"Petrohan": Murders or suicides? Religious literature seized

Representatives of the Ministry of Interior and the Prosecutor's Office gave a briefing on the so-called Petrohan Case that has been making headlines these days. In it, three people were found dead with gunshot wounds, next to a burned hut near the Petrohan Pass, eight days ago. Yesterday, three more dead people were found in a camper van in the area of Okolchitsa Peak. They were previously residing in the same hut, as one of them is a 15-year-old boy. They were part of an NGO registered in 2022, which presented itself as a ranger organization.

Currently, an autopsy of the bodies is being performed and interrogations of witnesses, including minors and underage persons close to the victims, continue. There are no traces of injuries other than wounds caused by shots at point-blank range with legally owned weapons. The versions of murder with subsequent suicide or suicides are being investigated. Religious literature was seized from the scene, as well as video footage showing that the fire was deliberately started inside the hut by the three people who were first found dead. They can be heard saying goodbye to each other with the words "It was an honor to me." According to witnesses, members of the association had recently expressed despair over reality and shared that death was the way out. In February 2025, the Sofia District Prosecutor's Office received a report of assault on a minor by a person living in the hut. Subsequently, the minor's relatives refused to cooperate.

Editor: Miglena Ivanova