site.bta18 Expert Examinations Ordered, 15 Witnesses Questioned in Petrohan Case, Sofia District Prosecutor Says

Up till now, the National Institute of Forensic Science and the Clinic of Forensic Medicine with the Alexander University Hospital have been ordered to carry out 18 forensic expert examinations, and 15 witnesses, including minors and victims' friends and relatives, have been questioned, Sofia District Prosecutor Hristina Lulcheva said here on Monday.

Jointly with Interior Ministry officials, Lulcheva briefed the media on the progress of the investigation into the Petrohan case. 

Three men were found shot dead in a privately owned lodge near the Petrohan Pass (Northwestern Bulgaria) a week ago. Three more men, who had also occupied the property, were discovered on Sunday in a camper van in the area of Okolchitsa Peak, Western Balkan Range, whose death had also been caused by firearms.  

Two pretrial proceedings have been launched in connection with the six violent deaths. The leads that the investigators prioritize are homicide succeeded by suicide or suicide, Sofia Deputy Appellate Prosecutor Natalia Nikolova specified, citing the evidence taken so far.

The experts will examine surveillance camera footage and records save in mobile phones, computers, hard discs and memory cards. Fire experts will look into the fire that destroyed part of the lodge. The individuals' movements will be traced by means of traffic data under the Electronic Communications Act, and the court has been asked to authorize banking secrecy disclosure, the investigators said.

Assoc. Prof. Alexander Alexandrov, head of the Clinic of Forensic Medicine and Deontology with the Alexander University Hospital, said that the gunshot wounds to the head, of which all three found at the Petrohan Pass lodge died, had apparently been self-inflicted, either point-blank or at close range. He added that the forensic medical expert reports will be presented to the investigators.  

Nikolova said that the 15-year-old boy and 22-year-old man, who were found in the camper van in the area of the Okolchitsa Peak, had also died of gunshot wounds to the head. A post-mortem of the third body found there, of a 51-year-old man, is being performed.

At the news conference, the journalists were shown video footage from cameras in front of the Petrohan lodge. Some of the deceased can be seen there talking, bidding farewell, and setting fire to part of the building.