The investigators in the cases of "Petrohan" and "Okolchitsa" provided more details, and the collected evidence reveals a picture that, according to the prosecutor's office, "contradicts our value system" and shocks even experienced magistrates, Dariknews.bg informs. At this point, the data indicates suicide in the case of Petrohan and murder followed by suicide in the case of Okolchitsa. The examinations confirm the presence of gunpowder particles on the hands and clothes of the deceased, DNA on the weapons and traces of phenobarbital in the blood of Ivaylo Kalushev. Investigators claim that there were no other people at the crime scene, and the witness Deyan, who filed the report about the three bodies found in Petrohan, is abroad.
At a briefing, the Deputy Appellate Prosecutor of the Appellate Prosecutor's Office-Sofia Natalia Nikolova, the Director of the General Directorate of the National Police, Chief Commissioner Zahari Vaskov, the Deputy Director of the General Directorate of the National Police, Senior Commissioner Ivan Madzharov, and the Head of the "Criminal Police" Department at the National Police, Commissioner Angel Papalezov, provided new information and more clarity regarding the progress of the investigations into the cases of "Petrohan" and "Okolchitsa".
The work on the case has not stopped - it is still being done. We want to put all the pieces of the puzzle of this tragic story in order and collect all the evidence - to clarify the facts, to indicate the motives for these acts, why this happened and who is to blame. This was said by the deputy appellate prosecutor of the Sofia Appellate Prosecutor's Office Natalia Nikolova.
„The evidence collected so far really contradicts our value system, the accepted norms of human relationships. Some of it is shocking and I fully realize that there are people who find it difficult to accept it. I myself have not had such a complicated case. I assure you that this case is extremely difficult“, she added.
And she repeated what the investigators said 10 days ago, that all versions are being worked on. „At the moment, the evidence indicates that in the case of "Petrohan" it was a suicide, and in the case of "Okolchitsa" "it's a murder and subsequent suicide," Nikolova claims.
And she added that it is once again confirmed that there were no other people at the crime scene on the night the three men of Petrohan died. “Some of Petrohan's cameras turn on and off only when there is movement - of people, animals and during the fire. Some of the cameras have been destroyed, and others have not worked at all“, she commented.
The deputy appellate prosecutor announced that more video recordings will be presented, which show the existence of a hierarchy in the group, of which Ivaylo Kalushev is the undisputed leader.
The facts so far are that the bodies of Ivaylo, Plamen and Decho were found in front of the “Petrohan“ hut by the witness Deyan, who reported the shootings and arson in the hut. Deyan is a witness in the case and was questioned twice, as was his wife in the presence of a lawyer. “Regarding Deyan - the witness is abroad. He is a witness in the case, he is not a defendant. There is no reason to charge him, we have no legal reason to prohibit him from traveling and he cannot be restricted in this right“, Nikolova said.
Additional examinations proved the presence of gunpowder particles on the hands of Plamen and Decho, and on the hands of the third - Ivaylo, there is blood, but gunpowder particles were found on the sleeves of his clothes. DNA of all three men was found on the weapons. Regarding Okolchitsa, there are traces on the clothes and sleeves of Kalushev and Nikolay. In Kalushev's blood there is the presence of phenobarbital, which is a sedative-hypnotic. The three men of Petrohan - two of them have one gunshot wound in the temple area, and Ivaylo has two (the death did not occur from the first, but from the second).
The Burgas village of Bulgari
The address there was secured immediately after establishing what had happened to Petrohan. A search and seizure was carried out on the same day. Religious literature was found there, identical to that found in the hut in Petrohan. Material evidence of an intimate nature was seized.
The Signals
► The first signal to the Directorate for the Prevention and Control of Environmental Pollution, which after an inspection was carried out, was not received by the Prosecutor's Office.
► The second signal 2 years ago from the Ministry of Environment and Water, concerning a former previous minister with whom the agreement with the NGO in question was concluded - it is to the Sofia City Prosecutor's Office. Numerous investigative actions have been taken and at the moment it is being considered whether to indict a specific official.
► Regarding the Kostinbrod District Prosecutor's Office - there is a signal from the grandparents of an 8-year-old boy. No information leak has been established and the relevant services have begun an on-site inspection, and so Ivaylo Kalushev's group learned about the actions taken by the institutions. It is known that the child is there with the consent of the parents, who deny any criminal encroachments on their child. Two days later, there is a notarized request from the grandparents to withdraw the signal.
„You saw the reaction of the parents yourself - some did not believe their child at all, and others blamed their own children for what happened“, summarized Natalia Nikolova. And commented that there is no information about a recruited or active agent of the National Security Agency among the dead.
Zahari Vaskov - Ch. Commissioner stated that data from an inspection of two district departments in connection with the issued weapons will be available within days.
Ivan Madzharov stated that from the examination and autopsy of Plamen Stattev it is clear that the shot from a firearm was in the right temple. Ivaylo Ivanov had two injuries - one under the chin and another gunshot wound in the left temple. The second shot caused death. Decho Vassilev also had a gunshot wound to the right. All three had not consumed alcohol in the hours before death.
Testimonies of the relatives of the deceased. During the interrogation of the father of the 15-year-old deceased child, it was established that his son went to live with Ivaylo Kalushev due to family problems. The father last saw his son in November 2025. The sister of the deceased boy was questioned. She stated that she once went to the hut in April or May 2025 and saw her brother for only 5 minutes. The father of the deceased, Nikolay Zlatkov, stated that his son went to live with Ivaylo Kalushev because he did not want to go to school due to problems there. Valeri Andreev's father stated that the reasons why he was left with Kalushev were his use of marijuana. He told the police that his wife Kremena Andreeva "extorted" 750 thousand euros from him to sponsor Ivaylo Kalushev. The principal of the private school where the 15-year-old boy was enrolled was questioned. Initially, he was enrolled in an independent form of education in 2022-2023, then he was enrolled in a regular form, and the student rarely attended school.