Epress.am News from Armenia
Prosecution motioned to the Court of First Instance of Ararat and Vayots Dzor Districts yesterday, December 2, to amend the charges against Volodya Muradyan, the husband of 35-year-old Diana Nahapetyan, accused of fatally stabbing his wife 21 times. Muradyan is currently charged with RA Criminal Code Article 104 Part 1 Paragraph 5: "murder with particular cruelty;” if convicted, he faces 12–20 years or life in prison. The prosecutor, however, petitioned for a milder sentence pursuant to Article 105 Part 1 -“murder committed in the state of suddenly arising depression caused by regular illegal and immoral behavior of the aggrieved, as well as the murder committed in the state of sudden insanity caused by the violence, mockery, heavy insults or other illegal, immoral actions (inaction) of the aggrieved” – which is punished with only up to 4 years in jail.
Prosecution has found the results of a psychological evaluation carried out by Elda Grin, psychologist and legal expert, convincing and believes that Muradyan was in an unstable mental state, i.e., under "cumulative effect," when he committed the crime, therefore, he does not deserve such grave punishment. Nahapetyan's family, however, disagrees with this evaluation, claiming that the defendant was sane and his consciousness was not completely clouded over when he murdered Diana.
Muradyan had once already petitioned for a milder sentence, 6-10 years, citing his wife’s infidelity as the reason for murder. The court, however, had refused the motion.