A court in Sliven has kept Ivan Radev, 37, known as "Monkata", in custody. He is charged with killing a 33-year-old man in the town's villa zone. The custody order is permanent. The court found a real risk that Radev could hide or flee if freed.
The killing happened on 4 November in the early afternoon, after a row that was probably about money. Radev left the area, and police searched for him for several hours. They blocked the exits from Sliven and brought in a special unit. Police detained him two days ago in the village of Chokoba. Prosecutors charged him with intentional murder as a dangerous repeat offender.
The background: Monkata charged with murder in Sliven, a dangerous repeat offender with over 25 convictions
Prosecutors say Radev has 25 earlier convictions for various crimes. He left prison about 20 days ago. If found guilty, he faces life in prison.
In the courtroom, Radev denied killing anyone. In the court corridor, he told BNT he had never killed a person and had no dispute with the victim. He asked for the third person who was inside to be identified.
"It is all a cheap set-up by the cheap drug addicts of Sliven and the ODP unit of the Interior Ministry in Sliven," Radev said.
His court-appointed lawyer, Nikolay Konarev, believes the court relied mainly on his client's criminal record. "The investigation is at too early a stage, so there are quite a few circumstances that must be clarified, and they will be," he told BNT.
The lawyer said several examinations are due, and probably a search.