Five teenagers remanded over killing of 37‑year‑old Georgi Kuzev near Mladinski Rid

A court in Plovdiv has ordered five teenagers to be held in pre-trial detention on charges over the brutal killing of 37-year-old Georgi Kuzev from Krichim, found near Mladinski Rid in the city.

The group accused includes three boys and two girls aged between 14 and 17. Prosecutors say the suspects took part in an assault that left Kuzev with serious injuries and that he died in hospital a few hours after being taken there. The case has been classified as a murder "executed in an especially torturous manner, with particular cruelty, from hooligan and sexual motives."

Kuzev was discovered helpless on August 4 at the foot of Mladinski Rid. According to investigators he suffered a severe head injury and major damage to internal organs and later died after being transferred to hospital. Prosecutors assert that the children, three of whom are under 16, beat the victim for more than an hour.

Sequence and motive

After allegedly robbing Kuzev and leaving him, thinking he was dead, the group reportedly went to a sandwich shop and spent the victim's money. Initially about ten teenagers aged 14 to 17 were detained; formal charges were brought against five whom investigators say were most active in the attack. Prosecutors add the victim was not only beaten but also humiliated and maltreated.

The attack was preceded by contact on social media. One of the girls, 17 years old, is said to have presented herself online as a 15-year-old and arranged a meeting with Kuzev. Investigators believe part of the group planned an ambush, imitating so-called "hunters of pedophiles" who film and publish such confrontations online. Instead of reporting the matter to police, the group allegedly took the law into their own hands.

Investigators say they have recovered communications between the victim and the group and that recordings of the assault were found on phones; so far there is no evidence the video was publicly posted. Police have said the group was not formed with overt criminal intent but was rather a circle of friends with similar interests. During the probe information surfaced that two of the suspects may be linked to another violent incident in Plovdiv.

Plovdiv police director Vasil Kostadinov commented that the detained teenagers come from families with a normal social status and that some attend prestigious schools, saying the case raises serious questions about family and school environments and the supervision of minors in Bulgarian society.

Photo: БНТ / скриншот