DA Holds Off on Charges in Stabbing Death

By Teresa Rochester

Feb. 27 -- In an unusual move the District Attorneys Office said Wednesday that it had delayed a decision on whether to file charges against a teenage girl allegedly involved in the November stabbing death of a popular 15-year-old Santa Monica High School sophomore.

Deputy District Attorney Alex Karkanen said that he and Los Angeles Police Department detectives will meet with the family of Deanna Maran -- who was stabbed at a party near Westwood -- to share the results of a three-month investigation and solicit their input before making a decision.

"We want to hear their input," said Karkanen. "It's definitely not something that happens in your ordinary case. It's not an ordinary case. I can't say I know what they've been through, but I have an inkling. We want to be sensitive."

After meeting with the Maran family the DA will determine whether to file charges against the 15-year old half sister of Katrina Sarkissian, 17, who allegedly stabbed Maran, then died of a drug overdose shortly after police took her in for questioning.

Maran confronted the the 15-year-old about her behavior during the party, which led to the incident.

Harriet Maran, Deanna's mother, was taken aback when she learned of the District Attorneys' decision from a reporter.

"I've been waiting and waiting and waiting," Maran said. "It's been up in the clouds. We're all waiting for the police report. It's not right. It's already been three months."

Maran last saw her daughter on Nov. 17, when the honor student and athlete left their Ocean Park home to go to the party on Thayer Avenue in the Westwood area.

At the party Maran confronted Sarkissian's half-sister who was breaking potted plants. The girl allegedly called Sarkissian, and the pair and their friends pinned Maran down, punched her and stabbed her with a knife. Maran's friends rushed her to Santa Monica Emergency Hospital where she died.

The following day Sarkissian and her half-sister were taken in for questioning by detectives from the West Los Angeles Division of the LAPD. Sarkissian collapsed during questioning and died later at UCLA Medical Center.

Her death by acute Nortriptyline intoxication was ruled a suicide by the Los Angeles County Coroner. The drug in an anti-depressant.

"The levels were extremely high," said coroner office spokesman Scott Carrier. "Our toxicology screening showed the that the levels were extremely high. It was just astronomical. There's no doubt this wasn't accidental."