Man arrested in slaying of 1 of 3 Hollywood family members killed since 2008

Man held in death of 1 of 3 LA family members

LOS ANGELES — A man was charged Thursday with the March murder of a Hollywood woman whose husband and youngest daughter were slain in 2008.

Alberd Tersargyan, of Los Angeles, was arrested Tuesday evening at his Hollywood-area home, Capt. Kevin McClure said. Police initially arrested him for weapons violations after finding several handguns and rifles, none of which were believed to be registered.

McClure said ballistics tests linked a small-caliber handgun to the March 26 slaying of Karine Hakobyan, 38, who was shot to death in a carport at her apartment complex. Prosecutors said she had arrived home and parked about 8 p.m. when Tersargyan shot her in the head.

Hakobyan’s husband, Khachik Safaryan, 43, and their 8-year-old daughter Lucine were killed in the family home on Dec. 11, 2008. All three deaths were discovered by another daughter, who was 12 when her father and sister were killed.

Police were continuing to investigate whether Tersargyan was involved in the 2008 killings.

The family knew Tersargyan as a friend, McClure said. “He had the ability to go to the house.”

The break in the case came Monday when detectives received new information that led them to investigate Tersargyan.

Authorities initially theorized the slayings were carried out by someone involved in a romantic relationship with one of the parents, but the investigation did not bear out that theory, said a law enforcement official who asked not to be named because the investigation was ongoing.

The district attorney’s office said Tersargyan is 73, but authorities believe he is in his 50s. The law enforcement official said Tersargyan immigrated to the U.S. from Armenia in the early 2000s and that his legal records do not reflect his true age.

Tersargyan has no previous criminal history in the U.S., the official said.

His arraignment was continued until May 6.

The public defender’s office did not immediately know which of its attorneys had been assigned to Tersargyan’s case.