murder him for profit and steal it.

To realize his intention, on October 8, 2024, around 14:00, the 42-year-old man visited his relative and, seeing that he was home alone, asked for an axe under the pretext of splitting wood. However, upon learning that there was no axe at home, he decided to kill him with the hammer he had at home.

To keep the victim from understanding his true purpose for the visit, he asked to be served coffee, after which he returned to his home to retrieve the hammer, intending to complete his planned crimes with it.

Taking the hammer from his residence and hiding it in a bag, while concealing a kitchen knife at his waist, he returned to his relative’s house around 15:00. When the relative sat on the bed, the 42-year-old man discreetly took out the metal-headed hammer from the bag and struck several blows to the top of the victim's head, inflicting fatal injuries in the form of depressed skull fractures.

Seeing that his cousin had become immobile, he cut off a portion of the gold chain around the victim's neck with the knife he had brought and left the scene, abandoning the hammer and knife that were used in the crime.

The investigation revealed that after murdering his relative, the 42-year-old man went to one of the shopping centers in Yerevan and sold the stolen portion of the gold chain for 65,000 AMD.

Based on the collected substantial evidence, public criminal charges have been brought against the 42-year-old man under Article 155, Part 2, Clause 10 and Article 252, Part 2, Clause 5 of the RA Criminal Code. He has been formally charged.

A petition has been submitted to the court for pre-trial detention as a measure of restraint, which has been granted. The investigation is ongoing.