Scotsman Officially Pleads Not Guilty for Bulgarian Boy's Murder

The 71-year-old Scotsman David Bell Bryson is pictured here after his arrest for the murder of 11-year-old Stanislav Mirchev. Photo by Trud Daily

A 71-year-old Scotsman, who is suspected of the murder of an 11-old-boy in Northwestern Bulgaria, has unexpectedly pleaded innocent.

"I will not plead guilty. I have not seen the kid on that date and I have not killed him," the Scotsman told the court in the Danube town of Vidin on Monday.

David Bell Bryson faced the court for the first time on July 10, but magistrates had to adjourn the hearing since the two sides had begun out of court negotiations for compensation settlement.

Since they failed to reach an agreement, the civil claims were launched in the court.

Prosecutors are expected to demand that David Bell Bryson is sentenced to life without parole, saying the murder was committed in a particularly cruel manner.

Bryson, allegedly, strangled to death the 11-year-old Stanislav Mirchev in the village of Lagoshevtsi close to Vidin. There were suspicions that he might have abused the boy sexually but little conclusive evidence has been reported to this end as of yet.

Interestingly, initially the Scott claimed that he killed the boy because he was torturing his dog. It was expected that he will plead guilty in exchange for a lighter sentence to be served in Great Britain.

At the end of January 2012, the Vidin District Court ruled that the Scotsman has to be kept in the arrest for the duration of the investigation.

Bryson told the magistrates then that he was sorry about the crime he committed in a state of uncontrolled anger, and denied raping the child. Even though the defendant and his lawyer requested that the Scotsman be released on bail, the Court decided that he might flee.

Bryson insisted that he could have fled before he was arrested, and even inquired about flights to the UK but never left.

The Scotsman was educated in Germany and worked as an aviation mechanic, according to the local authorities.

After he was arrested and interrogated, the suspect admitted his guilt and shared details that only the culprit would have known with the police. His confessions came after he failed a lie detector test.

The Scotsman settled in the village of Lagoshevtsi four years ago.

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