Man kills estranged wife, daughter

[Guest]

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 22 – A man shot and killed his estranged wife and their 13-year-old daughter as they sat in a line of cars snaking toward a holiday light show, police said.

 

Gabriel Ghazelian also wounded two other daughters before fleeing, officers said. Police were searching for him Friday and believed he was still in the area.

 

Police said Ghazelian, 49, showed up at his wife’s house Thursday evening and asked for a ride to his car, which he said had broken down. She agreed.

 

The family minivan was caught in the slow-moving traffic near Griffith Park, just south of Burbank, when Ghazelian pulled out a handgun “for no apparent reason and with no warning” and opened fire, Detective Jose Carrillo said.

 

Ghazelian killed Zabel Ghazelian, 40, from whom he’d been separated for over a year, and daughter Garine Ghazelian, police said.

 

The surviving girls, whose names were not released, were in critical condition Friday. The 14-year-old was shot in the head and the 17-year-old in the cheek, Fire Department spokesman Brian Humphrey said.

 

Carrillo said police did not know what caused Ghazelian to shoot.

 

“I think it just has to do with the separation and possibly a pending divorce,” he said. Carrillo declined to say whether police knew of any family history of violence

[Guest]

iy iy iy iy iy

[Guest]

While I was initially pissed off and hoped the guy got tortured to death, the tragedy became compounded this afternoon...

 

He committed suicide today by jumping off a bridge/wall into the LA River.

[Guest]

thats very very sad i really

hope the 2 girls that were also shot make it out ok.

 

[This message has been edited by Alex Kornev (edited December 23, 2000).]

[Guest]

After reading this my first reactions was >>

IY iyiy iy iy,

 

 

Lost night wan I got home , I found my sister crying ,

after asking her what happened- she told me that she has lost a good friend and one of the best Armenian Language teacher , and that 2 sisters are still in hospital.

 

Zabel Ghazaryan, mother of 3 was killed , she was a good Armenian Language teacher and a one of the best Armenian history teachers that Ros & Alex Pilibos Shool had to offer.

 

 

ehhhhhhh Astvats Hogin Lusavori ..

 

 

[This message has been edited by MosJan (edited December 23, 2000).]

[Guest]

Man found in river allegedly shot family

Officials say body pulled from Los Angeles River is man suspected of killing wife and daughter.

 

 

By JENNA BORDELON

 

LOS ANGELES -- A man found floating face up in the Los Angeles River on Friday is suspected of shooting and killing his wife and daughter Thursday night.

The body of Gabriel Ghazelian, 49, estranged husband of Zabel Ghazelian and father of their three teenage daughters, was found about 2 p.m. Friday. Zabel Ghazelian and all three of her daughters were found shot Thursday night in a minivan in the 1400 block of Victory Boulevard near the Ventura (134) Freeway.

Zabel Ghazelian, 42, of Burbank, and one daughter, Garine Ghazelian, died of gunshot wounds, police said. The other daughters were expected to live.

Firefighters on Friday wrapped Gabriel Ghazelian's body in plastic and pulled it out of the shallow water under the Golden State (5) Freeway at the junction of the Ventura (134) Freeway.

 

http://www.latimes.com/photos/20001223/g5zrzjke.jpg

 

http://www.latimes.com/photos/20001223/g5zrzjke.jpg

 

LAPD Sgt. Ron Lopez said Ghazelian jumped into the cement wash and was killed.

"[investigators are] saying the father is ... the suspect who shot his wife and daughter," Lopez said.

The other daughters, 14 and 16, were critically wounded and taken to County-USC Medical Center, officials said. Their names were not released.

Detectives believe Ghazelian met his wife and daughters at their Burbank home Thursday and asked them to drive him to his broken-down car.

Ghazelian pulled a handgun from his waistband and opened fire on the mother and daughters, police said.

Police did not say how many times the gun was fired.

Coroner's spokesman Erik Arbuthnot said the autopsies on Zabel and Garine Ghazelian had not been performed as of Friday afternoon.

