Husband Who Abused, Murdered his Wife Appeals Court Ruling, Insists She ‘Fell Down the Stairs’

The RA Court of Appeals today examined the claim by Yanis Sarkisov, who was sentenced for 10 years in prison for the murder of his wife Zaruhi Petrosyan, who passed away on Oct. 1, 2010. Note, 10 years’ imprisonment is the maximum penalty for this crime in Armenia.

Sarkisov’s attorney Zhora Harutyunyan believes that the ruling against his client is “obviously unfounded” and is asking the court to quash the ruling or to send the case for re-investigation.

Harutyunyan insists that his client did not abuse his wife and didn’t throw her down the stairs, as mentioned in the case, but rather that Zaruhi drank poison and supposedly left a few notes in which she wrote that she is sorry for things that she’s done and doesn’t want to live.

Asked by Judge Sevak Hambardzumyan whether he did, in fact, hit his wife, Sarkisov responded in the negative, saying his wife received bruises from falling down the stairs. According to Sarkisov, prior to her death, Zaruhi said she drank poison. When the judge asked whether he became jealous, he answered in the affirmative.

Note that according to one of the assumptions of the investigation, Sarkisov was jealous and that was the reason for hitting his wife which resulted in her death.

Gor Margaryan, representing the victim’s legal successor, noted that all the witness testimonies determined that Sarkisov regularly hit his wife. In his opinion, Harutyunyan’s motion is unfounded and subject to rejection.

Prosecutor Tigran Sargsyan also said that the motion is likely to be rejected because it’s baseless.

In order to become acquainted with the response presented by the aggrieved party, Sarkisov’s attorney motioned for more time. The judge sustained his motion

The next court date is set for Dec. 27 at 2 pm.