Court Releases Final Verdict in Khachatryan Sisters Case

The Moscow Butyrsky District Court has released its verdict in the controversial case of Mikhail Khachatryan, who was murdered in Moscow in 2018. He has been posthumously found guilty of committing violence against his three daughters, Kristina, Angelina, and Maria Khachatryan, as reported by a RIA Novosti correspondent in the courtroom.

The verdict states: "Khachatryan is recognized as guilty, and the criminal case initiated due to the defendant's death is closed." Thus, the court has satisfied the prosecutor's request to establish Khachatryan's guilt on all counts.

Khachatryan was found guilty of two episodes of violent sexual nature against his underage daughters, intentionally causing them serious bodily harm, as well as producing and distributing pornographic materials online.

The case of the Khachatryan sisters is not yet closed, but the court decision establishing their father's guilt is expected to serve as evidence of the girls' innocence. The defense hopes that the case against the sisters will also be dismissed.

The high-profile murder took place on July 27, 2018, in Moscow, where the three sisters stabbed their 57-year-old father in their apartment on Altufevskoe highway. The girls were aged 17, 18, and 19 at the time. They confessed to killing their father. According to the investigation's hypothesis, the youngest daughter inflicted at least 35 knife wounds to her father's neck and body. The other two daughters struck him on the head. Subsequently, one sister seized the knife from the younger one's hand and stabbed their father in the heart. After the murder, the youngest daughter called the police herself.

The defense argued that what occurred was self-defense; however, the charges were filed under the article for murder with premeditated agreement. The investigation has accepted that the father caused physical and psychological suffering to his daughters.