32-year-old Atanaska Daskalova and her 14-year-old son remain in custody on charges of murdering a 67-year-old man in Dimitrovgrad. The decision is from the Haskovo District Court. The victim is the accused's husband, and his body was found in the trunk of a crashed car, BTA correspondent in Haskovo Krasimira Slavova reported.
According to the prosecutor's office, the boy is accused as the direct perpetrator of the crime, and his mother - as an instigator and accessory.
The hearing was held behind closed doors due to the participation of a minor accused. The magistrates accepted that the evidence collected so far allows a reasonable assumption to be made about the involvement of the two in the murder. The court also took into account the risk that the accused will go into hiding or commit another crime.
Among the reasons for the most severe measure of detention is the fact that after the incident the two made an attempt to evade the police. They were subsequently found near the car in which the body was found.
When considering the detention of the 14-year-old boy, the court also took into account information about his previous anti-social acts. Educational cases were opened and the appropriate measures were imposed on them.
Atanaska Daskalova's lawyer - Georgi Zarchev, told journalists that in his opinion there is not enough evidence to connect the mother and son to the crime. He disputed the way in which part of the information in the investigation was collected. According to him, the accusation is based on police interviews conducted after the two were detained, without the presence of a lawyer. The defense attorney also indicated that a witness was questioned who heard the noise from the accident and subsequently saw the woman and the boy walking away from the scene.
The decision of the Haskovo District Court is not final and can be appealed or protested before the Court of Appeal in Plovdiv. The case began late in the evening of October 12, when at around 11:40 p.m. a report was filed on 112 about a crashed car in the Dimitrovgrad neighborhood of “Mariyno“.
The police officers sent to the scene determined that the car had crashed into a garbage container. After securing the area and taking steps to move the car, the officers found the body of a man wrapped in a blanket in the trunk. It was established that the deceased was a 67-year-old resident of Dimitrovgrad.
During the subsequent search operations, forensic experts found the victim's 32-year-old wife and her 14-year-old son in the area of the accident. Initially, the woman was detained for up to 24 hours, and the boy was given police protection. Subsequently, both were charged and the prosecutor's office requested their permanent arrest.
For intentional murder under the general provisions of the Criminal Code, the law provides for between 10 and 20 years of imprisonment. However, the 14-year-old accused is subject to special rules for the criminal liability of minors. Given his age, the specified punishment is replaced by imprisonment for a term of up to five years.