According to the prosecutor, the reason behind the murder of 17-year-old Davit Narimanidze on Khudadov Street in Tbilisi was dissatisfaction that arose over a toast.

Prosecutor Ketevan Sonidze said that the 17-year-old D.P., who has been detained in connection with the case, is a minor with an extensive criminal history and is currently also subject to bail conditions.

“There was no prior relationship whatsoever between the defendant and the victim. They met for the first time on that fateful night and were complete strangers to each other. In the early hours of September 10, the defendant was moving around with his friends when they happened to encounter several boys in the Samtsvadi area, where they were celebrating one of their friends’ birthdays.

The defendant asked them for a cigarette. They replied that they did not have any, which irritated the defendant. He told them that he did not like their tone. However, the situation between the boys calmed down. They invited him to their table and offered him a toast.

While they were talking, the defendant noticed that one of the boys was sitting by himself at the table, neither getting involved in the conflict nor participating in the general conversation. This was the victim, the now-deceased 17-year-old Davit Narimanidze. The defendant reprimanded him for not standing up, considering it a personal sign of disrespect.

Narimanidze replied that his leg hurt and that he could not stand. This further irritated the minor, who was under the influence of alcohol. He told him to get up and stand beside him and, if his leg hurt, to put his arm around him and remain standing in that position.

Davit Narimanidze was forced to stand beside him for several minutes. The defendant then suggested that they step away from the group and go somewhere separately. The victim and the defendant left together. Immediately after they stepped away, the defendant inflicted life-threatening wounds to Narimanidze’s chest with a bladed weapon - a knife - as a result of which the victim died at the scene.

The defendant then left the scene and hid for a short period of time, but later returned and surrendered, confessing to the crime.

When the defendant and the victim left the area, there was no longer any conflict; the situation had been resolved. Therefore, the defendant’s friends did not consider it necessary to follow them and intervene. Several minutes after the two minors had left, the others heard loud sounds of an altercation from the area near Samtsvadi and immediately headed in their direction.

Two of the minors quickly reached the scene and witnessed with their own eyes the defendant holding a knife and telling the wounded victim that he had gotten what he wanted - referring to the stabbing. One of the minors called 112 and requested an ambulance. Police responded immediately and arrived at the scene.

The forensic medical examination report has not yet been received. However, a medical expert worked at the scene and, based on a preliminary assessment, stated that the minor had died from injuries to the chest that caused damage to the heart.

Accordingly, the injury would have caused immediate bleeding and was incompatible with life, making survival impossible. The emergency medical service did not arrive late at the scene; the minor was already dead. He died within several minutes of being stabbed, managing to move only a few meters before collapsing.

We identified and obtained the camera footage from the area of the incident. It is a fairly labor-intensive process, but according to preliminary information, there was no camera directly covering the moment of the stabbing. However, the footage shows the movement of the wounded victim and the defendant.

The camera footage must be examined in detail. If it is established that police officers had been in the area several minutes earlier and failed to respond appropriately to the minors’ movements or their consumption of alcohol, or if there had been a conflict that they failed to de-escalate, appropriate action will be taken.

Although the defendant is 17 years old, he has fairly extensive criminal experience. However, this does not concern violent offenses, but rather crimes against property. He is currently being prosecuted for multiple episodes of theft and remains under bail, which he has not paid at this stage.

Police in various districts of Tbilisi have had cases involving him, related to the theft of tobacco products, alcoholic beverages and various other goods from different chain stores across the city. He committed these thefts over the past several months, and bail was imposed on him in the spring,” Sonidze said.

For reference, D.P. has been charged under Subparagraph “f” of Article 109 of the Criminal Code of Georgia - intentional murder committed with a hooligan motive - which carries a sentence of up to 20 years in prison.