In the aftermath of the tragic incident where Marine Basmajian fatally shot her husband and two young children before taking her own life, heartbroken relatives are left grappling for explanations.
Friends and family describe Marine, a dedicated stay-at-home mother, as deeply caring towards her two-year-old son, Alec, and her spouse, Khajag.
The couple had long cherished the idea of having a daughter to complete their family, and they were elated by the recent arrival of their newborn, Ella, who was just six days old.
To outsiders, the family appeared to be the picture of happiness.
The evening preceding the tragic event, Marine, aged 30, and her 31-year-old husband, Khajag, celebrated Ella’s birth with a gathering at the North Hills residence owned by Khajag’s parents.
“They were all at the family house, enjoying pizza, dancing, and listening to music,” Marine’s brother, Arthur Shamlyan, shared with the Daily Mail.
‘The family is very close.’
Shamlyan said relatives believe his sister may have been suffering from severe postpartum psychosis – a sudden loss of touch with reality after childbirth. The condition can also bring about delusions, hallucinations, extreme mood swings and confusion.
Marine Basmajian with her husband, Khajag Basmajian, and their son, Alec, both of whom she shot and killed, along with their newborn daughter, Ella, on May 27 at the family’s home in North Hills, California. Family members said Marine was possibly suffering from postpartum psychosis after giving birth to Ella
‘To this day, we still don’t really know what happened to trigger her because there is nothing in the world that would make her harm her family,’ he said.
‘Postpartum depression is the only thing that we can think of because what she did was not like her.’
Officers responded to the May 27 shooting at around 7.50pm on a quiet residential street in North Hills, about 20 miles northwest of downtown LA.
The bodies of Marine, Khajag and their two young children were found at the scene, all four with fatal gunshot wounds to the head.
Before the tragic murder-suicide, Shamlyan said his sister and brother-in-law were temporarily staying with Khajag’s parents due to safety fears.
The couple’s house in nearby Winnetka had been burglarized twice in two years which terrified Marine in particular, her brother said.
After the first break-in, Khajag purchased a handgun for protection – the same weapon Shamlyan said was later used in the killings.
But months later, burglars struck again while the family was out, making off with roughly $100,000 in cash, jewelry and designer items.
At that point, Marine no longer wanted to remain in the home. The family moved in temporarily with Khajag’s parents while searching for another place to live.
They had rented out their Winnetka home and were close to purchasing a new property, Shamlyan said.
According to him, the shooting took place in the bedroom where the family-of-four had been staying.
Shamlyan said the entire extended family remains in shock because they never knew Marine was struggling.
He said his mother and sister were extremely close, and if Marine had opened up about her struggles, the entire family would have helped immediately.
‘None of us expected this,’ he said. ‘My sister never even touched a gun before that. It was her husband’s gun because they were robbed twice already. When that happened, my sister was terrified.’
LA Police Department officials blocked off the usually quiet street in North Hills as investigators tried to piece together what happened at the home
A makeshift memorial with crosses, balloons, notes and various toys were left by mourners who held a vigil in front of the family home on Saturday
Khajag Basmajian was a loving father, husband and friend, his family said
Khajag worked as a software engineer at BlackLine.
Shamlyan said his brother-in-law, who everyone called by his nickname ‘Jack,’ was the ‘kind of guy you’d want your sister to marry.’
‘He was a good guy and he always told me to let him know when I needed anything and to never hesitate to ask him,’ he continued.
‘Let’s say if a wife were to ask a husband, “Hey, the backyard furniture is kind of getting outdated. Maybe we should change it soon.” Most husbands would probably will be like, “Ah, don’t worry about it!” But Jack was like, “Babe, which one do you want?”
‘Like right away he was like, “Let’s order it.” He was never hesitant. Very attentive. When she wanted something right away, there was no hesitation.’
Shamlyan said Khajag even traded in his BMW for a more practical family vehicle and bought Marine another car she had wanted – a black Tesla.
On Wednesday, the Tesla remained parked outside the home where the shooting occurred.
‘She never even got to drive the Tesla,’ Shamlyan said. ‘They just got it delivered two days before [the shooting].’
He added that the couple rarely argued and had no known financial troubles.
According to a GoFundMe set up to help the family with funeral expenses, Khajag was ‘a devoted husband, loving father, cherished son, brother and friend.’
‘To know him is to love him,’ the tribute read. ‘With a beaming smile on his face and a positive outlook on life, he was truly a friend you could count on.’
Shamlyan’s eyes watered as he spoke about his rambunctious nephew Alec, whom he often babysat.
‘We would sit in the car on the driveway and he liked steering the wheel,’ Shamlyan said. ‘He knew how to put the car on drive and reverse and we would drive just a few feet here in the driveway.
‘My phone is full of fun pictures and videos of him. We would go to Chuck E Cheese, to the park. He loved to ride his bike.’
Baby Ella was six days old when Marine killed her. Her uncle Arthur Shamlyan said his sister Marine was excited to be a ‘girl mom’ to Ella
Emergency personnel rushed to the North Hills home on the night of May 27 and discovered the lifeless bodies Marine, Khajag and their young children
Shamlyan said he only met his baby niece Ella once during the six days she was alive.
‘My sister was looking forward to being a girl mom because she was already a boy mom,’ he added. ‘She was very excited about that.’
He said that on the day of the shooting, he suggested to his mother that they pick up Alec so Marine could get some rest and spend time with her daughter.
But they never managed to connect.
The family only learned of the tragedy after receiving a frantic phone call from Khajag’s father.
Neighbors told the Daily Mail they did not hear gunshots coming from the home but were startled by the sound of anguished screams and sobbing shortly after their time of death.
Irene Barreras said the guttural cries captured by her surveillance camera continue to haunt her.
Barreras, who has a one-and-a-half-year-old daughter named Sophia Hope, said she was heartbroken to learn Marine may have been suffering after childbirth.
‘Postpartum depression is real and people need to talk about it,’ she said. ‘I understand because I went through it also. It gets very hard for moms, and we have to talk about how to seek help.
‘My heart goes out to the family. It is very heartbreaking. We should also be careful not to judge what happened because you never know what goes on behind closed doors.’
Shamlyan said he decided to speak publicly because he hopes the tragedy will raise awareness about postpartum mental health struggles.
‘The more people know about my sister’s situation, maybe they’ll understand how difficult it is,’ he said. ‘In today’s world, a lot of people are living with depression and stuff.
‘It’s some kind of thing that gets into you, and I think that’s what postpartum psychosis was for my sister. Until today, we don’t know what the real issue was. We still don’t know what triggered her.’
If you or someone you know needs help, please call or text the confidential 24/7 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline in the US at 988. There is also an online chat available at 988lifeline.org.
