On September 27, Hetq reporters travelled to Dilijan to visit the son and daughter duo who tried to commit suicide just two days before.

Their mother, 48 year-old Gayaneh Mnatsakanyan, had already hung herself to death in their home.

25 year-old Eric and 23 year-old Marineh were taken to the Dilijan Medical Center with cuts to their arms and faces.

Eric was unconscious. Besides slashing her arms, Marineh had tried to kill herself by injecting oxygen into her body. Both had lost large amounts of blood.

Doctors reported that the siblings expressed regret over their attempted suicides and received psychological counselling. A local priest of the Armenian Apostolic Church also paid them a visit.

When we reached Dilijan the two had already been transferred to the police station where criminal charges of “Causing somebody to commit suicide” were initiated

Article 110 Part 1 - Causing somebody to commit suicide or make an attempt at a suicide by indirect willfulness or by negligence, by means of threat, cruel treatment or regular humiliation of one’s dignity.

The two were interviewed by the Police Investigative Division and were scheduled for further clinical examination at the Nork Psychiatric Unit.

Eric and Marineh were both employed at the time.

Informed sources report that the family’s problems stem from the parents’ divorce one year ago. Their father moved to Vanadzor and is said to have remarried.

It is also reported that the father undergoes dialysis and wanted to sell the house in Dilijan and get his share of the proceeds. Other family members opposed selling the house with a market value of $100,000.

When we visited the house, there was a “For Sale” sign outside with a telephone number. We called and got an answering machine.

As to whether these issues forced the family to commit collective suicide remains a mystery.

We’ve been informed that on the night of September 25, the mother and two children discussed these issues and decided to take the extreme atep of suicide.

At the Dilijan Medical Center we were told that there have been four other attempted suicide cases in the town this year alone.

Some local residents chalk up the attempted suicides to a lack of a church in the town of 18,000 mostly known for its lush forests and vacation resorts.

One room of the nearby Tufenkian Historical-Architectural Complex has been allocated for religious services.

In 2006, foreign benefactors are said to have donated $1 million towards the construction of a church. Work on the religious edifice has yet to start.