German Kostin appealed the life sentence imposed on him by the Sofia Court of Appeal for the murder of 5-Year-Old Nikita Plotnikov. The case is coming before the Supreme Magistrates for the first time, and in the meantime, this year marks 10 years since the murder of the little boy, whose body was found in a suitcase dumped in Iskar near Pasarel.
After a 2-year trial, the case for the death of 5-Year-Old Nikita ended with a sentence of "life imprisonment without parole" for Russian citizen German Kostin. The harshest punishment, which is imposed in exceptional cases, was handed down by Sofia City Court judge Atanas Atanasov. Scandals, claims for recusals, demonstration of serious health problems that German Kostin wanted to show by appearing in the courtroom in a wheelchair, crutches or on a stretcher - marked the difficult trial, writes "Telegraph".
Little Nikita was found dead in a suitcase in the Iskar Dam near Kokalyane in early 2015. An examination determined that the child had been strangled. On the towel in which he was wrapped, investigators found DNA material that matched Kostin's. A few days before the body, which had been in the water for nearly a month, was discovered, investigators also found Nikita's mother - Ana Leontieva - murdered.
Kostin is dissatisfied with the life sentence imposed on him last year by the Sofia Court of Appeal. Then the second instance changed the sentence imposed on him by the Sofia City Court of Appeal to 20 years in prison. In addition, the magistrates changed the regime of serving the sentence from “strict“ to “special“. The case has been pending in instances for 10 years. Kostin received his first sentence in 2018. At that time, the Sofia City Court imposed a life sentence on him, but the Supreme Administrative Court overturned the sentence and sent him back for a new hearing by another panel of the Sofia City Court.
5-year-old Nikita was killed in early 2015. The boy was strangled, the investigation proved, and his body was stuffed into his own mother's suitcase. The killer then threw the suitcase into the Iskar River near Pasarel. The remains of the boy's mother, Ana Leontieva, were found near Primorsko the same year. Kostin was not charged with her death. There were only a few bones left from the woman's body and investigators could not prove that the death was caused by violence. According to the investigation, the murder was motivated by investment fraud. Kostin owed money to the Plotnikovs for property investments in Cyprus.
After the first instance court convicted Kostin, Nikita's father, Vadim Plotnikov, filed a civil lawsuit against German for 1.2 million leva, along with interest.