District Prosecutor of Razgrad Tihomir Todorov has officially announced that a pre-trial murder investigation has been opened following a grave tragedy in the town of Isperih. The bodies of two girls, aged 10 and 17, were discovered in a house owned by their paternal grandfather, along with their father, who was found hanged in an outbuilding on the property. The man was between 43 and 44 years old.

According to the information provided by Prosecutor Todorov, the victims were killed with a knife, and the murder weapon was found at the scene. "The initial examination showed no signs of violence or evidence of fractures on the children's bodies," the district prosecutor noted. This leads investigators to suspect that the girls may have been attacked while they were asleep. The building was locked, and the key was found in the father's possession. At this stage of the investigation, there is no evidence to suggest the presence of a third party.

Investigators have determined that the three were last seen alive on Tuesday afternoon. The medical examiner has estimated the time of death at approximately two to three days ago, which points to the crime having been committed on Tuesday or Wednesday. The tragic circumstances were discovered by the children's grandfather, who initially assumed his son had taken them on vacation. After failing to reach anyone by phone, he entered the house, where he found his son's lifeless body, and later, the bodies of his two grandchildren were also discovered.

As part of the pre-trial investigation, several circumstances that could explain the motives behind the act are being examined:

  • Possible financial difficulties and debts the father owed to a casino.
  • The man's gambling addiction, despite having no prior criminal record.
  • Family problems, including the father's separation from the children's mother about two months ago.
  • Potential domestic violence, with information regarding the case to be clarified through records from the Isperih District Police Department and the prosecutor's office.

It is known that the father had been working episodically in transport as a taxi driver. His own father had even sold farmland to provide him with the funds to purchase a car, which was found on the premises with the keys in the ignition. The mother, who had moved to her home village after the separation but continued to work in Isperih, had also been looking for the children but assumed they were on vacation or out of coverage range when she could not reach them. The investigation into the case continues with the aim of fully clarifying the causes of this tragedy.