Mariam Makhniashvili

Mariam Makhniashvili march held in Toronto
Last Updated: Saturday, April 3, 2010 | 2:16 PM ET Comments6Recommend11.
CBC News
Mariam Makhniashvili was last seen Sept. 14. Family and friends of Mariam Makhniashvili gathered Saturday in downtown Toronto for the missing teenager, who disappeared more than six months ago.

The midday event, that had been billed as a march, attracted only tiny gathering at Yonge-Dundas Square in the city centre, local news reports said.

Mariam has not been seen since she left her home for Forest Hill Collegiate Institute on the morning of Sept. 14. She and her younger brother George separated at the back entrance to the school when Mariam decided to use the front entrance.

Her backpack was found Oct. 8 in a parking lot in midtown Toronto. The pack, which was open when police arrived, contained schoolbooks and loose-leaf binders belonging to the 17-year-old.

Since then, police have been unable to say what happened to her. Although RCMP in Alberta received a report Dec. 2 that she had been seen in Grande Prairie, and an earlier one that she'd been just outside Calgary on Oct. 27, the force later said it had ascertained that there was no evidence Mariam had been in the province.

Mariam had only been a student at her high school since the new school year started in September. She and her brother lived in Tblisi, Georgia, before coming to Toronto in June. They reunited in Canada with their parents who had arrived from Los Angeles a few months earlier.

Her parents said she had not made any friends in Toronto and that her disappearance was completely out of character for the girl, whom they described as quiet and shy.


Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/toronto/story/2010/04/03/mariam-march.html#ixzz0kACBTKR6

Mariam Makhniashvili case baffles police
Officers to revisit park frequented by family in `highly unusual' case

Published On Fri Sep 25 2009
Mariam Makhniashvili, 17, has been missing since Sept. 14, 2009.


Isabel Teotonio
Staff Reporter
After 30 years on the job Det. Sgt. Dan Nealon has seen a lot. He has investigated major crimes, tracked down dozens of missing people and worked on about 50 murder cases.

But the case of Mariam Makhniashvili, who appears to have vanished outside her Toronto school last week, has him stumped.

That's because he has never come across a case like this. No witness. No evidence. No leads. Nothing.

All police know with certainty is that a 17-year-old girl is missing.

"Typically speaking, there is always something to kick-start your investigation that gives you a direction," says Nealon, who is overseeing a core team of 10 investigators. "In this case, we have no direction."

During an interview with the Star yesterday, he tried to avoid the word mystery, when speaking of Mariam's disappearance outside Forest Hill Collegiate. Instead, he described it as "highly unusual." Either way, he says he is genuinely baffled. And, he is not alone.

"I don't claim to own that opinion," he said, during a rare break outside 53 Division, where his team is holed up working the phones, sifting through potential leads and watching hours of video footage from places where there have been possible sightings.

"I've collaborated with my colleagues throughout the service and they're all of the same opinion: It's highly unusual," said Nealon.

Today, police will search Earl Bales Park on Bathurst St., about six kilometres north of her school and home. They will be using an OPP helicopter, equipped with infrared camera, to scour the area. Mounted police have already searched the area, but investigators want to do a more thorough sweep.

"It's important to underline the fact that we're not being driven there by means of the investigation," said Nealon. "It's to ensure that she didn't go there because she was familiar with it, and didn't go there and get met with foul play, misadventure or was suicidal."

Mariam's family frequented the park often throughout the summer. It is one of the few areas she became familiar with since moving here in June with her 16-year-old brother George from the Republic of Georgia.

The teens moved to Toronto to be reunited with their parents, Vakhtang Makhniashvili and Lela Tabidze, who had left Georgia five years earlier for the United States. The couple had moved to Canada in May and were not ensconced within the city's Georgian community. Mariam, who spoke little English, had no friends and knew few people here.

She disappeared outside her school, near Eglinton Ave. W. and Bathurst, on the morning of Sept. 14. George has told police that he and Mariam walked to school and parted ways when they reached the building. He says he entered through the back and she made her way toward the front. She never made it to class.

Yesterday, Nealon said police have not corroborated his story but did say that George was in school that day. Not one student can remember seeing either of them before class that morning.

Police have turned to expert sources to better understand the Georgian culture. And for the first time, police are using Crime Stoppers International.

Investigators are also reaching out to Mariam's friends in Tbilisi, where her grandmother raised her.

Investigators are asking anyone with information to call 416-808-5300 or text TOR and your message to CRIMES (274637) or go online to 222tips.com.

Missing Mariam Makhniashvili spotted alive near Calgary in October
December 3rd, 2009 - 2:51 am ICT by Aishwarya Bhatt -
Calgary, Dec 2 (THAINDIAN NEWS) There is some good news for the kin and kith of the missing Toronto teenager Mariam Makhniashvili as she was possibly spotted near Calgary selling dream catcher. She was spotted alive in Alberta, which is south of Calgary selling her wares. She was spotted on the 27th October, which is more than a month after her disappearance.

