‘I lied to murder victim’
A shopkeeper accused of bludgeoning a Russian woman to death admitted he ‘made up stories and told lies’ to get her to lend him money.
Armen Aristakesyan, 42, is accused of murdering Serafima Mashaka, 58, after learning she kept a ‘significant quantity of cash’ in her west London apartment.
Ms Mashaka, known to her friends as ‘Sima’, suffered multiple head injuries and was found dead in her shower on the morning of 18 September 2019.
Wearing a blue linen shirt and jeans, Aristakesyan told jurors, through an Armenian interpreter, he owed ‘about £60-70,000’ to various people, not including interest.
On the day of the alleged murder, he and his younger brother, Aram Aristakesyan, went to meet his debtors to try and appease them.
Aristakesyan then returned to Ms Mashaka’s home at around 8.30pm to ‘discuss business’, including his illicit trade in cigarettes.
He said: ‘On my first visit I spoke with [Sima] about some business and then when I returned in two or three hours I continued the same conversation.
‘I was showing some papers to Sima regarding the trade in cigarettes and about the sale of my shop so I told her that I have good business and, regarding my money, my business is growing.
‘I know it might not sound very good, like I was lying to her, but I was trying to sort of prep her to asking her to lend me some money.’
He continued: ‘I offered my deal to Sima that day but I didn’t need the money from her.
‘She told me already for completing her job that she needed to borrow money herself and I myself owed her and I thought that I could ask to borrow some money from her so that when she borrows from someone else she can borrow for me too.
‘My offer was that she borrows £4,000 for me so that when I sold the store and the cigarettes I would return £10,000 to her which will make the £4,000 plus the £6,000 I already owed and also as a thank you I would also help her with cigarettes.’
Asked whether he actually had any plans to sell his shop, Aristakesyan said: ‘No, that’s a made up story. There wasn’t anything like that.
‘It’s not good to lie however just to borrow this money I made up stories and told lies.’
Aristakesyan told the court how he lied to his brother in an effort to get him to take on his debts.
‘When I talk about Aram I feel very bad.
‘In fact, Aram has done a lot for me and in the past I used to have debts of £300,000 which he took on himself.
‘This time my plan was the same and eventually he agreed.’
Visibly upset, Aristakesyan continued: ‘I was lying and lying again as in the past.
‘I promised that I would be coming out of the two stores and that all the money would be his and that, no matter what business I do, the control of all the money would be his.’
Aristakesyan, of Uxbridge Road, West Ealing, denies murder.
The trial continues.
