Verdict Expected in Bulgaria's High-profile Murder Case

Lazar Kolev, 30, is the only defendant in the brutal murder case of two teenage sisters five years ago. Photo by BNGES

The Regional Court in the Bulgarian southern city of Pazardzhik is expected to issue a verdict in the high-profile "Belneyski sisters" case, five and half years after their murder.

The only defendant, Lazar Kolev, is charged with two murders, two rapes and sodomy.

The Prosecutor and the parents of the girls are asking for life behind bars without parole with the prosecution insisting they have sound evidence against Kolev.

The defense council reiterated, during the closing remarks Wednesday, that the investigation did not find direct and indirect evidence against Kolev.

Sisters Rositsa (18) and Kristina (15) Belneyski went missing in January 2006, after leaving a disco bar in the town of Pazardzhik. The sisters were found dead at the beginning of February near the town of Peshtera.

The probe was extended on several occasions and Kolev was charged with their murder three and half years after it. He was in jail at the time over a different sentence.

The main proof against him is considered to be witness testimony - Vladimir Slavov-Ishirkovetsa, a former cellmate of Kolev, appeared in Court in April claiming Lazar Kolev had admitted to him that he had murdered the two girls. Other proof is DNA found on the victims.

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