After this disclosure the police are on the lookout and are going to update soon. The RCMP says it is now looking for Mariam Makhniashvili in the Greater Calgary area after she was possibly seen there on or about Oct. 27, 2009.

The Okotoks RCMP say that they believe that the missing 18-year-old Toronto teen Mariam Makhniashvili was spotted trying to sell some ‘Dream Catchers’ and other crafts to local businesses. Okotoks is about 35 minutes south of Calgary.

Prior to her disappearance, Mariam was last seen in Toronto on Sept. 14 when she dropped her brother off at Forest Hill Collegiate. Police had also earlier started interviewing each of the 980 students at her school, Forest Hill Collegiate, earlier this month in an effort to turn up any clues in her abrupt disappearance.

The police haven’t left any stone unturned as they have also repeatedly conducted searches on the ground and the air in three parks in the city to look for any clues or her body, in case she has been murdered and dumped.



More at : Missing Mariam Makhniashvili spotted alive near Calgary in October http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/world/missing-mariam-makhniashvili-spotted-alive-near-calgary-in-october_100283473.html#ixzz0kAD4K0Kb

CBC News
Posted: Oct 20, 2011 5:04 PM ET
Last Updated: Oct 20, 2011 6:24 PM ET


father of mising Mariam Makhniashvili pleads guilty

Play iconThe father of Mariam Makhniashvili was in court for a sentencing hearing on assault charges. Zuleka Nathoo reports.Makhniashvili in court1:44

Vakhtang Makhniashvili will be sentenced in December for two separate stabbing attacks that wounded three people.

Makhniashvili, whose daughter Mariam disappeared more than two years ago, pleaded guilty in May to three counts of aggravated assault.

On Thursday his victims were in court to describe how their lives had been affected by the attacks.

All said they still feel anxious and fearful.

"I am now on anti-depressants because of the constant nightmares and flashbacks," Dolores Langer told the court.
Mariam Makhniashvili has been missing since Sept. 14, 2009. Mariam Makhniashvili has been missing since Sept. 14, 2009. (CBC)

She and her husband David were stabbed by Makhniashvili at their east end home in November 2010. They had helped Makhniashvili to secure bail after the first incident.

In the earlier case Makhniashvili stabbed a former neighbour in May 2010.

On Thursday, the 26-year-old victim told the court Makhniashvili blamed him for Mariam's disappearance.

"[My] anxiety has increased exponentially," the man said. "Forgiveness is very unlikely."

According to a psychiatric report, Makhniashvili suffers from a type of delusional disorder. The report also says his daughter's disappearance likely contributed to his violent behaviour.

Makhniashvili's lawyer told the court the family now believes Mariam is dead.

"I would like to apologize to my victims. I didn't realize how much pain and trouble I've caused to society and my family," Makhniashvili told the court.

The Crown is seeking a sentence of eight to 10 years in prison. The judge will make her decision in December.

Mariam has not been seen since September 2009. She left her home for Forest Hill Collegiate Institute with her brother, George, the morning of Sept. 14. She was 17 years old when she went missing.

The siblings decided to enter the school through different doors, and Mariam has not been seen since. Her backpack was found a few kilometres from the high school on Oct. 8, 2009, in a parking lot in midtown Toronto.

Father of missing Mariam Makhniashvili pleads guilty
CBC News
Posted: May 11, 2011 4:23 PM ET
Last Updated: May 11, 2011 4:23 PM ET

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Mariam Makhniashvili has been missing since Sept. 2009.Mariam Makhniashvili has been missing since Sept. 2009. (CBC)

The father of Mariam Makhniashvili, the young woman who has been missing from her Toronto home for almost two years, has pleaded guilty to aggravated assault charges.

Vakhtang Makhniashvili, 51, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to three counts of aggravated assault in two separate incidents.

In one incident Makhniashvili stabbed a former neighbour. In the other he attacked the man and woman who bailed him out of jail on the first charge.

The father of the missing teen appeared calm and quiet as he listened to the charges read out. He then replied "Guilty" to all three charges.

Mariam has not been seen since September 2009. She left her home for Forest Hill Collegiate Institute with her brother, George, the morning of Sept. 14. She was 17 years old when she went missing.

The siblings decided to enter the school through different doors, and Mariam has not been seen since. The only evidence police managed to turn up of the missing teen were her backpack and school books, which were found near Eglinton and Yonge.

Vakhtang Makhniashvili was first charged in May 2010 in connection with the stabbing of a 26-year-old man living across the hall from him at a midtown apartment building.

He was initially granted bail after the Langers acted as sureties for him, but he was re-arrested in June after they withdrew their names as sureties.

While out on bail he went to the Langer homes at 10 Greenwood Ave. in Toronto last May, where he stabbed David and Dolores (Rose) Langer.

The hearing will resume on Friday.

The defence is expected to ask Justice Rebecca Rutherford to sentence Makhniashvili to two years less a day.

The Crown says it will ask for a longer, penitentiary sentence.