Cracker-bread heiress sentenced to three years in prison for 2015 choking death
The so-called heiress to an Armenian cracker-bread company was sentenced to three years in prison on Tuesday for her involvement in the 2015 choking death of a 31-year-old man in a Glendale apartment.
Sparkle Soojian, who claimed on her website to be the heiress to the Ak Mak cracker-bread company, pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in the Sept. 10, 2015 death of John Michael King-Smith.
Soojian’s then-boyfriend, Jared Kasiewicz, has pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter for his part in King-Smith’s death. His sentencing is scheduled for June.
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King-Smith was the ex-boyfriend of Soojian’s roommate and had showed up unannounced at their apartment in the 200 block of West Windsor Road on the night of Sept. 10, according to court testimony from last year.
An altercation broke out, and Soojian texted Kasiewicz to come over.
When the former Marine arrived at the apartment, he tackled King-Smith and placed him in a choke hold, according to court testimony.
Video recorded during the incident reportedly shows Kasiewicz choking King-Smith and asking people nearby for rope to tie him up. He then bound King-Smith’s wrists to his feet.
Kasiewicz washed off the blood he had gotten on himself during the scuffle, then told several people in the apartment he “wasn’t here” and left, according to court testimony.
Soojian then called police to report a break-in had occurred and that neighbors tied up King-Smith.
When officers arrived, they found King-Smith in a state of medical distress, and he was transported to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
According to the Los Angeles County coroner’s office, King-Smith died of asphyxia and a compressed neck.
Twitter: @Andy_Truc
