The State Prosecution, experts and other experts working on the case presented the latest data from the investigation into the "Petrohan - Okolchitsa" case, in which an investigation is underway for a total of six murders. Among the conclusions of the investigators is that the shots at Okolchitsa were fired by Ivaylo Kalushev, Nova TV reports.
According to Deputy Appellate Prosecutor Nataliya Nikolova, the collected evidence once again makes it clear that there is no evidence of foreign interference either in “Petrohan“ or under Okolchitsa.
“An investigation is underway into several pre-trial proceedings - including the death of the six, the cash flows related to the individuals and legal entities involved in the case. Some of the tax audits have been prepared, bank and tax secrets have been revealed. Precautionary measures have been imposed on one of the audits against the Extreme Sports Association. An inspection is also being carried out at a private school, in connection with which pre-trial proceedings have been initiated for failure to fulfill official duties of officials - at the educational institution, the Ministry of Education and Science and the Ministry of Education and Culture. The admission of students and the issuance of documents with false content from 2022 to 2026“, she explained.
Prosecutor Nikolova specified that 40 inspections were carried out, 150 witnesses were questioned, including those with secret identities, as well as one from Italy. 95 expert reports were prepared, conclusions are expected on 12 more. Reports have been requested from numerous institutions and mobile operators, and dozens of experts are involved in the case. Last week, an important witness was questioned, and no version is ruled out. A situational expert report on “Petrohan“ is expected within a few days.
The Deputy Director of the General Directorate of Criminal Investigation Stoyno Tsvetkov added that the investigation has not stopped, and the goal remains to reach the objective truth.
The Head of “Forensic Medicine“ at the “Alexandrovska“ hospital, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Alexander Alexandrov supported the conclusions of the expert examinations. “Regarding the forensic medical examination, he indicated that the injuries and gunshot wounds that led to the death of the six have been specified. He also briefly presented the conclusions from it regarding the causes of death of the victims: the 15-year-old - a direct gunshot wound to the left temporal region; Nikolay Zlatkov - a blind gunshot wound to the frontal region; Ivaylo Kalushev - a direct shot to the oral cavity. The determination of the statute of limitations for death is made on the basis of early and late cadaveric changes. It is thus specified that the death of the three on Okolchitsa occurred 5 to 7 days before the examination“, clarified Dr. Aleksandrov.
“The minor had his hands clasped when he died, and there was only one weapon at the crime scene“, he added. There are no particles of the weapon's capsules on the boy's hands, so it is assumed that Kalushev probably fired the shots.
The forensic medical examination cannot definitively establish whether there was sexual intercourse, since under certain conditions biological traces decompose very quickly. This was explained by the forensic medical examiner, commenting on the results of the performed examinations.
According to him, the presence of seminal fluid can hardly be proven if the examination is not performed in the first hours after a possible sexual intercourse with ejaculation. Due to the unfavorable conditions, spermatozoa are destroyed quickly and after a certain period of time their identification may be impossible.
The examinations did not reveal any fresh traumatic injuries. However, two of the examined individuals had a gaping anal sphincter and smoothing of the folds in some places.
The expert emphasized that this finding in itself is not definitive evidence of anal intercourse. At the same time, no diseases or other pathological changes were found in the examined individuals that could explain the condition. The review of the available medical documentation also did not provide data on such diseases.
According to the forensic physician, the established finding could be the result of traumatic injuries accumulated over time. In such a process, the sphincter muscles can gradually relax and the characteristic folds can be smoothed out, without any fresh injuries at the time of the examination.
The specialist again specified that the medical finding does not allow for a 100% certainty conclusion that the cause was anal intercourse. However, it was objectively established during the examinations and must be evaluated together with the other evidence in the case.
Eng. Nikolay Dzhunenski confirmed that the three murders near Okolchitsa were committed by Ivaylo Kalushev.
A single shot can leave marks that later appear to be caused by two separate projectiles, he explained in connection with the examination of the weapon, ammunition and traces on the camper. According to him, the bullets found at the scene are flat-topped and not completely sheathed. The bullet consists of a core and a sheath that surrounds it. When it hits a hard surface, it can deform and split into separate parts.
