Parakar murder revenge killing - RA Investigative Committee

ArmInfo. Artur Poghosyan, head of the Investigative Committee (IC) of Armenia, confirmed on Public TV that the murder of Volodya Grigoryan, head of the village of Parakar, and criminal police officer Karen Abrahamyan has been  solved.

At the same time, he noted that the murder of the Parakar community  leader and the incident that occurred in Merdzavan in February are  connected.

He reported that the argument in Merdzavan on February 5th arose over  driving speed. The argument escalated into a fight, resulting in the  death of Grigor Ohanyan and the gunshot wound to another person.  By  the end of April, investigators had petitioned for pretrial detention  against the accused, but the court ordered pretrial detention for  only six of the 15 defendants, later reducing that number to three.  Alternative preventive measures, including house arrest, were applied  to the others.

According to him, the investigation was aware of the tense relations  between the parties to the conflict and that this could lead to more  serious consequences. Following the murder, the Ministry of Internal  Affairs conducted investigative operations in the community to  prevent another crime.

Referring to the murder of Volodya Grigoryan, head of the Parakar  community, in the courtyard of his home on September 24, Poghosyan  said that the investigation received information and later discovered  the half-burned clothes, night vision goggles, mask, and gloves of  Narek Ohanyan (the brother of Grigor Ohanyan, who was killed in  February) in an outbuilding near the house of the murderer.

According to the head of the Investigative Committee, Narek Ohanyan,  realizing he would be the first suspect, was constantly on camera to  refute his version of events. "We have testimony that an hour before  the incident, Narek Ohanyan lit a fire in a building belonging to  him, and it was Narek Ohanyan who set fire to the container in which  the clothes were found," he noted. During the search, the  investigator discovered a bag and a gym card, the cardholder of which  indicated that he had given the bag to the person who committed the  crime several days before the incident.

"The perpetrator, 20-year-old Gevork Harutyunyan, has confessed,"  Poghosyan stated.

He stated that the motive for the murder was revenge for the events  that occurred in February 2025.

The accused stated that he was a close friend of the murdered Grigor  Ohanyan and believed the head of Parakar to be responsible for his  murder, as Ohanyan was killed by Grigoryan's family.

Furthermore, the head of the Investigative Committee, citing the  arrested man's testimony, stated that the latter had practiced  shooting before the murder and had also been following Grigoryan for  approximately a month, determining which part of the house the video  recording was taking place. Narek Ohanyan, however, refuses to  testify, claiming his innocence.

Artur Poghosyan assured that the investigation will not limit itself  to the confessions of the accused and will continue the investigation  until all the circumstances of the crime are clarified.

As a reminder, seven months ago, an armed attack on the home of Mher  Akhtoyan, head of the Merdzavan village administration in the  enlarged Parakar community of Armenia's Armavir region, resulted in  the death of Grigor Ohanyan, the son of the Akhtoyans' cousin, and  the wounding of a family friend. Volodya Grigoryan's brother,  37-year-old Paykar Grigoryan, was detained as part of a criminal  investigation and is currently under house arrest.

Parakar community head Volodya Grigoryan was killed on September 23  in the courtyard of his home.  According to the Ministry of Internal  Affairs of Armenia, at 11:52 PM on September 23, police received a  report of shots fired on the Yerevan Highway in the village of  Merdzavan in the Armavir region. A criminal investigation has been  initiated under Part 1 of Article 155 (murder) on two counts, as well  as Part 1 of Article 155 (illegal). 44-155 (attempted murder) and  Part 1 of Article 335 (illegal trafficking of weapons, their main  components, parts, ammunition, and other materials, devices, and  objects). One person was detained and taken to the pretrial  investigation agency. On September 28, the Investigative Committee  announced that the case had been solved.