Teen-ager expected in court this month
The 15-year-old arrested for her role in Deanna Maran’s murder in November is scheduled to appear in court in two weeks, but whether she’ll face charges is unclear, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
Detectives assigned to the case are still interviewing dozens of people who may have information about the stabbing death of Maran, who died after she was violently attacked at a Nov. 17 party at an upscale Westwood home. Authorities don’t have enough evidence yet to file charges against the 15-year-old, who police say had a role in Maran’s murder but are unsure in what capacity.
The teen-ager, who lives in Brentwood, was released to her parents shortly after she was questioned by police Nov. 18 — the day after Maran’s stabbing.
The juvenile’s half-sister, Katrina Sarkissian, is believed to be the person who actually stabbed Maran, a 15-year-old Santa Monica High School student who had a nearly perfect grade point average and was involved in many sports and extracurricular activities.
But police didn’t prosecute Sarkissian because she collapsed during questioning and died a few hours later, reportedly from a drug overdose. Results from Sarkissian’s autopsy are still pending.
LAPD spokesman Jack Richter said the district attorney’s office and LAPD detectives have been discussing the case in the past few weeks, but are no closer in determining whether the 15-year-old will be charged with anything, or if she’ll be tried as a juvenile or as an adult.
“If they are going to charge somebody, they want to make sure they charge them with the right crime,” Richter said. “In her defense, as well as the victim’s, they want to make sure they do this properly and just do a good job.”
Richter added that because detectives have already taken more than a month to investigate the crime, it could be Jan. 17 — the scheduled court date — that the district attorney’s office and the police file charges against the 15-year-old.
“There are so many people to be interviewed and there are probably 30 different versions of what happened,” he said. “In a party situation, you might have individuals who are intoxicated and their memory can be impaired.
“There are so many people to be interviewed and there are probably 30 different versions of what happened.” — — JACK RICHTER Los Angeles Police Department
“For as long as it has taken so far, you can imagine how difficult it must be to determine what happened.”
Based on eyewitness accounts and sources, what happened was a verbal fight between two teen-agers at a high school party got out of hand and resulted in the death of an adored, young girl. Always one to make sure things go right, Maran fought with the 15-year-old because she was reportedly breaking potted plants and other property at the home where the party was being held. After Sarkissian showed up to pick up her half-sister, she allegedly attacked Maran while she was pinned down by another girl. Maran was stabbed with an unknown object, however some reports indicate that the weapon was a broken beer bottle. Once party goers noticed blood coming from Maran’s body, her friends drove her to Santa Monica Hospital where she died shortly after midnight.
A memorial for Maran was held Nov. 26 at Santa Monica High School’s Greek Theatre which focused on non violence. Just weeks later, a shrine dedicated to Maran outside of her parents’ Ocean Park home was destroyed by a car. Police are investigating the incident, which they consider to be an intentional act.
“We are looking at the fact that someone drove on the sidewalk to intentionally hit it,” said Lt. Frank Fabrega. Police say witnesses at the scene describe the car as an early 1990s gold Thunderbird.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on January 3, 2002. Read the original PDF.