Conoray Lawantara, 19, faces one murder count after Vanik Voskanyan, 40, died following an Aug. 30 confrontation in a Beverly Hills alley.
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — A 19-year-old Beverly Hills man pleaded not guilty Thursday to a murder charge in connection with the fatal stabbing of 40-year-old Vanik Voskanyan after a late-night confrontation in a residential alley, according to police and reports on the court proceedings.
Beverly Hills police said officers were called at about 11:39 p.m. Aug. 30 to an altercation involving two men in an alley in the 400 block of North Palm Drive, near Beverly Boulevard. Officers found one man suffering from a neck wound and provided aid before Beverly Hills Fire Department personnel took him to a hospital. He later died. Police said the other man involved, identified as Conoray Lawantara, was also injured and taken to a hospital for treatment.
Detectives investigated what led to the confrontation and later arrested Lawantara on suspicion of murder, police said. On Sept. 2, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office charged him with one count of murder under California law. Authorities have described the incident as isolated and said investigators did not believe anyone else was involved.
Lawantara has maintained that he acted in self-defense. In video recorded by neighbor Brigette Barbie and reviewed by the Los Angeles Times, Lawantara told officers at the scene that the other man had reached toward him before Lawantara produced a knife. He also told officers that he had suffered injuries during the confrontation. Lawantara’s account is a defense claim and has not been established as fact in court.
At Lawantara’s Thursday court appearance, defense attorney Debra White argued that a verbal confrontation became physical after Voskanyan allegedly grabbed or struck Lawantara, according to People and other reports on the hearing. White said her client used the knife only after the encounter escalated. Judge Keith Schwartz questioned that account during the proceeding and pointed to evidence suggesting Voskanyan had not initiated a violent confrontation. Lawantara entered a not-guilty plea.
A witness offered a different account of how the encounter began. Barbie told the Los Angeles Times that Lawantara had recently moved to the area and had become angry with the other man while he was going through trash in the alley. She said she believed Voskanyan was homeless. CBS Los Angeles also reported that neighbors said the man had been looking through trash before Lawantara confronted him. Those descriptions are witness accounts, and police have not publicly announced a motive.
The Los Angeles County medical examiner’s office later identified the man who died as Voskanyan, 40. The office told People that he died from multiple sharp-force injuries. Police initially withheld his identity while the investigation was underway. Authorities have not publicly released a detailed reconstruction of the confrontation or all evidence collected by detectives.
Lawantara was released from the hospital and booked by Beverly Hills police before his arraignment. The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office said his bail was set at about $2.02 million. Prosecutors also said he surrendered his passport and would be required to wear a GPS monitoring device if he posts bond and is released while the case is pending.
People reported that Lawantara had recently attended Portsmouth Abbey, a Catholic boarding school in Rhode Island, and had served as an altar boy while he was a student. That background has not been identified by authorities as having any connection to the allegations against him. People said it contacted the school for additional information.
The case remains at an early stage, and the murder charge is an allegation that prosecutors must prove in court. Lawantara is presumed innocent unless found guilty. His next court date is scheduled for Nov. 5 at the Airport Courthouse for a preliminary hearing setting, according to People. Beverly Hills police said detectives are continuing to investigate the circumstances surrounding the fatal encounter.