PHILANTHROPIST NAZARETH BERBERIAN'S FUNERAL TO BE HELD JULY 25

Nazareth Hagop Berberian, an American-Armenian Philanthropist, turned up missing from his Yerevan apartment, on April 25, 2009. His body with signs of violence was recovered on May 15, 2009, from a roadside ditch along the Yerevan-Sevan highway, 15.5 miles from the capital of Armenia. According to Ashot Karapetian, head of Kentron Division of the Yerevan Police, the crime was committed by a lone assailant, Petros Temirian, who was arrested on murder charges.

Nazareth Berberian's body was received at LAX on June 26, 2009, by the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office, which has conducted a second and much more detailed autopsy to determine the actual cause of death, all injuries inflicted, traces of poisoning, as well as the approximate date of death. Lab results are still pending, and an independent investigation is currently in progress.

The Berberian family is sad to report the untimely death of their brother, husband and father, Nazareth Hagop Berberian, who was brutally murdered in Yerevan, Armenia, sometime between April 25 and May 15, 2009. He was 57 years old. Nazareth will be deeply missed by his family and friends.

You are cordially invited to join us for prayers and funeral service on Saturday, July 25, 2009 at 10:30 a.m. at the Old North Church (also referred to as the Red-Brick Church) located at:

Forest Lawn Memorial-Park
Hollywood Hills
6300 Forest Lawn Dr.
Los Angeles, CA 90068

For more information, please visit the Memorial Site of Nazareth Hagop Berberian at www.nazarethberberian.com

Armenian Police Claims Regarding Murdered American-Armenian Philanthropist Nazareth Berberian Groundless

www.hetq.am
[ 2009/07/15 | 12:22 ]

Armenian-American Philanthropist Nazareth Berberian went missing on April 25, 2009 from his home in Yerevan, Armenia. His brutally tortured and murdered body was recovered by the Armenian police on May 15, 2009, twenty-five kilometers outside the capital city of Yerevan.

Based on their findings, the Armenian police claim that Berberian was murdered by a lone assailant who knew the victim, and that the murder took place in the victim’s apartment on April 25, 2009.

In an interview with “HETQ” on June 15 Ashot Karapetyan, Yerevan Kentron Division Police Chief stated that the murder had nothing to do with business, as previously suspected, but rather is a case of robbery.

At this time, the true motive, actual time of death and persons behind this senseless murder are unclear. An independent investigation of the case in question has unearthed facts and evidence that contradict most of the claims of the Armenian Police, published or unpublished. Once the lab results of an autopsy conducted by Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office are in, they will be compared with those provided by the Republican Center For Forensic Medicine of Armenia’s Healthcare Ministry, which conducted the first autopsy.

“Judging by the evidence we have been able to collect up until now, there are strong indicators suggesting a cover-up by the Armenian authorities,” stated Ara Manoogian, a close friend of the victim and the Berberian family’s legal representative in Armenia. “For one thing, the date on all the documents provided by all Armenian legal bodies state April 25, 2009 as the date of death. In most civilized countries, the date of death when scientific tools are not available to accurately measure how long the organs of the victim have not functioned is the date the body was recovered. In this case, the date of death should have been May 15, 2009,” Manoogian concluded. “Since the police do not want to investigate the possibility that Nazareth was alive during all or part of the 20 days prior to their recovering his body and possibly uncover facts that could lead to who is really behind the murder, they close the case with their claims of his being murdered in his home on the 25th of April. And their supporting evidence for this claim is the testimony of the person who, the police investigator, Ashot Kostanyan, told me, was beaten to get him to confess to the crime.”

“Every Armenian who has any connection with Armenia, be they native or Diasporan, has a vested interest to make sure that those who are behind this crime are brought in front of a court of law to answer for their actions, be it direct or indirect involvement in this crime, be it committing or helping to cover it up,” Manoogian warned. “If justice is not served, then there will be many more such crimes against persons like Nazareth, who was doing what he thought was right, and that was to do his part to help our cultural homeland develop into a democratically civil society and economically strong nation,” Manoogian said.

A memorial web site has been launched in the memory of Nazareth Berberian. The site can be accessed at www.nazarethberberian.com

Nazareth Berberian will be laid to rest on Saturday, July 25, 2009 at 10:30 a.m. at the Old North Church (commonly known as “red-brick Church”) located at Forest Lawn Memorial-Park Hollywood Hills, 6300 Forest Lawn Dr., Los Angeles, CA 90068.
For more information please visit www.nazarethberberian.com or write to info@nazarethberberian.com

Memorial Web-Site Launched for Murdered Armenian-American Philanthropist Nazareth Berberian

A Memorial web-site has been launched in the memory of murdered Armenian-American Philanthropist, Nazareth Berberian. The site can be found at www.nazarethberberian.com. Please visit this site to learn more about Nazareth and be sure to sign the guest book.