HE SHOT DAUGHTER'S MOTHER

DISTRICT ATTORNEY VANCE ANNOUNCES GUILTY VERDICT IN 2009 DOMESTIC VIOLENCE MURDER

Edward Demirdjian Convicted of Murdering His Daughter’s Mother Following Custody Dispute

Jury Deliberated for Less Than 20 Minutes Before Arriving at Guilty Verdict

Yesterday, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., announced the conviction of EDWARD DEMIRDJIAN, 58, by a jury in New York State Supreme Court of Murder in the Second Degree and Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree for fatally shooting his daughter’s mother, Sherra Morganstern, 26, while she slept in her East Harlem apartment on July 28, 2009. The defendant is expected to be sentenced on April 23, 2013.

“A 26-year-old young mother was brutally murdered in her sleep by the father of her child,” said District Attorney Vance. “Not only has Sherra Morganstern’s daughter lost a mother to violence, she will also lose a father to prison. I encourage anyone who feels she or he may be a victim of domestic violence to call my Office’s Domestic Violence Hotline at 212-335-4308.”

According to the evidence at trial, Sherra Morganstern gave birth to her only child in 2006, shortly before moving with DEMIRDJIAN from New York to Orlando, Florida. When the relationship soured, the victim moved back to New York in 2007, leaving her child in Florida with the defendant. Morganstern regularly visited her daughter in Florida, and sought to gain full custody and permanently bring her daughter to New York.

As proven at trial, in April 2009, DEMIRDJIAN purchased a .357-caliber semi-automatic pistol. On July 26, 2009, the defendant drove from Florida to New York, where he shot Morganstern three times in the early morning hours of July 28, 2009. Detectives later recovered the murder weapon from the defendant’s apartment in Florida, and found matching bullets in the defendant’s minivan.

Assistant District Attorneys Shanda Strain and Samuel David prosecuted this case under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney Kerry O’Connell, Chief of Trial Bureau 80. Trial Preparation Assistant Siobhan Namazi assisted on the case.

District Attorney Vance also thanked members of the NYPD’s 23^rd Precinct, including Detectives Joshua Berish and Israel Adorno.

Defendant Information:

EDWARD DEMIRDJIAN, D.O.B. 2/4/1955

Orlando, FL

Convicted:

Murder in the Second Degree, a class A felony, one count
Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree, a class C felony, one count