Bulgarian Murder Suspect Vows to Sue All Witnesses

Plamen Trifonov, the only suspect in the murder trial, was released on own recognizance over insufficient evidence. Photo by BGNES

Plamen Trifonov, the suspect for a grisly murder that took place in downtown Sofia in July 2011, has declared he will sue all witnesses that have implicated him in the crime for slander.

In an interview for the bTV private channel on Wednesday, Trifonov described the charges against him as "manipulation". He refused knowing the victim, 28-year-old Yana Krasteva, who was found strangled and bludgeoned to death in Sofia's central Borisova Gradina park.

"I was not there. I do not know Yana," Trifonov claimed, pointing out that the police acted driven by the urge to find a suspect as quickly as possible in order to ease the public tension.

The suspect further stated that the hairs collected at the crime scene were deliberately substituted by the police with his own hair samples.

Another man, Nikolay Rusinov, was also initially detained as a potential suspect, but charges against him were never pressed.

He said at the time that he had met Yana one day before, the two had danced, enjoyed themselves, drank plenty of alcohol, and had sex near the place where she was found dead.

Rusinov claimed he left the victim sleeping in the bushes around 05:30 am and had gone home.

The crime scene investigation revealed biological material of more than two people other than the victim.

The only solid DNA evidence at the crime scene belongs to Rusinov.

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