30 years in prison: Half a year after the murder of Bulgarian journalist Viktoria Marinowa, the defendant has been sentenced to a long prison term. A court in the northern Bulgarian city of Ruse told Sewerin K. to have raped and murdered the TV presenter. The 21-year-old, who was arrested in Germany after the crime, pleaded guilty and avoided a life sentence.
The murder of the journalist had triggered international horror. K. attacked Marinova on the banks of the Danube last October when the journalist was jogging. The man under the influence of alcohol raped and killed the presenter. Three days later K. was arrested in Stade, Lower Saxony, where he stayed with relatives.
According to the prosecution, the crime was motivated by "sexual motives" and not by the victim's profession. The 30-year-old worked as a presenter for the local TVN channel, which aired its interviews with two investigative journalists a few days before her murder. The reporters reported on their investigations into alleged embezzlement of EU funds in Bulgaria by businessmen and politicians.