EditSix deaths by gunshots, many questions: how official loose talk fuelled conspiracy theories in Bulgaria
The handling of a shocking case exposed deep failures in communication by prosecutors and security services, leaving the public to fill the gaps
When Bulgaria’s national police chief Zahari Vaskov said on 8 February that the country was facing “a crime without precedent”, he was not exaggerating. Six people found dead in two locations in the Balkan mountains with gunshot wounds, a burned mountain lodge, a minor among the victims, and an NGO at the centre of the case would have tested any investigative system.
What followed, however, was a communication failure that allowed speculation and conspiracy theories to flourish and public trust to erode. For more than a week after the first three bodies were found near the Petrohan mountain pass, the absence of clear, authoritative information from institutions created a vacuum. That vacuum was rapidly filled by rumours, insinuations and, crucially, by unusually explicit and politically charged statements from the very officials meant to provide verified information and guarantee restraint.
The initial facts were stark but limited. On 2 February, three men were found shot dead near a mountain lodge close to Petrohan, which had been set on fire. Days later, on 8 February, three more bodies with gunshots were discovered in a camper van near Mount Okolchitsa, around 80 kilometres away. Police confirmed that the deaths were linked, but repeatedly refused to provide detail, citing the need to protect the investigation.
In isolation, such caution would be understandable. In practice, it was undermined by the conduct of senior figures in the prosecution and security services.
Borislav Sarafov, whose mandate as acting prosecutor general has expired, broke months of public silence to comment extensively on the case during an unrelated press conference. Without presenting evidence, he cast suspicion on the NGO to which the victims belonged, questioned whether its activities were “in the interest of society, the state and children”, and openly suggested links to a sectarian structure and pedophilia. “You understand me perfectly correctly,” he told journalists when asked to clarify. “Life sometimes offers circumstances more shocking than the TV series Twin Peaks,” Sarafov said.
These remarks were made before forensic examinations were completed, before investigative versions were formally presented, and while suspects were still officially being sought. They carried enormous weight, not because of their substance, but because of Sarafov’s position. In effect, they legitimised the wildest interpretations circulating online and in parts of the media.
The head of the State Agency for National Security (SANS), Denyo Denev, added another layer. He disclosed that the agency had carried out a check two years earlier following a citizen’s complaint, which allegedly included claims of sexual abuse of children, paramilitary structures and “activities deviating from generally accepted values”. According to Denev, the information had been forwarded to the prosecution, although it remains unclear why the prosecution did nothing, given the seriousness of the accusations.
Only after days of mounting tension did prosecutors and police hold a detailed press conference on 9 February. For the first time, all six victims were named. Investigators showed video footage indicating that the three men at the Petrohan lodge had set the fire themselves after bidding each other farewell, and that the other three – including a 15-year-old boy, had left earlier in the camper van on board of which they were later found dead.
The officials did not confirm earlier claims of a sect or a pedophilia network. On the contrary, police acknowledged that members of the NGO had cooperated with state authorities in the past, including assisting border police and forest services, and even helping solve a murder using a drone. No illegal activity was found at the lodge.
Prosecutors said on 10 February that the dominant hypothesis for the deaths of three men found near a mountain lodge is suicide, based on close-range gunshot wounds consistent with self-inflicted injuries. Forensic evidence from the camper near Okolchitsa peak points to two killings followed by a suicide. Authorities confirmed that the victims legally owned a sizeable arsenal – at least 19 registered firearms, including pistols and revolvers, several of which were found at the scenes. During ongoing searches at the lodge, investigators reported discovering religious materials alongside sexually explicit literature and handwritten notes promoting “spiritual purification” through sexual practices. A separate inquiry has been opened into possible institutional failures surrounding the group’s activities.
Many questions remain unanswered. Why were previous signals and checks apparently closed without public explanation? On what basis did senior officials feel entitled to speculate publicly while the investigation was ongoing? And why did it take so long for institutions to present a coherent account, allowing conjecture to overshadow facts?
The most widespread conspiracy theory is that the authorities masked what is widely believed to be a murder by unknown perpetrators into a collective suicide, a convenient way to close the case.
The investigation has been further clouded by inconsistencies and unanswered questions following the joint police-prosecutor briefing that failed to provide clarity. Authorities presented selectively video footage, acknowledged gaps in recordings, and offered no convincing explanation for missing hours, the role of the fire, or why key moments were not captured despite functioning cameras. The identity of the person who alerted the emergency services remains undisclosed, as does a coherent motive linking the deaths. Conflicting versions – ranging from collective suicide to multiple homicides – have only fuelled public distrust.
Caption: A still image from footage by a CCV shown by the authorities on Monday depicts the three men later found dead near the mountain lodge, as they bid each other farewell on 1 February.
Updated: February 11, 2026 - 07:09