Shawn Gharibian, a witness, said he heard about the discovery of a body in the river Friday while listening to his police scanner. He said he saw the body under the freeway pylons and that the man found had dark hair and was wearing a red shirt and a black jacket.

Zabel Ghazelian was a teacher at Rose and Alex Pilibos Armenian School in Glendale, according to news reports

 

 

 

 

[This message has been edited by MosJan (edited December 23, 2000).]

[Guest]

Slaying Suspect's Body Discovered

Griffith Park: Police believe Sherman Oaks man fatally shot estranged wife and a daughter, wounded two other daughters.

 

 

By RICHARD FAUSSET, MICHAEL KRIKORIAN, Special to The Times

 

Police on Friday found the body of a Sherman Oaks auto mechanic who authorities believe fatally shot his estranged wife and 13-year-old daughter and critically wounded two older daughters before jumping or falling from a bridge into the Los Angeles River.

Police suspect that Gabriel "Gaby" Ghazelian, 49, fatally shot his wife, Zabel, 42, and daughter Garine in the family's minivan Thursday night near Griffith Park.

Friends said Ghazelian was distraught over the dissolution of his marriage and missed his children. The couple had been separated for a year, police said, and a divorce was pending.

Police found the father's body in the riverbed shortly after 2 p.m. Friday below the interchange of the Ventura and Golden State freeways.

On Thursday night, Ghazelian, a part-time wedding photographer, visited the Burbank apartment of his wife and three daughters, said Los Angeles Police Department Sgt. Mark Kelley. Ghazelian told his family that his car had broken down on Riverside Drive near the Ventura Freeway, Kelly said.

His wife agreed to drive him to his vehicle and they took their daughters along, Kelly said.

As Zabel Ghazelian drove south on Riverside Drive toward Zoo Drive, her husband pulled out a handgun he had hidden in his waistband and began shooting, Kelly said. Gary Mosher, 46, of Burbank saw the family's minivan stopped ahead of him about 8:15 p.m. He found Zabel's body in the driver's seat and Garine's in back.

 

 

* * *

The eldest sister, Christine--who turned 16 on Friday--was shot in the mouth.

Another daughter, Talar, 14, was bleeding from her head. Police originally believed she also had been shot. But hospital authorities said Friday she had been struck by a blunt object, possibly the butt of a handgun. Mosher said Christine was trying to help Talar and call for help when he arrived.

"Christine was sitting on the curb, trying to dial her cell phone, but you couldn't understand what she was saying, because she'd been shot in the mouth," Mosher said Friday. "The 14-year-old wanted to get up, but you could see in her eyes there was something not quite right. I had my arm around Christine, who was trying to calm the other one down.

"There was just blood everywhere," he said. "I just can't imagine what it could have been like for those three girls to be sitting in the car and watch this happen."

Talar and Christine were taken to County-USC Medical Center. Both were in critical condition in the intensive care unit Friday, a hospital spokeswoman said.

Mosher said he didn't see Gabriel Ghazelian at the scene.

For the last three years, Zabel Ghazelian had taught Armenian language classes at the Rose and Alex Pilibos Armenian School in Hollywood, where her three daughters were enrolled.

Principal Viken Yacoubian described Zabel as an enthusiastic teacher with a great sense of humor. He said her girls, who were in the eighth, ninth and 11th grades, "were, like their mother, very charismatic and enthusiastic, and good students."

Yacoubian said administrators broke the news to students and faculty Friday--the last day of school before Christmas break.

Landlord and family friend Joe Nishanian said police searched Ghazelian's apartment Friday morning and found a note addressed to him, thanking him for his friendship.

Nishanian said Ghazelian was a religious man who was upset about his pending divorce. "He [was] a very nice guy, a feminine-type of guy--very affectionate," Nishanian said. "But he was fed up with life."

