GYUMRI—Lawyers representing the legal case against Valery Permyakov, a Russian soldier who murdered all seven members of an Armenian family in Gyumri, have revealed details about the massacre obtained from forensic investigation.

 

One lawyer, Mihran Poghosyan, noted that the forensic evidence from the crime scene was very large, consisting of 144 pages of documentation and 313 photos.

Another lawyer representing the Avetisyans, Lusine Sahakyan, noted that the Avetisyans’ home is a rather small house and it takes a few steps to go from one end to the other. Judging by evidence from trace ballistic examinations, the crime was performed rapidly and indiscriminately. However, the results of the medical forensic examination show that the father of the family had tried to fight against the criminal.

Sahakyan said that according to the conclusion of the experts, the criminal first entered the living room, where Aida, the daughter, was sleeping. The photos show that she did not wake up, though one end of the blanket was raised a little.

The parents, Seryozha and Hasmik Avetisyan, were sleeping in the second room. Hasmik Avetisyan was awakened and even tried to stand up, according to the position of her body. Her husband was found in the bed and at first glance it may be supposed that he was not awakened.

However, according to the investigation, DNA found on the rifle belongs to Seryozha Avetisyan, who also exhibited injuries caused by a blunt instrument, which suggests that he had fought against the criminal before his death.

Armen and Araksya were sleeping in the third room. Araksya was found in the bed, with her baby Seryozah in her hands. Armen’s body was on the floor. Lusine Sahakyan noted that according to the position of Araksya’s body, she had tried to protect the infant with her body.

Lawyer Yerem Sargsyan said that according to the results of forensic medical experts, the DNA found on an unused bullet in the rifle and a cigarette stubs found near the gas stove were identical with Permyakov’s DNA. There were no samples of DNA of other people. Sargsyan says this confirms that the crime was committed by Permyakov.

Seven members of the Avetisyan family were murdered on Jan. 12 in their Gyumri home. The family’s youngest member, 6-month-old Seryozha Avetisyan, who had inititally survived with serious injuries, was transferred to the hospital and died seven days later. Russian soldier Valery Permyakov is the suspect of the case and was arrested on Jan. 13 near the Armenian-Turkish border and was handed over to the Russian military base by Russian border guards. The tragedy caused protests by thousands of people in Gyumri who demanded that Permyakov be handed over to Armenian law enforcement.