The Sofia City Court sentenced Rumen Tonev to 18 years in prison for the murder of psychologist Ivan Vladimirov - Nav. Earlier today, the Prosecutor's Office requested between 15 and 20 years in prison for the murder.
Tonev will have to serve the sentence under an initial strict regime, but the total amount will be deducted from his time in custody.
The incident came about after a long-standing neighborly dispute between Vladimirov and Tonev. The case was supposed to be concluded a month ago, but the court decided to verify with another expert opinion Tonev's claims that he acted in conditions of inevitable self-defense. However, the expert examination did not confirm his words.
Today, the defendant and his lawyer repeated their thesis that Tonev defended himself. The verdict is not final and can be appealed or protested before the Sofia Court of Appeal.
Vladimirov was shot in the entrance to the block of flats in which he lives on the evening of February 8, 2023. According to the prosecution, Tonev fired with a "Baikal" pistol. In addition, data from the investigation show that Tonev was sentenced to a fine in 1996 for illegal possession of ammunition. He paid his fine and was rehabilitated.
According to the Prosecutor's Office, on the evening of the murder - around 10:30 p.m., Vladimirov went to his neighbor's house. The reason was a black substance resembling machine oil on the front door of his home, and this was not the first time this had happened.
The two had a short conversation, which escalated into a verbal conflict, during which the accused took his legally owned pistol, the "Baikal" brand, from his home, which was loaded, pointed it at Vladimirov's head and fired.
An expert examination showed that there was about a meter of distance between the murdered psychologist Ivan Vladimirov - Nav and his killer. The shooter was on the landing, outside his home, the conclusion shows. The shot was fired with his right hand, and the pistol was centimeters from the head of the murdered man, according to the experts.
Vladimirov's relatives announced that they would demand harsher punishments. Tonev did not comment on his sentence, and the Prosecutor's Office stated that it would first review the court's reasoning, after which a decision would be made as to whether the sentence should be protested.