Teen Convicted in Beating Deaths of 2 Boys

A jury convicted 16-year-old Michael Hrayr Demirdjian on Thursday of first-degree murder in the bludgeoning deaths of two boys in a La Crescenta schoolyard.

After the verdict, prosecutors said Demirdjian did not act alone in the July 2000 killings and that more arrests will be made.

Demirdjian, who was 15 at the time of the slayings, looked down and showed no emotion as the jury’s decision was announced in his retrial.

Demirdjian’s first trial ended in April with a deadlocked jury. Prosecutors said Thursday they felt vindicated.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Steve Barshop said the case remains open as authorities reevaluate evidence against three or four other suspects. He declined to say when arrests will be made or what the charges might be.

The San Fernando jury of seven women and five men, after deliberating nearly a week, found that Demirdjian killed Christopher McCulloch, 13, and Blaine Talmo Jr., 14, whose battered bodies were found July 23, 2000, on the playground of Valley View Elementary School. The jury also found that the slayings--committed with two rocks and a long park bench--involved torture.

The special-circumstance murder conviction means the teenager is expected to receive life in prison without possibility of parole when sentenced Dec. 4 by Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Ronald Coen. Because of Demirdjian’s age, he was not eligible for the death penalty.

Jurors said the prosecution convinced them the killings resulted from a conspiracy--over a drug deal gone bad--between Demirdjian and other suspects, most of whom are teenagers.

In the week before the killings, Demirdjian had tried to buy $660 worth of marijuana from Adam Walker, who took the money without giving drugs in return, said Barshop. He said part of the money belonged to Damian Kim, another La Crescenta teenager.

Demirdjian, Kim and others then repeatedly tried to lure Walker out of hiding so they could ambush him to get their money back, according to prosecutors, who said those efforts culminated in the deaths of Christopher and Blaine, the latter of whom introduced Demirdjian to Walker.

Jurors Divided Over Some Evidence

Unlike the first trial, prosecutors focused their retrial case on proving the conspiracy. This time, Barshop used a computer-assisted slide show that illustrated the relationships between all the youths and listed all the evidence and legal arguments against Demirdjian.

Jurors said they were divided over the validity of evidence involving a police dog, which picked up Demirdjian’s scent from a lineup of odors. But jurors said they believed there was still overwhelming evidence of guilt, including Christopher’s blood found in Demirdjian’s home. Early in their deliberations they were 11 to 1 in favor of guilt, jurors said.

Defense attorney Charles T. Mathews said the verdict was “horrifically wrong” and that Walker is the real killer.

“In our view, the prosecution’s evidence was inadequate,” Mathews said. Mathews said he regretted not putting his client on the stand in the retrial. Demirdjian did testify in the first trial.

Mathews also contended Demirdjian had been singled out for prosecution because he is black and that Walker escaped scrutiny because he is white. Prosecutors denied the claims.

Demirdjian was prosecuted because of all the evidence pointing to him, Barshop said. He added that Walker is not a suspect because “there is nothing to connect Walker to this case. Zero.”

Barshop said he was ready to call Walker as a witness but did not because Demirdjian did not testify. During the first trial Demirdjian testified he saw Walker kill the teens but that Walker spared him. But he also admitted under cross-examination that he had repeatedly lied to police about the case.

Some family members and friends of the victims said they were relieved by the verdict.

Demirdjian’s conviction “does make us feel a little more at peace,” said Blaine’s mother, Alana Talmo.

‘Nothing Will Bring the Boys Back’

“Even though he will spend the rest of his life in jail, it doesn’t change anything,” she said. “Nothing will bring the boys back. It hurts, it hurts so much.”

Christopher’s mother, Aileen Bristow, said the verdict gives her little solace. “Apart from the boy being kept off the street, my world is still torn apart,” she said.

Bristow said her heart goes out to Demirdjian’s parents, who have stood by their son throughout the trials. “They’re about to lose their son too, but the difference is, they can still see him, visit him in jail,” she said.

Blaine’s girlfriend, Ashley Penland, 16, said she remains angry about the boys’ deaths and doesn’t understand why they were killed. But now Demirdjian “has the rest of his life to think about it,” she said.