“The case of the tragic events in the "Petrohan" hut is the so-called. extended melancholic suicide“. This was stated on the air of “Hello, Bulgaria“ on Nova TV by Ivan Ivanov – head of the psychiatry department at the "Levski" Hospital and a forensic expert.
According to him, he expressed a similar hypothesis four days ago, which is currently largely confirmed. According to Ivanov, this is a well-known phenomenon in psychiatric science, although the official authorities initially stated that they had not encountered such a case. “These are things known to science. The claim that such a case has not been encountered is not entirely true“, he pointed out.
Ivanov explained that extended melancholic suicide is associated with the most severe form of depression, in which not only the psyche suffers, but also the body. Characteristic of this type of condition is insane behavior, accompanied by extremely strong inner anguish, which is often transferred to the closest people. “In such cases, a person can first take action against the people he loves, and then against his own life“, explained the forensic psychiatrist.
According to him, in this particular case, the most likely version is murder followed by suicide. Ivanov expressed the opinion that the perpetrator was Ivaylo Kalushev, arguing his thesis with the letter left behind, addressed to the mother.
Ivan Ivanov offered his condolences to the victims' relatives and emphasized that during the murder in the hut, it is possible that the other men were strongly influenced by the leader of the group, which is why they did not resist. “Aggression is extremely instantaneous – it happens in seconds“, he said.
The psychiatrist said that the reason he went public with his thesis was a report he had watched days earlier, in which Kalushev was shown exhausted, covered in mud, but who saved children from a cave. According to him, such people are often very dedicated, idealistic and gifted individuals, but it is precisely in them that the risk of a severe mental crisis may be greater. "He may be a great environmentalist, a person who saves lives, but it is precisely this type of person who can at a certain moment fall into a deep crisis and do something unthinkable," Ivanov said.
According to him, the line between genius and mental disorder is extremely thin. However, he is categorical that in this case it is not about drug dealing, settling scores or sexual motives.