Sofia City Court has sentenced Chavdar Boyadzhiev to life in prison without parole for a second time over the killings in Lozen, the Sofia City Prosecutor's Office said. The court gave the verdict on 12 October 2026 after a retrial. It is not final and can be appealed to the Sofia Court of Appeal.
The court found Boyadzhiev guilty on all charges: two counts of premeditated murder, extortion that ended in murder, and illegal possession of a firearm. He received a separate sentence for each crime, and one overall sentence, the heaviest.
The first killing took place on 6 April 2022 in the village of Lozen. According to the prosecution, Boyadzhiev killed M. S. in a way that caused her particular suffering. For this crime alone the court gave him a separate sentence of life in prison.
On 3 August 2023, again near Lozen, he killed Ya. V., the verdict says.
The next day, between about 2:00 and 3:30 am, Boyadzhiev tried to get money from I. K. by force and threats. Investigators say the two men had a dispute over a loan that Boyadzhiev wanted. I. K. refused to give him the money, and the extortion ended with his killing.
The bodies of 18-year-old Yana Velinova and 27-year-old Ivo Kolev were found on 4 August 2023 in the Sofia area. Police detained Boyadzhiev near Aytos. His car held a firearm and ammunition, which he had kept illegally until 4 August.
Boyadzhiev admitted to investigators the two killings in August 2023 and the killing of a woman in 2022. Media reports say that before he killed Ivo Kolev, he extorted him for money, threatened him and robbed him.
After the three killings came to light, then interior minister Kalin Stoyanov ordered a check on the actions of officers from the Sofia Directorate of the Interior Ministry and the Eighth District Police Department. A check on the work of the Sofia District Prosecutor's Office was also ordered in the case.
Relatives of the victims asked publicly why Boyadzhiev was free after the first killing. In an interview with the media, M. S.'s cousin voiced doubts about gaps in the investigation and asked whether the killer had had protection. These were his own claims, made publicly in August 2023.
Sofia City Court issued the first verdict in the case on 5 May 2025. Boyadzhiev was also found guilty on all charges then and got the same sentence. The charges at that time were three murders, extortion that ended in murder, and illegal possession of a firearm.
The Sofia Court of Appeal overturned that verdict and sent the case back to the first-instance court for a retrial. The appeal judges said the reasons given for the verdict were not enough.