The Oyler Griffin

BEVERLY HILLS, CA — A 19-year-old man has been charged with murder after a late-night fight in a Beverly Hills alley turned deadly, according to police. Investigators say the confrontation left 40-year-old Vanik Voskanyan with a neck wound and sent the other man involved, identified as Conoray Lawantara, to the hospital.

The Beverly Hills Police Department said officers were called just before 11:40 p.m. to the 400 block of N. Palm Drive, south of Beverly Boulevard, for reports of an altercation. Voskanyan was treated at the scene and later died at a local hospital. Police said the case appears isolated and that no one else was involved.

Police responded to an alley in the 400 block of N. Palm Drive

According to Beverly Hills police, the fight unfolded in an alley near the 400 block of N. Palm Drive, a short distance south of Beverly Boulevard. Officers arrived after receiving reports of an altercation and found one man suffering from a neck wound.

Emergency responders treated the injured man at the scene before he was taken to a local hospital, where he was later pronounced dead. Police later identified him as Voskanyan. Lawantara also needed hospital treatment for injuries he sustained during the same incident.

Officials have not described what started the confrontation. Chief of Police Max Subin said detectives are working to determine the circumstances surrounding what he called a tragic incident.

Victim identified as 40-year-old Vanik Voskanyan

Police identified the man who died as 40-year-old Vanik Voskanyan. No additional personal details about him were released by authorities, and police have not said whether he had any connection to Lawantara before the fight.

CBS Los Angeles reported that neighbors believed Voskanyan may have been homeless. Those neighbors told the station they thought he was looking through trash cans in the alley when the other man confronted him. That account has not been confirmed by police.

Police have not publicly released a motive. They also have not said whether the two men knew each other or whether any witnesses were present when the stabbing happened.

Investigators say one man produced a knife during the fight

Beverly Hills police told CBS Los Angeles that one of the two men involved in the fight pulled out a knife, and a stabbing followed. Detectives arrested Lawantara late Monday on suspicion of murder after reviewing evidence gathered during their investigation.

On Wednesday, the department said Lawantara had been charged with murder and was due in court on Thursday. He remained behind bars in lieu of $2 million bail. Police also said his arraignment date would be set later because he is still hospitalized for an injury.

The department has not said what evidence led investigators to focus on Lawantara, but police described the arrest as the result of their examination of what happened before the confrontation turned violent.

Neighbors described surveillance video and a confrontation in the alley

Neighbors who spoke with CBS Los Angeles said they believed apartment-complex surveillance video from near the alley showed Lawantara acting as the aggressor. They said the footage suggested Voskanyan was minding his own business when the confrontation began.

One neighbor said it was upsetting to see someone go after an unhoused person instead of calling police if there was a problem. Those comments reflect the account given by nearby residents, not an official police finding.

Police have not released the video or confirmed what it shows. For now, the department is treating the case as a single, contained incident between the two men involved.

Beverly Hills police say the case is isolated and ask for more information

In a statement, Chief Subin said detectives are conducting a thorough and diligent investigation into the deadly encounter. Police also said they believe the incident was isolated and that no one else took part.

Lawantara remained in custody as of Wednesday, and police said anyone with additional information should contact the Beverly Hills Police Department at 310-285-2125. The investigation remains active as detectives continue to piece together how the alley fight escalated into a homicide.

For now, the charge, the hospitalizations and the disputed accounts from neighbors leave investigators working through the final sequence of events before the fatal stabbing.