San Fernando Valley : Mistaken Release of Inmate Spurs Review

Los Angeles County Sheriff Sherman Block said Wednesday they are considering changes in jail procedures after a Glendale woman facing a possible death penalty sentence on murder charges was mistakenly released because a clerk inadvertently put the wrong document in her file.

Block said the clerk apparently confused Anait Zakarian, who has vanished since she was freed Friday, with another female inmate whose last name also began with Z.

“It was a case of human error,” Block said, explaining that two files were inadvertently mixed up by an as-yet unidentified file clerk. Block said an additional check may be added to the system.

Zakarian, 22, and her brother Garen were told this month that they might receive the death penalty if found guilty of the murder of Benita Mikailian in October. Mikailian, a rival Glendale travel agency operator, was allegedly killed in a business dispute at her office.