Youngest Son Deemed Killer of His Own Family in Sofia

Sofia police, coroners and forensic teams are investigating a gruesome murder of 5 people. File photo

The 22-year-old young man, Vladimir, who is presumed to be the perpetrator of 4 murders and his own suicide in Sofia, has been a quiet and reserved person.

The information was provided by neighbors of the family, who, speaking for the Bulgarian National Radio, BNR, said in the last months Vladimir left the apartment only in the company of his father.

The young man has been treated for a psychiatric disorder, but as the family has been very withdrawn and discrete, none of the neighbors knew more details about the kind of disorder.

The father, who is one of the victims in the bloody bath, has been last seen Monday at the cash register of a supermarket close to the family's apartment in the "Gotse Delchev" district. This is leading the police to believe the murders happened late Monday night.

The Deputy Sofia City Prosecutor, Roman Vasilev, pledged to make more information available Friday afternoon. He explained coroners and forensic teams were working for the investigation. The killer used both sharp objects and a firearm, according to early reports.

Meanwhile, a psychiatrist from Bulgaria's psychiatric ward in Kurilo, said Bulgarians suffering from psychiatric disorders do not receive adequate help and treatment, and there is no prevention either.

Speaking for bTV, Dr. Tsvetislava Galabova, stated the care for those people is limited to some medications and the families are left to deal with them on their own, all while, over some typical Bulgarian character traits, they are trying to conceal the illnesses from society.