Police Call La Crescenta Killings the Work of More Than 1 Person

More than one killer is responsible for the gruesome playground slayings of two teenage boys in La Crescenta, and the crime may have been gang-related, a police investigator said Monday.

Michael Hrayr Demirdjian, a 15-year-old boy charged as an adult under Proposition 21 with the murders of the two boys, is linked to the notorious Crips gang, testified Dennis Smith, a robbery-homicide investigator for the Glendale Police Department, during the first day of preliminary hearings in Glendale Superior Court.

And though much evidence links Demirdjian to the bloody crime scene at Valley View Elementary School, none of the fingerprints or footprints recovered by police so far can be identified as his.

Demirdjian has been charged with two counts of murder, with the special circumstances of torture and robbery, in the deaths of Blaine Talmo Jr., 14, and Christopher McCulloch, 13, and two counts of robbery. Because of Demirdjian’s age, he faces a maximum punishment of life in prison without the possibility of parole if he is convicted.

His attorney, Charles T. Mathews contends that the youth was merely a witness to the killings by an adult acquaintance.

On Monday, more details emerged about the slayings as well as Demirdjian’s capture. The killings took place on a rubberized mat in the playground, Smith said. When the bodies were found on the evening of July 23, a rock was next to one boy’s head and a park bench was on top of the other boy’s torso. Both victims suffered severe head and facial injuries.

“I believe there was a battle” on that playground, Smith said. “There’s definitely more than one [killer] involved. I don’t think one person can do this to two people.”

A bloodhound led police from the crime scene to the front door of Demirdjian’s house, Smith said, under questioning by Deputy Dist. Atty. Steven Barshop. Inside, police found Blaine’s empty wallet in a trash bag, bloody tennis shoes and what appeared to be dried blood on Demirdjian’s bedroom door and bed sheets.

Earlier that weekend, Blaine had about $200 in cash. No money was found on the body, Smith said.

He said police took samples, which are undergoing DNA testing. Blood also was found on the shoes of Adam Walker, 19, of La Crescenta, the automobile of another boy who was not named and the clothing of another boy said to be an associate of Walker, Smith said. The results of DNA testing on those blood samples are expected next week.

During a break, Smith and Barshop declined to say whether Walker or any others are suspects in the case.

In July, Walker was arrested on suspicion of murder in the boys’ deaths, but police dropped those allegations and he was charged with an unrelated burglary.

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Five other youths, including three juveniles, were later arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to kidnap and rob in connection with the case, but all were released after prosecutors declined to file charges.

Of the fingerprints at the crime scene, four were found on the park bench but they have not been identified, Smith said. No matches have been found for the footprints.

Demirdjian is a member of the Altadena Block Crips, one youth told police. Smith said the teenager has also been seen hanging around gang members.

A few days before the killings, a neighbor saw Blaine in a fistfight with a boy he later identified in a police photo lineup as Demirdjian.

The neighbor heard Demirdjian threaten Blaine: “If you ever . . . mess with me again, I’ll mess you up,” Smith said.

“He said Demirdjian looked to be filled with rage,” Smith said.

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Barbara Lee Burke is holding the hearing to determine whether there is sufficient evidence for the case to proceed to trial.