„I didn’t kill my mother, I don’t know why this trial is going on. I have been calling my parents since I have been in custody, but no one picks up the phone.“
This was stated before the Burgas District Court by 24-year-old Georgi Gendzhov, who is accused of murdering his own mother, Rada Gesheva. The case shocked Burgas and the entire country this January when it became known that Georgi had inflicted 67 knife wounds on his mother, who had come to visit him at his apartment on Sheynovo Street in the „Vazrazhdane“ residential complex.
Witnesses and experts were present in the courtroom today and were questioned for approximately two hours. Testimonies were given by his father Stefan Gendzhov, his friend Martin Merdzhanov who reported the incident to the police, the responding police officers, and the landlord of the apartment.
The interrogation of the defendant was a real challenge for the judge, the prosecutor and his lawyer, as the answers were fragmentary, confused and not very adequate. It was never entirely clear from them whether he realised at this point what he was being tried for. The following quote is a collection of responses from Gendzhov to a series of questions about the fatal night.
„I got home and my mom’s dummy was there. She stood there and was silent, and so was I. Then I started to get nervous. I took the knife and attacked her kidney, then nothing. Hitting a kidney with a fist causes a person terrible agony. I struck a total of one, two three places – kidney, shoulder and ear. I took my anger out. I decided that this could not be a human being. There was no impulse. It didn’t pray, it didn’t defend itself, it didn’t make a sound… It was a dummy that somebody sent me.“
Gendzhov was repeatedly asked if he had decided to kill his mother, and he only admitted that he wanted to cause her pain. He also estimated that he made around 35 stabs with the knife but was not sure about the exact number. Afterwards, he called his friend Martin Merdzhanov and then 112, stating that there had been an „incident“ and confessed to the murder.
It also emerged from his interrogation that he had written his mother’s name down on the phone as „Vagina Hitler“, admitting that he had had a strained relationship with her but without clarifying what this meant.
At the end of the questioning, he stated that his „brain is fried“ and he could not handle the questions. He requested that he not be returned to the Specialized Hospital for Active Treatment of Prisoners at the Lovech prison under any circumstances and repeatedly asked to be allowed to smoke a cigarette.
„I don’t want to, I can’t, and I shouldn’t go to Lovech anymore.“
In his testimony, his father, Stefan Gendzhov, said that like any child, Georgi was raised with love. His son’s problems began at around the age of 14 and specialized psychiatric help was sought on several occasions in this regard. He recalled that Georgi had been admitted to the Mental Health Centre a total of 7 times and this had made him very angry.
„At one point, he could no longer live with us and went to stay with his grandmother, and then he rented an apartment. Maybe that was a mistake. In the last apartment, the supervision was reduced.“
He declined to speculate on the cause of his son’s mental health issues or whether they were related to drug use. According to him, over the years, there had been verbal and physical aggression from his son, which was primarily expressed through the destruction of household items.
Regarding the fatal night of 21 January, he recounted the following:
„Around midnight he called on the phone. His mother was lying on the couch, half asleep. He explained that he had an abscess on his eye, and she got worried and went to see him.“
Stefan Gendzhov also stated that Georgi had developed a phobia towards his visits to the Mental Health Center, where admission could only be voluntary. After his last discharge in May 2023, he was prescribed supportive therapy, which he discontinued after moving to his last apartment in the fall.
His friend, Martin Merdzanov, who was questioned next, was the person Georgi called after the murder. They had met the previous year at the Mental Health Center, where both were patients and shared a room. A good friendship had formed between them, continuing even after their discharge from the hospital.
Martin stated that he had met Rada Gesheva several times, and she trusted him, believing that he had a positive influence on her son. On the fateful evening, he recounted receiving a call from Georgi, who confessed to him that he had killed his mother.
„On the phone, I heard her moans and the sounds of her dying. I asked him where he was, then immediately called 112. After that, I got dressed and ran to the place. When I arrived, I asked the police if she was still alive, but they told me she had passed away.“
Earlier in the evening, the two friends were together, visiting the Burgas University Hospital because of Genzhov’s complaints of eye inflammation.
Martin described the relationship between Georgi and his mother as conflictual, with tension and insults always coming through in the phone calls between the two that he witnessed.
The two police officers who responded to the call confirmed that upon their arrival, Rada Gesheva was already dead, found lying face down in a pool of blood. Georgi surrendered without resistance, raised his hands and confessed to the murder.
In court, Dr. Nikolay Zubov, the author of the forensic report, was questioned. According to his report, Georgi Genchev was deemed to be sane at the time of the murder and is criminally responsible for the act. Dr. Zubov stated that this conclusion is supported by Genchev’s call to 112 and his behavior after the arrest. Regarding Genchev’s denial of killing his mother and his comments about a „placed dummy“, Dr. Zubov suggested that these could be manifestations of defensive reactions, as Genchev will now have to live with the reality of having murdered his own mother.
At the end of the session, lawyer Vanya Radeva, representing the defendant, requested the preparation of a new medical report or forensic examination to determine if Genchev is competent to stand trial. She noted that his explanations in court today were unclear and it remained uncertain what aspects of the situation he fully comprehends. The Burgas District Court is expected to make a decision on this matter later today.
