Sofia - A 20-year-old man has been charged with the rape and
murder of Bulgarian television journalist Viktoria Marinova,
Bulgaria's public prosecutor confirmed on Tuesday.
"This case proved to be purely criminal," said Rumyana Arnaudova,
spokeswoman for the public prosecutor.
It was thought that there could have been a political motive, with
the murder coming in the wake of the politically motivated murder of
journalists in other countries, such as in Slovakia. Arnaudova's
comments seem to rule that out.
The body of the 30-year-old journalist and presenter was found in a
park on the banks of the Danube in the Bulgarian city of Ruse, near
the border with Romania, on October 7. She had apparently been out
jogging.
The suspect fled initially to Romania and later travelled to Germany,
where several of his relatives live.
After the man's deportation from Germany, Bulgarian police found
genetic material identifying him as the perpetrator, Bulgarian
Interior Minister Mladen Marinov said in Sofia.
Bulgarian state prosecutor Sotir Tsatsarov said investigators assume
that the man attacked Marinova spontaneously out of sexual motives.
The man confessed to the crimes in October.
"Yes, I am guilty. I can't believe that I did it. I regret it," he
said.