2 Men Sentenced to Life in Prison in Gas Broker’s Death

VAN NUYS —  Upholding the verdict of a jury that convicted two men of murdering for financial gain, a judge sentenced the killers Tuesday to life in prison without the possibility of parole for fatally shooting a Woodland Hills gasoline broker.

“This was a cold, calculated, premeditated and deliberate murder of the victim for the purpose of gaining $26,000,” Van Nuys Superior Court Judge Sandy Kriegler said. “There’s no doubt in my mind these were the perpetrators of the crime.”

Jerry Garoudje Killedjian, 25, a Sun Valley salesman, and Arsen Darbianian, 22, a car upholsterer from Hollywood, were convicted of the Sept. 15, 1992, murder of Daryoush Khorrami, 30, whose bullet-riddled body was found in his Mercedes-Benz parked next to a school on a quiet North Hollywood street.

Killedjian was supposed to deliver more than $26,000 in cash to Khorrami to pay for a load of gasoline, according to evidence presented at the pair’s trial. Less than half an hour before the fatal gunshots were heard, Khorrami called his fiance, saying that he had not received the payment and that he “was not sure about this guy,” authorities said.

The pair were convicted in July of first-degree murder, as well as special circumstance allegations of murder while lying in wait and murder for financial gain. Even though they were convicted of a capital offense, prosecutors decided not to seek the death penalty.

In a case based on circumstantial evidence, Deputy Dist. Atty. Kathleen M. Cady showed jurors a ledger found in the victim’s car that was opened to a page marked “Jerry.”

During the trial, Cady presented witnesses who said they saw Darbianian driving a car similar to the one seen leaving the murder scene. Witnesses also said Killedjian was the last person to be with Khorrami.

There was heavy security in the courtroom, which was packed with Khorrami’s family, relatives of the defendants and several bailiffs. When Khorrami’s relatives started clapping immediately after the formal sentence was announced, Kriegler warned them to quiet down, but there were no confrontations between the two factions.

No one related to the victim made a statement during sentencing, but Deputy Probation Officer Alan E. Schaeffer, in documents prepared for the hearing, wrote: “The serenity of the victim’s family has been shattered and the defendants have caused an indescribable sense of permanent loss.”

The attorneys representing the two men, Janet I. Levine and Alvin S. Michaelson, made an unsuccessful bid for a new trial, arguing that prosecutors had not proven their case beyond a reasonable doubt and that the judge had improperly limited questioning of two men who were engaged in illegal business dealings with Khorrami.

“We don’t know what happened out there,” Michaelson said of the murder scene. “No one knows what happened. It’s pure conjecture and speculation.”