SGV Man's Conviction Upheld for Strangling 63-Year-Old Wife

MONTEBELLO, CA - A state appeals court panel Wednesday upheld a man's conviction for strangling his wife of 43 years at a senior citizens complex in Montebello in March 2012.

The three-justice panel from California's 2nd District Court of Appeal rejected the defense's contention that the trial court should have instructed jurors in Baghdo Hayrapetyan's murder trial on the lesser offense of voluntary manslaughter.

Jurors found that Hayrapetyan was sane at the time of the March 5, 2012, killing of his 63-year-old wife, Anahit.

The appeals panel's six-page ruling upholding Hayrapetyan's conviction for second-degree murder says there was "no evidence of any provocation from Anahit that would arouse a strong passion in an ordinary person of average disposition."

"No one heard the couple arguing or fighting. Indeed, Anahit's family observed the couple the day before her murder and reported neither Anahit or Baghdo appeared upset or injured. Instead, Anahit's family testified she and Baghdo helped one another and had a loving relationship."

Hayrapetyan, who was 72 at the time of the killing, was found with self- inflicted stab wounds and arrested soon afterward.

He was sentenced last year to 15 years to life in state prison after a judge rejected the defense's request for a new trial.

--City News Service, photo via Shutterstock