Bulgaria Court Postpones again Borilski Murder Case

The two defendants in the Borilski murder case, Georgi Zheliazkov (l) and Stoian Stoychkov. Photo by BGNES

The Veliko Tarnovo Appellate Court postponed for November 23 the Borilski murder case trial.

The proceedings were resumed Monday behind closed doors.

The magistrates heart witness testimony from the defendants, Georgi Zheliazkov and Stoian Stoychkov. Media was not allowed over classified information being presented.

The mother of the murder victim did not appear for the Monday hearings. The plaintiff in the civil suit was represented by Martin Borilski's brother. The claimants' attorney requested the withdrawal of the judges' team over suspicions of subjectivity and preliminary formed opinion.

“It is highly possible the judges have discussed the case with their colleagues, who already tried it and issued the non-guilty verdict,” the Borilski attorney explained. The judge rejected the request as baseless, but noted the case includes 40 volumes of documents, some of which are classified.

In August the Veliko Tarnovo magistrates postponed the case for October over the mother's request to delay the case as she has previously arranged a trip abroad.

Bulgaria's Supreme Court of Cassations returned the case to Veliko Tarnovo on May 18 after finding previous trials had problems over the way evidence had been collected, verified, analyzed and admitted.

In the summer of 2000, French firefighters discovered the brutally murdered Bulgarian Sorbonne student, Borilski, in his apartment in Paris. His body was tied down with a sweater, and his skull was broken with a dumbbell. There were 93 stab wounds on his corpse.

The two alleged killers, Georgi Zheliazkov and Stoyan Stoichkov aka Barona (the Baron) were acquitted by the first two trials, in the Shumen District Court and the Veliko Tarnovo Appellate Court.

The Veliko Tarnovo Appellate Court previously threw out the case, suggesting that the two defendants did not have a motive for the murder of a student at such prestigious school.

Meanwhile, The French Appellate Court decided on June 12 to run a parallel trial in Paris Penal Court of the two main suspects.

During the Monday proceedings it was revealed that the two defendants have appealed the French decision to hold a parallel trial in Paris, a move that would postpone that trial until the spring of 2010 at the earliest.

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