Glendale Man Stabbed to Death in Alley by Beverly Hills Teen, Family Demands Justice

Vanik Voskanyan, 40, was fatally stabbed in a Glendale alley on Aug. 30 by 19-year-old Conoray Lawantara. Over 100 mourners attended his funeral as family called for justice.

Family Mourns Armenian Man Killed in Glendale Alley as Teen Faces Murder Charge

More than 100 relatives and friends dressed in black gathered Monday to bury Vanik Voskanyan, the 40-year-old Armenian man allegedly stabbed to death in a Glendale alley by a Beverly Hills teenager, NY Post Metro reports. The casket, powder blue and topped with a large bouquet of white roses, was lowered into the ground at Grand View Memorial Park in Glendale following an open-casket service at St. Leon Armenian Cathedral in Burbank — conducted in Armenian by a clergyman.

The suspect, 19-year-old Conoray Lawantara, a Beverly Hills resident, allegedly attacked Voskanyan on Aug. 30 as the man searched through trash in a back alley. Police arrived during the confrontation and arrested Lawantara at the scene. Voskanyan was transported to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Lawantara has pleaded not guilty to murder. His bail was set at $2 million; he has since posted bond. He is due back in court on Nov. 5 to set a date for a preliminary hearing. Lawantara, described in court proceedings as an Indonesian national, recently attended Portsmouth Abbey, a private Catholic boarding school in Rhode Island that costs roughly $80,000 per year. He was listed as a member of the 2025 graduating class.

Defense Claims Self-Defense; Judge Pushes Back

At Lawantara's arraignment, his attorney, Debra White, argued that Voskanyan had grabbed the teen's neck, elbowed him, and bit off a portion of his finger. White also said Lawantara sustained a stab wound to the abdomen during the encounter.

Judge Keith Schwartz was direct in his response. There was "no reason for the defendant to have contact" with the homeless man, Schwartz said. "He didn't approach, he wasn't violent. He was minding his own business." The defendant "stabbed him repeatedly, like in a horror movie," the judge added.

Family and Friends Dispute "Homeless" Label

Voskanyan's uncle, Armen Akopyan, told the Los Angeles Times he wants justice served. "Because [the suspect] took an innocent man's life," Akopyan said.

Akopyan said his nephew was born in Yerevan, Armenia, and moved to Glendale in 2009. Before emigrating, Voskanyan had trained as a dentist in Armenia. After arriving in the United States, he worked in construction, jewelry, and as a dental technician.

A longtime friend, Levon Grigoryan, took issue with media descriptions that reduced Voskanyan to the circumstances of his death. "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 told the outlet. "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."

Grigoryan added: "It doesn't matter how the guy was living at that moment. You don't have to take a knife and kill somebody."

Source: NY Post Metro