A California family’s joyful gathering just hours after welcoming a newborn turned into a horrifying murder-suicide, after authorities say a mother fatally shot her husband and two young children before taking her own life in North Hills.
Marine Basmajian, 30, killed her husband Khajag Basmajia, 31, and their two children, 2-year-old Alec and six-day-old baby Ella, inside the family’s home on Londelius Street on May 27, just before 8 p.m., according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
She then turned the gun on herself.
Officials said the couple’s home situation had recently shifted after they were staying temporarily at Khajag’s parents’ residence in North Hills due to safety concerns.
The tragedy unfolded in a home tied to Khajag’s parents, where the couple had been living after their Winnetka property was reportedly burglarized twice in two years.
Family members said the break-ins left Marine especially frightened.
After the first burglary, Khajag purchased a handgun for protection, the same firearm later used in the killings, according to relatives.
What makes the case even more disturbing is what happened the night before the violence.
Family members said the household had gathered to celebrate the birth of infant Ella, who was just six days old.
The evening reportedly included music, pizza, and dancing with family.
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Arthur Shamlyan, Marine’s brother, described the scene, saying:
“They were all at the family house and they were dancing, eating pizza, listening to music,” Arthur Shamlyan told the Daily Mail. “The family is very close.”
In the aftermath, relatives have been struggling to understand what led to the killings.
Some believe Marine may have been suffering from severe postpartum psychosis, a condition that can cause a break from reality following childbirth, bringing hallucinations, delusions, confusion and extreme mood changes.
Shamlyan said: “Postpartum depression is the only thing that we can think of because what she did was not like her.”
The LAPD continues to investigate the circumstances surrounding the North Hills tragedy.
