Montecito murder suspect Henry Rostomyan appears in court, pleading not guilty to charges he smothered 96-year-old woman in plot to steal her mansion

A man arrested in a murder-for-hire plot to smother a 96-year-old woman and steal her $5 million Montecito mansion pleaded not guilty on Thursday.

Henry Rostomyan, 33, appeared in Santa Barbara Superior Court today after being charged last week in connection with the murder of Violet Evelyn Alberts.

Appearing before Judge Thomas Adams, Rostomyan entered a plea of not guilty. Adams subsequently ordered him back to jail without bail, citing him as a danger to the public. 

Alberts was found dead in her bed by a caretaker in May 2022, with one window in her home broken. She had been making cookies for her birthday moments before she was killed.

Nearly two years after the death, the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office announced the arrests of Rostomyan, Harry Basmadjian, 58, Ricardo MartinDelCampo, 41, and Pauline Macareno, 48. 

Henry Rostomyan, 33, arrested in a murder-for-hire plot to smother a 96-year-old woman and steal her $5 million Montecito mansion pleaded not guilty on Thursday

Rostomyan, 33, appeared in Santa Barbara Superior Court today after being charged last week in connection with the murder of Violet Evelyn Alberts

Alberts, 96, was found dead in her bed by a caretaker in May 2022, with one window in her home broken

Alberts had been making cookies for her birthday moments before she was killed in her $5 million home (pictured)

Rostomyan appears stressed, clad in an orange jail suit, as he covers his face and lowers his head in exclusive photos obtained by DailyMail.com. 

He can be seen smirking in one of the photos before being escorted back to jail. The other three suspects did not appear. 

Officials said last week that Alberts' killing was a murder-for-hire scheme orchestrated by Macareno, who had previously tried to con Alberts out of her home. 

'In the eyes of Pauline Macareno, Miss Alberts was living too long,' said Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown. 'The acceleration of her death is presumably what was behind the murder.' 

Brown said in 2020 the 48-year-old woman was 'referred' to Alberts, who needed additional money after she 'aged out' of her savings. 

'The victim was in a financially distressful situation where she had essentially aged out of her savings and she basically had a very valuable home that she lived in but she had run out of money otherwise,' said Brown.

'She needed some additional money and she was approached by Pauline Macareno with the scheme to sell her a reverse-mortgage.'

Macareno had tried to gain control of Alberts assets by posing as a real estate agent, forging documents and using fraudulent entities. 

She was convicted for using a real estate scheme to convince Alberts to transfer the title of her home to herself and is currently serving a six-year sentence in state prison. 

Rostomyan appears stressed, clad in an orange jail suit, as he covers his face and lowers his head in exclusive photos obtained by DailyMail.com

He can be seen smirking in one of the photos before being escorted back to jail. The other three suspects did not appear

Nearly two years after the death, the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office announced the arrests of Rostomyan, Harry Basmadjian(right), 58, Ricardo MartinDelCampo, 41, and Pauline Macareno, 48 (left)

Basmadjian was arrested in January in connection with Alberts' death while being held in federal custody on an unrelated charge.  

He has subsequently suffered a life-threatening medical emergency that left him totally incapacitated with a grim prognosis, according to the sheriff's office.

Immediately after Alberts' death two years ago, detectives found little to no leads - but soon after, they started tracing a 'tangled web of financial exploitation.' 

This led detectives to Macareno and three men. 

During the investigation, they discovered MartinDelCampo and Rostomyan had conducted a scouting trip to Alberts home on May 24, 2022.

'This pivotal discovery shed light on the premeditated nature of the crime, underscoring the perpetrators' calculated efforts to survey Alberts's home and plan their vicious and reprehensible actions,' Brown said.

In June, the sheriff's office released photos of a white Porsche Cayenne they believed to connected to Alberts murder.

Police said they believed the driver had traveled from Los Angeles to Montecito on the night of the murder and the vehicle was seen entering and leaving Alberts property.

Macareno is currently in prison on a separate charge, Basmadjian was arrested on January 2, Rostomyan was arrested on February 27 and MartinDelCampo was arrested on March 5, 2024. 

The sheriff said Alberts was making cookies for her birthday moments before she died and the ingredients for those cookies were found in the table when police arrived.

Appearing before Judge Thomas Adams(pictured), Rostomyan entered a plea of not guilty. Adams subsequently ordered him back to jail without bail, citing him as a danger to the public

In June, the sheriff's office released photos of a white Porsche Cayenne they believed to connected to Alberts murder

Police said they believed the driver had traveled from Los Angeles to Montecito on the night of the murder and the vehicle was seen entering and leaving Alberts property

Brown said Alberts was a 'vibrant 96-year-old widow' and a 'cherished figure' in the community.

'Violet relied on her friendships and connections within the neighborhood, through which she achieved a sense of belonging with a tight knit community,' Brown said.

'Her love for her home, complete with a pond filled with cherished koi fish that she brought from Beverly Hills, reflected her appreciation for life's simpler pleasures,' the sheriff said. 

'Despite facing challenges with her memory and cognition, Violet's spirit remained undaunted.' 

Montecito, a lavish enclave outside of Santa Barbara, is home to some of the world's most famous and wealthy people - including the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Oprah, and Ellen DeGeneres.