On November 27, 2022, Ivan Angelov, 32 years old, was brutally murdered in front of the New Post Office in Burgas after a confrontation that ended with a fatal stabbing. Today, relatives and friends of the murdered man gathered at a protest in front of the Courthouse in Burgas to demand a fair sentence and maximum punishment for the accused Plamen Rusev, who is currently under house arrest.
Nikola Angelov, the father of the victim, and Trayan Angelov, brother of the murdered man, organized the protest and told an Iskra.bg journalist that they want the case to be publicized and justice to be achieved.
„We want our pain and outrage that my son’s killer is under ‘house arrest’ to be heard. This is unacceptable for such a serious crime,“, Nikola Angelov said.
Ivan’s relatives’ lawyer Maria Delcheva explained before the hearing:
„There is indisputable evidence, video recordings, witness statements, even self-confessions by the defendant. It is a precedent that he is under ‘house arrest’ in a murder case. We will push for the maximum sentence.“
The protesters gathered with placards in front of the Courthouse, where at 10:00 a.m. the case for the murder of Ivan Angelov began. In the presence of relatives and friends of the victim, the courtroom was filled with tension and emotion.
Plamen Rusev refused to comment before the meeting to journalists. He appeared in court in person, defended by lawyer Dinev. During the meeting, Rusev stated:
„I am sorry for the crime committed and I will prove that it was not intentional.“
The father of the murdered Ivan Angelov reacted emotionally to these words, saying: „Why did you kill him then?“
The witnesses in the case were Nikola Angelov /father of the victim/, Trayan Angelov /brother of the murdered/, taxi driver Stoyan Mihalev and air conditioner installer Diyan Ivanov. They were questioned during the hearing. The witness statements, especially those of Mihalev and Ivanov, caused contradictions and discrepancies.
According to the indictment, Ivan Angelov was intentionally killed with a knife with a blade length of 28 cm. The assault was the result of a long-standing bad relationship between the victim and the defendant, as well as other participants in the incident. The prosecution indicated that Rusev had decided to take revenge for threats made against him by attacking Angelov together with Nikola Mihailov-Glavata and Zhelyo Zhelev.
The father of murdered Nikola Angelov said during the hearing that he suffered from cancer. He also said:
„I’ve known Plamen Rusev since I was a kid, but I didn’t realize how much hatred there was between him and Ivan. My son was stabbed and eventually died in my arms. The three of them attacked him like wolves. My son was afraid to go out on the street because he had many enemies. He even had a bulletproof vest. After he was taken out of intensive care, he told me that the three of them attacked him and dislocated his shoulder, then he ran away but was caught up and Rusev stabbed him and the other two beat him. My neighbour wondered what these hooded thugs were doing getting out of the car. The murder took place in front of our apartment block on Stefan Stambolov Street in front of the entrance. Ivan told me from the hospital, „Dad, I went down to the shop and they attacked me.“ None of the three expressed condolences after his death.“
„I wanted the phone decrypted because there was a threat sent on it: „I’m going to stick a knife in your chest. “ The threats against Ivan started in 2016. The reason he quarreled with these boys was infidelity on the part of my son’s long-time girlfriend,“, Nikola Angelov stated. He emphasized:
„I wanted my sons to be good to everyone, I was a strict parent.“
Plamen Rusev’s lawyer asked Nikola Angelov: „Did your son carry a knife and does he have a conviction for assault?“
The father replied: “Yes, a small pocket knife, he collected knives. Ivan has a conviction for assault with a knife, but Rusev has two convictions for 50 stabbings.”
Nikola Angelov clarified that his son was placed in a psychiatric facility at the request of his family and his diagnosis was paranoid schizophrenia after breaking up with his girlfriend.
The brother of murdered Trayan Angelov also testified:
„I have known Plamen and the other witnesses since I was a child, and our relationship was good, but my brother and I had a lot of quarrels. Plamen expressed his hatred for Ivan with the intention of killing him. My brother and I worked for Rusev one summer and then the conflict between them started over money. We have also bought apartments from Rusev.“
„I found out from my wife that my brother was injured. In the hospital I talked to Ivan and he told me: „Extremely stupid situation, they jumped on me, they hurt my shoulder, I ran away from them, but they caught up with me. Rusev stabbed me and stuck the knife up to the handle, at least they would have stabbed me in the leg,“, Trayan Angelov explained.
„We put the big knife that my brother had in his coffin. Defendant Rusev always carried a weapon with him,“, Trayan Angelov pointed out.
Taxi driver Stoyan Mihalev, who helped the injured Ivan, said:
„A man got in my taxi, told me to drive fast because he was stabbed. I drove him to the emergency room at the University Hospital in Burgas. He was stabbed multiple times, but I didn’t see any blood on him.“
Air conditioner installer Diyan Ivanov testified that he saw a man running and clutching his chest, but he did not see the alleged attack or the machete.
The judge announced a break, after which the case will continue. The relatives and close friends of murdered Ivan Angelov continue to hope that the judicial system will give them justice and that the guilty people will suffer the most severe punishment.
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