Pregnant Woman Allegedly Hung Herself with Belt of Bathrobe, Which Cannot be Found

Police believe that Maro Guloyan, 21, committed suicide on Jul. 12, 2012, by hanging herself with the belt of her bathrobe in her home in the village of Arinj in Kotayk marz (province); however, the robe in question was never found. Journalist Nelly Babayan of the Rapid Response Unit established by the NGO Society Without Violence reported on the case [AM], providing details from the last court hearing on Feb. 24. 

Lusine Minasyan, the attorney representing the victim's legal successor Roman Tovmasyan, presented in court some grounds to question the actions of the preliminary investigative body. She said that the body that conducting the preliminary investigation determined that Maro Guloyan hung herself with the belt of her robe; meanwhile, the robe has not been found. Maro's parents-in-law testified that they buried the robe with their daughter-in-law; however, when the body was exhumed no bathrobe was to be found. These same people then said that they placed the bathrobe in Maro's pillow and buried it. 

"But the pillow is so small that the bathrobe and other clothing wouldn't fit inside. And finding the bathrobe was very important, so that it could be compared with the belt as an 'instrument of suicide'," Lusine Minasyan told Nelly Babayan. 

Maro's father, Roman Tovmasyan, argues that Maro never wore robes, and her mother never saw any robes in her daughter's closet. Maro's husband's family told the preliminary investigative body that they gave the bathrobe as a wedding gift.

Other actions of the preliminary investigative body that the attorney questioned in court included the fact that witnesses said they saw a red trace on Maro's neck and realized she'd hung herself, but in the photos of the body there was no such red mark. The attorney stated that, according to expert literature, when people hang themselves there are other injuries, which Maro, however, didn't have.

Minasyan stated that the uncle of Maro's husband, Gevorg Guloyan (who is related to the mayor of Abovyan, Karo Guloyan), at around 5 pm sent Gevorg to a nearby plot of land to get an iron rod needed for construction work. Gevorg drove the short distance and returned 10 minutes later and heard his sister shouting and crying for help. The attorney pointed out that if Gevorg left at 5 pm and returned 10 minutes later, the incident couldn't have happened at around 7 pm, two hours after the shouting, as witnesses stated in their testimonies. That is, if one of Gevorg's relatives, who lives in the same house, was shouting and calling for help at around 5 pm, then it's strange that they said they found Maro in an already hung state at around 7 pm.

The lawyer in court stated that there are discrepancies in the time also in Gevorg's father's testimony and this was not resolved also during the second preliminary investigation.

One of Guloyan's relatives, Armine, testified that Gevorg's sister, Liana, seeing Maro, screamed and called for help, while another one of the relatives said Liana didn't call for help, but rather went to the second floor of the house and told the family what happened. 

"The entire clan is protecting its son and concealing the truth. Well they wouldn't want their son to be locked up," opined Roman Tovmasyan. 

The attorney noted other strange circumstances in the case. The examining body did not attach the photos to the case, explaining that they've been damaged; meanwhile, in order to justify this reasoning it should've attached the damaged photographs to the case. The examining body assured that it threw away the negatives. 

"The preliminary [investigative] body says that it hasn't seen the damages documented by the photo journalist, that there are no such damages. A dead end is being created by all means," said Minasyan.  

The attorney is surprised also that in the 21st century, the examining body is using a film and not a digital camera. 

The next court date is set for March 10 at 11 am.