Relatives Do Not Believe Insanity Plea of Husband Accused of Murdering His Wife

Accused of murdering his wife, Arsen Arakelyan pleaded guilty in court, insisting, however, that he stabbed his wife while "in an unstable mental state".

The first hearing in the case of Musaler resident Lusine Davtyan took place today in the Armavir District Court of First Instance in Etchmiadzin, during which her husband, defendant Arsen Arakelyan, was questioned. This was conveyed to Epress.am by the coordinator of Society Without Violence NGO's Rapid Response Unit, Lida Minasyan. 

Note, Lusine Davtyan was murdered in August 2013 from repeated stab wounds. Her 15-year-old daughter and 5-year-old son witnessed the murder. Relatives of the deceased claim that Lusine was preparing to divorce her husband; she had even left the home, but immediately before the incident, upon her brother-in-law's request, she returned to Arsen's house — to talk. 

In court today, the defendant claimed he stabbed his wife while "in an emotional state" and he wouldn't do what he did if his wife didn't provoke him. Meanwhile, according to relatives, the murder weapon was in Arsen's pocket for a long time. Lusine's relatives who were gathered outside the court today expressed concern that the defense attorney will attempt an insanity defense for Arsen Arakelyan through forged documents, though, according to the relatives, there are no grounds for this. Furthermore, relatives of the injured party claim that the defendant's statements about voluntarily going to the police are not true as he was, in fact, detained by police. 

Witnesses weren't questioned in today's court hearing. The next court hearing will take place on April 9. 

Earlier, Lusine's father, Ruben Davtyan, had said that over the years his son-in-law beat his daughter 3 times, whereas Lusine's close friend and neighbor told a different story: "There's simply a lot that Lusine didn't tell her parents, but she confided in me. Nearly every day Arsen scolded Lusine for some trifling reason or another. Say, she forgot to put the salt on the table or brought the knife or fork late — he would start a fight. It happened that in the dead of winter, he kicked her out of the house with the child in her arms; supposedly he was punishing her. He made Lusine stand on one leg in the corner for hours. From where should I begin?"

According to Lusine's father, Arsen wasn't a drinker, but he had a hefty temperament: he didn't allow his wife to leave the house or chat with the neighbors; he forbade his wife to work (outside of the home); he only required that Lusine go with him to collect copper, iron, and bottles. The family survived on welfare and the sale of iron and bottles, but mainly Lusine's parents helped.