> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Judge rules homeowners not liable for teen’s murder - URL: https://www.smdp.com/judge-rules-homeowners-not-liable-for-teens-murder/ - Published: 2003-10-20T15:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-23T03:06:49.000Z - Author: Carolyn Sackariason - Tags: Crime, Westwood, #archive-import *Santa Monica parents won’t appeal judge’s decision* The owners of a Westwood home where 15-year-old Deanna Maran was stabbed at an underage party Nov. 17, 2001 aren’t liable for her death, a judge has ruled. Judge Linda Lefkowitz tossed a lawsuit against Shelley and Barbara Hendler out of Santa Monica Superior Court, saying the owners didn’t know anything would go wrong at the party. The Maran parents — Harriet and Ilija — had brought the suit. The Hendlers didn’t know that 17-year-old Katrina Sarkissian would come to their home while they were vacationing in Las Vegas and stab Maran in the chest, Lefkowitz found. They also didn’t have knowledge that their 19-year-old son, Scott Hendler, would have an unsupervised party where underage teenagers were drinking alcohol, the ruling noted. “It was something that I always felt that they had no reason to believe that this would happen,” said Robert Armstrong, the Hendlers’ attorney. “There is no duty to protect unless there is a history of prior instances.” Katrina Sarkissian collapsed and died of an apparent drug overdose while being questioned by Los Angeles police the day after the murder. Under California law, liability is only imposed on a property owner if he has a “heightened foreseeability” that criminal behavior will occur there. The Marans’ suit also targeted Scott Hendler, who hosted the party. But Lefkowitz ruled that the teenager, who didn’t know those involved, didn’t know that Maran and Sarkissian’s 15-year-old half-sister would fight at the party, or that a second fight would result in her death. Lefkowitz also noted Scott Hendler didn’t witness either fight. The judge ruled he had no way of knowing that Sarkissian had a propensity for violence. During the party, Maran had told the 15-year-old girl to stop breaking planters and other property at the home. The two girls fought briefly before partygoers broke it up. The 15-year-old then allegedly called her older half-sister, who came to the party and stabbed Maran outside the home. Judge Lefkowitz also noted that because Maran wasn’t invited to the party, which grew to about 85 teenagers, neither the Hendlers nor their son are liable. The Maran parents have also sued the Sarkissian parents — Sarkis Sarkissian and Angelique Sarkissian Bernstein — claiming they should have known that Katrina Sarkissian was emotionally unstable and violent. The suit also targets her 15-year-old half-sister, whose name is being withheld because she’s a minor. She allegedly kicked Deanna Maran while Katrina Sarkissian stabbed her in front of dozens of people, most of whom didn’t realize what had happened. Bernstein and Sarkis Sarkissian asked that the case be thrown out of court. That hearing is scheduled for Oct. 30\. If Judge Lefkowitz allows the case to go forward, a trial is set to start Dec. 15\. Attorneys for Bernstein and Sarkis Sarkissian declined to comment. Armstrong said the Marans’ attorney also will have to prove that Bernstein and Sarkis Sarkissian knew their daughter was prone to violent behavior and had the ability to control her. Under California law, there had to be “negligent supervision” on the part of Bernstein and Sarkis Sarkissian. “It’s very difficult to prove,” Arm-strong said. “I think it begins and ends with Katrina Sarkissian. I don’t know what drove her to have a knife and stab Deanna. “I don’t think anyone would have known that she would do that in a million years,” he added. “I have very much trouble with finding blame in this.” Tony Glassman, the Marans’ attorney, has asked the court to admit Katrina Sarkissian’s psychotherapy records, and testimony from her psychologist and psychiatrist as evidence to establish her alleged violent tendencies. Katrina Sarkissian had been treated for a sleep disorder in the past and had a troubled childhood. She had been in and out of private schools before finally dropping out altogether when she was 16. She died while in police custody on Nov. 18, 2001 — the day after the murder. A coroner ruled that she had overdosed on anti-depressants that she had been taking for the sleep disorder. Bernstein and Sarkis Sarkissian filed a wrongful death claim against Los Angeles police, alleging that detectives could have prevented their child’s death while she was in custody on suspicion of murder. They claim that detectives questioning Sarkissian should have immediately summoned paramedics when she lost consciousness while under interrogation. The Marans’ lawsuit against the 15-year-old is still pending. Armstrong said there may be a chance that Glassman can prove she knew that Katrina Sarkissian would harm Deanna Maran. “She called her and if she did call her to fight with Deanna then she could foresee there was going to be harm done,” Armstrong said, adding it doesn’t matter whether or not the 15-year-old knew Katrina Sarkissian was planning to maim or even murder Deanna Maran. “The fact that she didn’t foresee all of the harm isn’t enough to save her, in my opinion.” After months of investigation by the LAPD, the district attorney’s office charged the 15-year-old with one count of battery, a misdemeanor, for her alleged role in the murder. The 15-year-old received 100 hours of community service and was ordered to pay $100 in restitution for the battery charge, sources said. Harriet Maran said she is seeking justice for her youngest daughter’s death, and that she wants the Sarkissian parents held responsible. “For me it’s a moral issue,” she said. “I don’t need the courts to tell me what’s wrong and what’s right, but I’m not living in the real world. “If that girl didn’t show up, it would be what people would call a normal, unsupervised party, but a catalyst for violence came and went.” Armstrong said he and Glassman agreed last week that the Marans won’t appeal Judge Lefkowitz’s decision. In return, Armstrong won’t seek attorney fees from the Marans. Armstrong, a civil defense attorney specializing in homeowner and commercial liability, has handled a dozen similar cases. But he has never seen so many tragic elements in one case. “I always viewed it as an all-American tragedy,” he said. “Deanna had a bright future... and Katrina, by all accounts, was a beautiful girl and she had her share of problems, but no one would expect it to happen... It’s the stuff of novels, it’s sort of mind boggling.” *Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on October 20, 2003.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/102003.pdf?ref=smdp.com)