The expert explained that with such deformation, the sheath can separate from the core or itself break into fragments. Thus, the separate parts continue their movement along the wound channel and can subsequently be found as two separate fragments, although they were originally part of the same bullet.
According to Dzhunensky, a similar process also explains some of the traces on the camper. When fired, the bullet was deformed when passing through the partitions of the roof and its individual parts continued their movement as independent fragments. According to the expert, this can create the impression of more than one shot, although the initial shot was one.
He pointed out that transient punctures through the upper and lower layers were found on the roof of the camper. It is the separation of the bullet after its encounter with the partition that is among the explanations for the presence of multiple holes.
Regarding another of the cases examined, the expert stated that there was one shot, and the bullet did not leave the body, but remained in it. Dzhunensky also indicated that the weapon used was a revolver. According to him, the shots in the camper were fired by Kalushev, with the last shot being related to his suicide.
The expert also commented on the gunpowder microparticles found. He explained that when fired, the particles move together with the gunpowder gases. When they meet an obstacle, some of them can return back to the shooter. According to Dzhunensky, the location of these microparticles gave grounds to conclude that during the last shot the revolver was held with two hands. The left hand was a barrier on which the returned particles fell, which is why they were found there, and not on the right hand.
We recall that on February 2, a burned-out building was discovered in the area of the “Petrokhan“ hut. The bodies of three men were found in the yard around the hut, all of them with gunshot wounds, without visible traces of a struggle. Forensic scientists are working on the scene; the area remains cordoned off for investigation. This is being considered as part of the complex “Petrokhan – Okolchitsa“ case. Ivaylo Kalushev, who was linked to the murders, was declared wanted along with two other people.
The hut is part of a property used by a group of people involved in nature conservation activities in the area, united in the NGO “National Agency for Control of Protected Areas“ (NAKZT).
On February 8, in an area near Okolchitsa Peak in the Vratsa Balkan, a high-altitude camper was discovered, in which the bodies of the three wanted people were found - Ivaylo Kalushev, Nikolay Zlatkov and a 15-year-old boy. They were found dead, and forensic experts confirm that there had been a shooting inside.
Days later, the results of the autopsies of the bodies found in the camper near Okolchitsa were released. Based on their location and the presence of three shell casings and three projectiles, the experts assumed that it was a case of two murders and one suicide. Firearms were also found in the camper, which, according to the Ministry of Interior, were legally owned by one of the deceased.
Subsequently, the prosecutor's office presented additional data from the expert reports on the bodies found near “Petrohan“. The expert reports confirmed that the three men found in the hut died of gunshot wounds.
On February 18, Sofia Deputy Appellate Prosecutor Natalia Nikolova announced that the three men found dead in the hut near “Petrohan“ committed suicide. In the case of the remaining three, whose bodies were found in a camper near Okolchitsa Peak, it is a case of murder and subsequent suicide.
In early March, the Ministry of Education and Science notified the prosecutor's office about the form of education of the 15-year-old boy, who is one of the victims near Okolchitsa. The check established that the student was simultaneously enrolled in two forms of education – regular and independent.
Initially, the investigations were conducted separately by the prosecutor's offices in Sofia and Vratsa, but in March they were merged into one case due to the established connections between the six and in order to fully clarify the case. According to the prosecutor's office, their main activity was related to the "Petrohan" chalet, where they lived.
The initial results of the autopsies of the three people found in the camper under Okolchitsa led investigators to the version of two consecutive murders and a subsequent suicide. Numerous expert examinations were ordered in the case and dozens of witnesses were questioned. In July, the prosecutor's office decided to suspend the permanent police guard around the "Petrohan" hut, after assessing that at this stage of the investigation it was no longer necessary to preserve the scene of the incident and carry out procedural actions.
On August 28, it became clear that two more key expert examinations were ready in the investigation of the deaths of the six people found in the area of the "Petrohan" hut and under Okolchitsa peak. The conclusions have already been submitted to the Sofia District Prosecutor's Office.
One of the expert examinations is complex and covers forensic-psychological, psychiatric, sexological and theological aspects of the case. The document is 157 pages long and was prepared by four experts - psychologists, a psychiatrist and a theologian.