A neighbour of Slavi Binev heard a sound like a firework on Saturday morning, shortly before police cars appeared in the Pavlovo district of Sofia. The businessman and former MEP was found dead at his home. Three suspects were detained on the Trakia motorway, near the Trayanovi Vrata tunnel.
Investigators said on Saturday that their main line of inquiry was a dispute over unsettled financial matters.
More on this story: Slavi Binev murder at Pavlovo: main theory is unsettled money
The woman heard the noise at about 10:10-10:15am while walking her dog, and she did not link it to gunfire. When she got home, she heard sirens and thought an ambulance was rushing to a crash. Later, from a relative's balcony, she saw several police cars fan out along the streets of the district.
She was not near Binev's home and did not see what happened. She says only what she heard and how the police moved.
The alert about the killing came in at about 10:30am. A worker at the property heard shots and found Binev showing no signs of life. Paramedics arrived within 7 minutes but could only confirm his death.
The three detained men knew Binev and had visited him before, police said. The motive has not yet been firmly established.
The neighbour did not know Binev personally, but remembers him from the time his children attended the local school. She says he gave money to the school. She thinks he also helped build a small chapel, but has no direct knowledge of this.