Nishanian said Ghazelian had told him this week he was moving out of his apartment. On Thursday morning, a workman at the apartment building told Nishanian that Ghazelian, dressed in a suit, left his apartment with a suitcase. Nishanian said he called Ghazelian on his cell phone.

Ghazelian said he was headed for Las Vegas.

"I said, 'Why are you going to Vegas?' " Nishanian recalled. "He said, 'My wife doesn't want me. My kids don't want me. I'm going to Vegas with my girlfriend.' But he didn't have a girlfriend."

According to Nishanian, the family was Armenian, with roots in Lebanon and Syria. They had moved to California from Canada in 1987, he said. After the Northridge earthquake they moved back to Canada. Nishanian said Ghazelian returned to Los Angeles after suffering health and job problems.

The family continued to have financial troubles. Nishanian said he made several large loans to his friend, and he believes financial pressures hurt the marriage.

"There were misunderstandings," he said. "Most of it was [over] money. . . . She would say [to him], 'Look, this guy owns a business, that guy owns a business. What about you?' "

 

* * *

On Friday, students at Pilibos Armenian School spoke fondly of Zabel Ghazelian and her daughters. "She was my favorite teacher," said David Menedjyan, 17, a senior. "She was always willing to listen to our problems. I was shocked. I couldn't believe it."

At school functions and celebrations, Zabel Ghazelian would get the party going.

"She would be the one to galvanize everyone to have fun, to sing, to dance," Yacoubian said. "She was so full of life."

[Guest]

quote:

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Originally posted by MosJan:
Lost night wan I got home , I found my sister crying ,

---

I hope your sister is feeling better. Give her a good brotherly hug.

quote:

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Originally posted by MosJan:
"I said, 'Why are you going to Vegas?' " Nishanian recalled. "He said, 'My wife doesn't want me. My kids don't want me. I'm going to Vegas with my girlfriend.' But he didn't have a girlfriend."

---

I was just reading this same article in the morning's paper. For some reason, this part really got to me.

Poor family. I really hope the two girls get lots of love, attention and counseling.

[Guest]

This was so similar to a couple year's ago incident when that Armenian man from Iran killed his wife and other daughters also by burning the home on fire. I thought it didn't go well because his wife wasn't originally Armenian or Christian. But, now I suppose it is the Armenian man and husbands totally at fault to blame??? Why take the kids? That is sick.

[Guest]

My mom actually knows the guy's mother. The guy has cutten off his mother's phone line in Canada so that she would never hear about this. Sad. The mother live in Montreal Canada.

[Guest]

quote:

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Originally posted by Hakob:
But, now I suppose it is the Armenian man and husbands totally at fault to blame???

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There is nothing that the wife or children could have done to deserve this. But as much as I would like to demonize him, the whole thing is just sad. Period.

Everyone count your blessings and think of the poor surviving family members this Christmas. Maybe the local Armenian community will come together to somehow help support the two girls.

Ugh. Lav chem.

[This message has been edited by Pilafhead (edited December 23, 2000).]

[Guest]

This was really a sick event. I was shocked when I heard it. My prayers are with them.

[Guest]

"There were misunderstandings," he said. "Most of it was [over] money. . . . She would say [to him], 'Look, this guy owns a business, that guy owns a business. What about you?' "

 

this is the part got to me / /

[Guest]

Could we possibly gather up a collection and make a donation on behalf of the Forum??? Is there a way to also involve credit cards for the worldwide members?

[Guest]

Palafjan - it have been Handled by AYF and the school that she have been working for.

Us for the kids , a good friend of mind just told me that lade by name of Rossi & her husband Busant who have been friends wit This family are going to adapt or provide a foster Carr for the 2 girls .

City of Los Anglos is going to provide workers for the treatments of the kids.

 

 

Plaf jan your a Man wit a BiG hart,

god blase you . !!!

 

Dear members tel me how you like to hendel this , i'm open for any sujetions.

tel me how to send the $$. or if anyone will like to send the $ to the School i'l get the addres for you soon.

