Family members mourned Vanik Voskanyan, an Armenian man allegedly fatally stabbed in an alleyway by a Beverly Hills teen, at his funeral on Monday.
Voskanyan, 40, was laid to rest at Grand View Memorial Park in Glendale. Loved ones gathered at St. Leon Armenian Cathedral in Burbank for a service conducted in Armenian before proceeding to the burial. Over 100 family members attended the open-casket service.
According to reports, Conoray Lawantara, 19, allegedly stabbed Voskanyan on August 30 as Voskanyan was searching through trash in an alley. Police arrived after a struggle and arrested Lawantara.
Voskanyan was transported to a hospital where he was pronounced dead. Lawantara claimed he acted in self-defense, stating Voskanyan reached for his neck and elbowed him, and bit off a portion of Lawantara's finger during their altercation. Lawantara's attorney also claimed Voskanyan bit off a portion of Lawantara's finger and that Lawantara sustained a stab wound to the abdomen.
However, Judge Keith Schwartz questioned the self-defense claim, stating there was "no reason for the defendant to have contact" with Voskanyan, whom he described as not approaching or being violent, but "minding his own business." The judge added that Lawantara "stabbed him repeatedly, like in a horror movie."
Armen Akopyan, Voskanyan's uncle, expressed his desire for justice, stating, "Because [the suspect] took an innocent man's life."
A friend of Voskanyan's, Levon Grigoryan, disputed descriptions of Voskanyan as homeless, saying, "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." Grigoryan added, "Vanik was much more than the circumstances of his death. He was a son, a brother, a relative, a friend, and someone who was loved and remembered by many people."
Born in Yerevan, Armenia, Voskanyan moved to Glendale in 2009. He had studied dentistry in his home country before working in construction, jewelry, and as a dental technician in the United States.
Lawantara, an Indonesian national, was arrested on suspicion of murder and later charged. His bail was set at $2 million, and he has since posted bond. He has pleaded not guilty to the charge. Court documents revealed that Lawantara had attended the Portsmouth Abbey boarding school in Rhode Island, a private Catholic institution. Lawantara is scheduled to return to court on November 5 for a preliminary hearing date.
