Jury Seeks Death for Murderer of 4

Virendra “Victor” Govin should be executed for murdering four members of a family in a business dispute, a Los Angeles County Superior Court jury decided Friday.

Govin, 37, a Studio City motel owner, struck against the owners of a rival motel, jurors found.

“It’s difficult to see what people are willing to do just for money,” said Joseph Woods, the jury foreman. “This case was all about money; it was all about greed.”

The jury of 10 men and two women took two days to return the verdict of death. The panel deliberated nearly four weeks on whether Govin and his business partner, Pravin “Peter” Govin, 34, were responsible for the killings of Gita Kumar, 42; her son, Paras Kumar, 18; her daughter, Tulsi Kumar, 16; and her mother-in-law, Sitaben Patel, 63. The victims were strangled May 4, 2002, with plastic ties and burned in a fire at their home in the Hollywood Hills.

“This is the right penalty for him, no doubt about it,” said Harish Patel, whose wife, children and mother were slain. “I can feel from the inside that my family found justice.”

The courtroom was crowded with family and friends of both the victims and the defendant. Govin, wearing a cream-colored suit and a light blue shirt, stared straight ahead, showing no emotion, while a relative wept silently.

“Any time you have to sentence someone to death, it’s difficult,” Woods said. “Govin was involved in the recruiting, planning and the motives. That in itself was enough to convict him of first-degree murder and give him death.”

The death penalty was a possibility because the jury found that Govin committed multiple murders and killed for financial gain.

Jurors could not agree on the guilt or innocence of co-defendant Peter Govin. He will be tried again, said Jane Robison, a spokeswoman for the district attorney’s office.

“In terms of evidence, we didn’t see enough to put Pravin in the same position” as his brother, said juror Michael Munoz.

Judge Kathleen Kennedy-Powell instructed both the prosecutor and defense attorney not to discuss the case.

The Govin brothers and Patel’s family own neighboring motels in the 10700 block of Ventura Boulevard. Both families wanted to renovate and expand their businesses. Both also wanted to use the alley behind their motels for different purposes: The Govins, who own Studio Place Inn, wanted to build on the alley, and the Patels, who own Universal City Inn, wanted to use it as a driveway.

For the victims’ relatives, the verdict was a partial win. “We appreciate [them] giving us the death penalty and look forward to ... the second guy getting the death penalty too,” said Sagar Kumar, 21, Patel’s nephew. “Maybe then we can start our lives again.”

Sentencing is Sept. 23. The judge could choose to impose death or life without parole.