Movses

[Guest]

Sisters Injured in Shooting Rampage Continue Their Recovery

Tragedy: An education fund has been established for the teens, who were orphaned by the slayings.

 

 

By MICHAEL KRIKORIAN, Times Staff Writer

 

Two teenage girls injured by their father when he went on a rampage killing his estranged wife and youngest daughter near Griffith Park improved slightly Saturday but remained in critical condition, a hospital spokeswoman said.

Christine Ghazelian, 16, who was shot in the mouth Thursday night, and her sister, Talar, 14, who suffered blunt trauma to her head, were conscious and speaking in the intensive care unit of County-USC Medical Center, according to a family friend who visited the girls.

The sisters now know they are orphans, as friends told them that their father, Gabriel Ghazelian, 49, also was dead. They already knew their mother, Zabel, 42, and 13-year-old sister, Garine, had been shot and killed by their father.

Ghazelian, disturbed over his separation from his wife, apparently leaped 50 feet to his death Friday morning in the Los Angeles River.

"We weren't there, but we are assuming he jumped and committed suicide," Los Angeles Police Det. Gilbert Garcia said. "Basically for us, this case is just about closed."

A man who has known the Ghazelian family for years said the couple's separation drove Gabriel Ghazelian to despair.

"He kept telling me, 'I can't go on living like this. I can't live like this,' " said Joe Nishanian, who rented an apartment to the family. "I feel so bad that I couldn't do anything to stop this tragedy."

Ghazelian left Nishanian a note apologizing for "what is going to happen today."

"I think his 9-millimeter [handgun] must have jammed because that is why he [hit] Talar and that is why he jumped," Nishanian said. "He planned this out and I think the plan was for everybody to die right there. Him too.

"He really loved his kids, believe it or not, but he kept telling me, 'My wife hates me and she taught my kids to hate me. I'm so depressed,' " Nishanian said. "He said, if he couldn't live with his kids, he didn't have a life."

A hospital spokeswoman said Friday that Talar's injuries may have been caused by a blow from the butt of a gun.

On Saturday, the principal of the school the girls attended announced the school has set up a college fund for the sisters.

"The school is trying to take care of their education," said Principal Viken Yacoubian of Rose and Alex Pilibos Armenian School in Hollywood. "They are orphans now, so we will take care of them."

The brother of Gabriel Ghazelian was flying in from Canada and has expressed an interest in taking the sisters back, friends said.

However, a family friend who is also a clinical psychologist said the girls do not want to live with their father's relative.

The decision where the children will go will be made by the assigned social worker, but the opinion of the sisters will be taken into consideration, said the friend, Maral Babian, who visits the Armenian school twice a week.

"The kids do not want to be with their father's family in Canada," Babian said. "I know the girls very well, and I know they are strong and very, very good girls."

Principal Yacoubian also said the girls have said they do not want to leave Los Angeles.

Most of their mother's family lives in Beirut, where she grew up. She had no close relatives living in the Los Angeles area. A few of Zabel's close friends have told Yacoubian they would like to care for the sisters.

Anyone wishing to contribute to the college fund can send a check to the Talar and Christine Ghazelian Education Fund, c/o Rose and Alex Pilibos Armenian School, 1615 N. Alexandria Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90027.

[Guest]

Thank you for posting the above article. I haven't read today's paper yet so I had not seen it.

 

quote:

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Originally posted by MosJan:

Dear members tel me how you like to hendel this , i'm open for any sujetions.

---

 

I can do either: send a check to you to include in one single donation, or mail it directly. I will wait and see what other members would like to do.

 

A donation on behalf of the Forum is the least we can do for all the time we get here free of charge.

 

 

 

[This message has been edited by Pilafhead (edited December 27, 2000).]

[Guest]

Maybe this was a honor killing as we discussed previously. never know. But shooting his wife and daughter might happen because of very serious reason...

 

 

AA

[Guest]

Just wanted to remind everyone about these two young girls.