A fashion designer whose abusive partner died when she defended herself with a knife has hit back at critics who said her glamorous and stoic court appearances made her seem guilty of murdering him.
Evening gown and wedding dress designer Lena Kasparian, from Sydney, was attacked by her boyfriend Marc Zartarian in her kitchen in 2011.
He repeatedly hit her with a saucepan before Ms Kasparian picked up a knife to defend herself and he walked towards her shouting ‘stab me, stab me, just do it, just do it.’
Evening gown and wedding dress designer Lena Kasparian, from Sydney, was attacked by her boyfriend Marc Zartarian (pictured together) in her kitchen in 2011
This image from the scene shows the saucepan and knife used in the incident in 2011
Zartarian then stepped forward and the blade entered his body by just 1.4 centimetres, missing his cartilage and ribs and piercing his heart.
Ms Kasparian, 39, locked herself in the laundry room with her five-year-old from a previous relationship while Zartarian paced around outside and made phone calls.
When she heard him say he had trouble breathing, she got out and rang triple zero. He died in hospital five days later.
Ms Kasparian was originally charged with murder but acquitted after a jury at NSW Supreme Court found she acted in self-defense.
She has now spoken to 60 Minutes about her terrifying ordeal, insisting that she used no force when she held the knife.
Ms Kasparian came under fire for appearing at court in high heels, sunglasses and expensive dresses – with onlookers saying her stoicism made it seem like she didn’t care
Ms Kasparian was originally charged with murder but acquitted after a jury at NSW Supreme Court found she acted in self-defense
She said she didn’t know if he tripped or missed a step before the knife entered his chest.
Talking about the moments after, she added: ‘He was alive. He wasn’t dead. There was no blood gushing anywhere, there was nothing. It was just a tiny little cut. Fourteen millimetres.’
Ms Kasparian came under fire for appearing at court in high heels, sunglasses and expensive dresses – with onlookers saying her stoicism made it seem like she didn’t care.
But the designer hit back, saying: ‘Am I supposed to wail and cry like a crazy person to make people feel sorry for me?
‘I’m not going to dress down for the cameras and I’m not going to be someone I’m not just to prove a point.’
- Ms Kasparian’s story airs on Channel 9’s 60 Minutes at 9pm on Sunday night.
This image shows the slit in Zartarian’s shirt where the knife entered his chest by 1.4centimetres