Marylou Sarkissian, 50, was beat and strangled to death by her ex-boyfriend Jason Becher, 43 (pictured), in December 2016
Recently filed court documents revealed just how hard a 50-year-old mother of three tried to protect herself and her kids before she was brutally murdered by her violent ex-boyfriend.
Jason Becher is currently awaiting trial for the murder of Marylou Sarkissian, who was found beaten and strangled to death in her Huntington Beach, California home in December 2016.
Previously, very little had been released about the crime. But recently, the Huntington Beach police investigation and arrest report were filed in court, giving new details on the murder.
According to the reports, Sarkissian had a restraining order out against her ex at the time, and installed a security system on her house just the day before her murder.
Police found Sarkissian’s dead body the afternoon of December 2, after Becher’s relative called police and informed them that Becher had told him that he killed his ex.
His brother said that Becher staked out the house and waited for Sarkissian to let her dog out, then forced his way in when she let the dog back in.
In new court papers, it was revealed that Sarkissian had a restraining order against her ex, and had a security system installed the day before her death. Sarkissian is pictured second right, with her children
When police arrived at the home, Sarkissian’s teen son answered the door, and said he got back to an empty house and figured his mother was out. He led police into her bathroom where the boy screamed when he found his mother’s dead body in a pool of blood.
‘The female appeared to be badly bruised and beaten about her face and was lying in a pool of blood,’ officers wrote in their report.
Police later went through the surveillance footage, and discovered that Becher forced his way into the home at 2:22am.
He is heard on the recording telling Sarkissian: ‘So you got a new surveillance system; how’d that work out for you?’
About 30 minutes later, he is seen carrying a garbage bag out of the house and appears to have changed clothes.
Police found a bag of bloody clothes in the home, as well as a black plastic hanger and nylon rope they believe were used in the murder.
While it’s still unclear what motivated Becher to kill his ex, family members say that in the lead up to the murder, he complained about Sarkissian’s restraining order and said she owed him money.
Her restraining order was granted after an incident in August 2016, in which he dragged her into a bathroom and tried to choke her with a bath towel before she sprayed him with pepper spray. In that incident, he told authorities that Sarkissian owed him $100,000.
Becher fled to Oregon in the aftermath of the murder, but was taken into custody the next day.
He continues to await trail while being held at an Orange County jail. He has pleaded not guilty to murder. If convicted prosecutors make ask for a sentencing enhancement, based on the report that he staked out the home before killing Sarkissian. With a sentencing enhancement, he faces life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Becher is due back in court in May to determine if there is enough evidence to go to trial.