Major Chef Accused of Killing Cats

By Daniel S. Levine

A popular Los Angeles chef's wife has accused him of killing cats. The allegations against Will Aghajanian, a chef at the restaurant Horses, surfaced in his estranged wife Elizabeth Johnson's divorce filing. She accused Aghajanian of abusing multiple cats during their marriage. Aghajanian denied the allegations in his court filings.

"Will and I have had cats that mysteriously ended up dying, including one in 2017 who I took to a shelter when she became seriously wounded overnight," Johnson, who is also a chef at Horses, wrote in a November court filing, reports the Los Angeles Times. "The shelter told me she had been seriously abused, but Will denied it."

Johnson believed her husband at the time, but she soon suspected Aghanjanian was abusing a kitten they received a month later. Aghajanian joked about feeding the second kitten to coyotes and did not like the pet, she claims. She allegedly saw him hurting the cat, "violently shaking" it late at night. It died the next day.

"Will put the dead cat in the trash and insisted on keeping the corpse in the house," Johnson alleged. Johnson accused Aghajanian of mentally and psychologically abusing her, which prevented her from realizing what was going on with the pets.

The filing included allegations from Aghanjanian's mother, Amanda Weathersby. She said in a declaration that Johnson and her son had a "series of kittens" that died when they lived in New York City. "Liz talked about them and how one after the other died," Weatherby said. "She and Will believed that it was due to rat poison used in the buildings there."

Johnson also accused Aghajanian of physical abuse in 2019. She claims Aghajanian dragged her across a floor while she screamed and tried to resist, according to the filing.

Aghanjanian denied the allegations, telling the Los Angeles Times Johnson was "trying to take my businesses away from me through divorce" and made false stories.

"I love cats, mice. And every other animal under gods/allah whatever each religion calls him/her and have loved all animals since I was a child," he wrote. "I have problems killing lobster, and usually try to do it in the most humane way possible."

The judge overseeing the divorce case granted Johnson a domestic violence restraining order against Aghajanian in December. It was reissued on May 1, according to court documents. Johnson also wanted Aghanjanian ordered to stay 100 yards away from their three dogs. Aghajanian was allowed to continue working at Horses at the same time Johnson was there, as long as he stayed 10 feet away from her. Johnson claimed in a declaration the Horses staff staged a walkout when Aghajanian arrived at the restaurant in November.

Aghanjanian filed for a restraining order against Johnson and asked for custody of two of their dogs. He accused Johnson of misleading the court and claimed he was a victim. He accused Johnson of trying to kill him multiple times and burned him twice, according to court documents obtained by the Times. He also accused her of being the one who abused their pets, adding that he is "fearful of [Johnson] since I am the victim of [her] long-term abuse that has occurred throughout our relationship."

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