Killer sentenced to 30 years for rape, murder of journalist Victoria Marinova - RFE/RL

A court in Bulgaria has sentenced to 30 years in prison a man found guilty of raping and killing television journalist Victoria Marinova, as Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported. Severin Krassimirov, 21, appeared handcuffed and under heavy guard before the regional court in the northern town of Ruse on April 22. He had pleaded guilty to the rape and murder charges. The body of the 30-year-old journalist was found in a park on the banks of the Danube River in Ruse in October. She had apparently been out jogging when the perpetrator attacked her. Investigators said she was raped, hit on the head, and suffocated. Prosecutors said the motive for the crimes was sexual and had nothing to do with the victim’s profession. Krassimirov was arrested in Germany, where he had fled, and extradited to Bulgaria a week after the murder. Investigators concluded that he acted alone. In entering a guilty plea, the perpetrator escaped the maximum penalty of life imprisonment. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty