Trial in College Student Murder Re-launched in Bulgaria

The Sofia City Court is holding Friday the first session in the renewed trial for the murder of Stoyan Baltov in Sofia's now-infamous Studentski Grad (College Town) district.

20-year-old pharmacy student Stoyan Baltov died on December 5, 2008, after sustaining severe head trauma and skull fracture from a beating in front of the "Amnesia" disco club in the district.

Three other young men, Alexander Danailov, Vili Georgiev, and Svetlozar Stoilov, are the defendants in the case. They are charged with premeditated murder executed in a particularly cruel way and with hooliganism motives.

Baltov's parents are the private accusers in the case.

The magistrates agreed to simultaneously examine two civil claims against the defendants in the amount of nearly BGN 0.5 M.

The first Court session in the case took place on July 3, 2010, when the parties requested from the judges to return it to the Prosecutor's Office.

Two weeks later, the Sofia City Court ruled to dismiss the case and to return it to the prosecution for additional collecting of evidence and investigation.

Sofia's College Town is infamous for and frequently makes the news over binge drinking, fights, fatal incidents and prostitution rings.

24-year-old Boris Kiryakov passed away in June 2012, after being severely beaten in front of a night club. Kiryakov was transferred to Sofia's Pirogov hospital in critical condition and could not recover. He died on July 5th.

At the end of February 2012, Mario Danchev, 19, a student from the Economy University in Sofia, was stabbed and killed in the dormitory where he lived.