Bulgarian Double Homicide Defendant Acquitted on All Counts

The Sofia City Court exonerated Iliyan Todorov on charges of committing the murders of two young people. Photo by BGNES

The Sofia City Court issued a not-guilty verdict for Iliyan Todorov on double homicide charges, stemming from an incident in the spring of 2009.

26-year-old Iliyan Todorov was charged with double homicide in the murders of 21-year-old Kiril Vazharov, who was a national ice hockey player, and 24-year-old Vasil Alexandrov. The two allegedly got involved in a fight between two groups of drunken young people in front of "Solo" club in downtown Sofia on April 18, 2009.

Both men were stabbed in the back while trying to get away from the fight. A third man, Kiril Dimitrov, has also been seriously injured.

The police never established the reasons for the fight, but followed a lead where Todorov hid the knife, with which he allegedly stabbed the victims, in the bag of his friend.

The magistrates ruled that the knife in question had not been the knife used during the fight and the one inflicting the deadly wounds. They based the rule on two medical expert reports, and pointed out that there is no evidence, even indirect one, proving Todorov was the perpetrator.

The Court state as another motive video evidence showing the defendant, clearly identified in a white shirt, getting in a taxi cab, and not in the middle of a knife fight. Todorov's permanent detention was also revoked Friday. The rule can be appealed with the Sofia Court of Appeals.

The Prosecutor had asked for life with parole.

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