Family members mourned an Armenian man Monday in Glendale who was allegedly stabbed to death at the hands of a Beverly Hills teen with a cushy life.
uncertain
who → mourn → life
The body of 40-year-old Vanik Voskanyan laid in a powder blue casket with a large bouquet of white roses on top as a clergyman and his family laid him to rest at Grand View Memorial Park in Glendale.
Beverly Hills teen resident Conoray Lawantara allegedly stabbed 40-year-old Vanik Voskanyan as he dug through trash in the alley on Aug. 30.
uncertain
he → lay → Aug.
After a struggle, police arrived and arrested the teen.
asserted
police → arrive → teen
Voskanyan was transported to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.
asserted
he → transport → hospital
Lawantara claimed he stabbed the man in self-defense.
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he → claim → defense
His attorney, Debra White, claimed Voskanyan reached for the teen’s neck and elbowed him during Lawantara’s arraignment.
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Voskanyan → claim → arraignment
White also said Voskanyan bit off a portion of Lawantara’s finger, and Lawantara suffered a stab wound to the abdomen during their exchange.
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Lawantara → say → exchange
Judge Keith Schwartz was quick to interject, saying there was “no reason for the defendant to have contact” with the homeless man.
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defendant → interject → man
“He didn’t approach, he wasn’t violent,” he added.
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he → approach → ?
“He was minding his own business.”
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He → mind → business
The defendant “stabbed him repeatedly, like in a horror movie,” Judge Schwartz said.
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Schwartz → stab → movie
Family said at the memorial that they want justice served in the case.
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justice → say → case
“I hope justice is served,” Armen Akopyan, Voskanyan’s uncle, told the Los Angeles Times.
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Akopyan → hope → Times
“Because [the suspect] took an innocent man’s life.”
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suspect → take → life
He said Voskanyan was born in Yerevan, Armenia, and moved to Glendale in 2009.
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Voskanyan → say → 2009
The 40-year-old studied in his home country to be a dentist before working in construction, jewelry, and as a dental technician after he moved to America.
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he → study → America
A longtime friend disputed the characterization of Voskanyan as homeless.
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friend → dispute → Voskanyan
“It is painful for his family and friends to see him reduced to a single description that does not tell the truth about the person he was,” Levon Grigoryan told the outlet.
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Grigoryan → see → outlet
“Vanik was much more than the circumstances of his death,” he said.
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he → say → death
“He was a son, a brother, a relative, a friend, and someone who was loved and remembered by many people.
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who → love → people
“It doesn’t matter how the guy was living at that moment.
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guy → matter → moment
You don’t have to take a knife and kill somebody.”
More than 100 family members dressed in black attended his service at St. Leon Armenian Cathedral in Burbank before it moved to his burial in Glendale.
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it → have → Glendale
The Catholic service was conducted in Armenian and was open-casket.
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service → conduct → Armenian
Lawantara spent some time in the hospital before being jailed and charged with murder.
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Lawantara → spend → murder
His bail was set at $2 million, and he has since posted bond.
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he → set → bond
Lawantara, an Indonesian national, has pleaded not guilty to the charge.
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Lawantara → plead → charge
It was revealed in court that Lawantara recently attended the posh Portsmouth Abbey boarding school in Rhode Island.
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Lawantara → reveal → Island
He was listed as a 2025 graduate of the $80,000-a-year private Catholic school.
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He → list → school
The alleged murderer is due back in court on Nov. 5 to set a date for a preliminary hearing.
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murderer → set → hearing
The Aporia
