Pasadena : Life Sentence in Acid Case
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A Rowland Heights man was sentenced Wednesday to life in prison for arranging a vicious attack that left his former stepdaughter blind and disfigured.
Ara Topalian, 56, was convicted in Pasadena Superior Court in April of aggravated mayhem and conspiracy for arranging for a Hacienda Heights man to throw acid in the face of Shusan Eloyan, now 25, in Glendale three years ago.
Authorities said Topalian blamed Eloyan for the breakup of his brief marriage to the young woman’s mother, and asked Emad Fawzi Kalta--a friend of Topalian’s son, Carlo--to commit the attack.
Carlo Topalian was convicted of conspiracy for his role in the July, 1989, attack and is to be sentenced June 22.
Sentencing for the elder Topalian was pushed forward because doctors suspect he has cancer and might undergo chemotherapy.
After testifying against the Topalians, Kalta was sentenced last month to eight years in prison.
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