Woman sentenced 10 years to life in prison for deadly party-turned-kidnapping

SALT LAKE CITY — A woman who held guests against their will at a Sugar House party in 2021 that turned deadly was given 10 years to life in prison Tuesday.

Mary Akopyan, 39, pleaded guilty to aggravated kidnapping, a first-degree felony, in September for holding partygoers hostage and helping violently assault a teenage girl.

On Aug. 28, 2021, Akopyan and her boyfriend, Levon Garo Meguerditchian, 42, held a party at his home at 609 E. Wilmington Avenue. About 4 a.m., some party guests stole a bottle of alcohol and ran from the house.

Abdourazak Mouhoumed, 18, ran out of the house at the same time and was driving away in his car when he was shot in the head by Meguerditchian, causing the car to crash, according to prosecutors.

Afterward, the hosts forced about 10 people in their home into the laundry room for 20 to 30 minutes and threatened to "slit their throats," according to charging documents.

Police responded to the scene on reports of a shooting, but Meguerditchian told the officers it was fireworks. The partygoers were released, and a few hours later, police got a report of someone being held captive at the residence.

Officers returned and located a 17-year-old girl in the garage with injuries that were not considered to be life-threatening. According to the charges, the hosts beat the girl because they believed she was responsible for inviting the people who stole the alcohol.

While responding that morning, police located Mouhoumed dead inside a vehicle that had crashed into a home at 2214 South and 600 East.

Meguerditchian was found guilty of murder and five counts of aggravated kidnapping, first-degree felonies; obstructing justice, a second-degree felony; and felony discharge of a firearm, a third-degree felony. He was sentenced to 30 years to life in prison, but he has filed an appeal of the judgment.

A few months after the assault, the victim disclosed to police Akopyan's involvement in the crime, according to the Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office.

Akopyan was initially charged with five counts of aggravated kidnapping, first-degree felonies; obstruction of justice, a second-degree felony; and assault, a class B misdemeanor. The rest of the charges were dismissed in exchange for her pleading guilty to one count of aggravated kidnapping.

Akopyan was given credit for the 621 days she previously served in the Salt Lake County Jail before being transferred to the Utah State Prison to finish her prison term of 10 years to life.

"The victims of these crimes can now rest assured that their attackers have been held accountable for the violence they have perpetrated on them. This defendant will remain behind bars for years, making not only those targeted in these crimes, but our community as a whole, safer," Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill said in a statement Wednesday.

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