Video materials, photos, new data and scandalous revelations were presented to journalists at a joint briefing by representatives of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Prosecutor's Office.
The cases with the three bodies found in the “Petrohan" hut and the three bodies found on the “Okolchitsa" peak in a camper are interconnected.
Currently, two main versions are being worked out, both for the hut and for “Okolchitsa" - murder with subsequent suicide or suicide.
The three bodies found in the “Petrohan" hut
Four shell casings were found on the three bodies next to the hut, there are no signs of violence, only signs of gunshot wounds, and one of the bodies has two gunshot wounds. Two pistols and a rifle were found next to the bodies. There is no evidence of the use of illegal substances.
“Gunshot wounds to the head. The shot was fired from a very, very close range. All injuries are in areas convenient for one's own hand, most likely a suicide", the institutions said.
The investigators also showed for the first time video recordings from the day of the death of Decho Iliev, Ivaylo Ivanov and Plamen Stanev at the hut in the "Petrohan" area. One of them captured footage that was presented to the media. According to investigators, they show Ivaylo Kalushev's group saying goodbye to Iliev, Ivanov and Stanev at around 11 am in front of the hut.
Kalushev, Nikolay Zlatkov and Alexander Makulev then leave in the camper, which was found on February 8 in the Okolchitsa area.
The three who died at the hut set it on fire themselves on the evening of February 1
Another video shown at the briefing was a camera recording in which the three of them can be seen and heard saying goodbye to each other.
“It was an honor for me“
“It was an honor for me too“
“We'll see each other in…"
“In a nicer way, that…"
“Thank you for everything"
There is a 4-hour difference between the first recording and the second, which shows the three starting a fire, but the institutions did not provide information about what the three were doing in this time range.
The bodies found in a camper at "Okolchitsa" peak
The autopsies of the other three bodies found in a camper at "Okolchitsa" peak also show gunshot wounds to the heads.
How did Ivaylo Kalushev get to Okolchitsa peak from "Petrohan" hut?
"On February 1, Kalushev's camper was spotted at 11:37 a.m. at the exit of the town of Varshets, at 11:59 a.m. he was at the fork in the village of Stoyanovo. At 12:17 p.m. it is in the village of Beli Izvor, and at 12:22 the camper enters Vratsa. At 12:26 p.m. it is detected in the other part of Vratsa and at 12:41 p.m. it is detected in the village of Chelopek, which is in the direction of the place where the vehicle and the bodies inside were found," the institutions indicated.
Deputy - Appellate Prosecutor at the Appellate Prosecutor's Office-Sofia Natalia Nikolova stated that when the three bodies were found, "the fingers of both hands of the 15-year-old boy were intertwined".
"There are no traces of struggle, trauma or resistance", Nikolova said.
According to witness testimonies, in the last month or two there has been "mental instability" and "despair that they see no point in continuing their journey".
The investigators confirmed that the organization assisted in solving crimes.
"They helped the Border Police, the Forest Guard, they helped in the search for people, they found the perpetrator of a murder, they helped in identifying poachers, they assisted the activities of state bodies", commented Angel Papalezov, head of the "Criminal Police" department at the National Police.
In one of the rooms in the hut, religious literature was found, and the group itself performed spiritual practices several times a day, the investigators also commented.