Bulgaria The public was shaken by a series of tragic and so far unexplained events in the western mountainous regions of the country near the border with Serbia, where six the dead people in two separate cases.
Five adult men and one 15-year-old boy were killed. The scant information so far released by officials has fueled intense speculation about the identity and role of the victims, several of whom were involved in wildlife activism, and suspicions that authorities are withholding some information from the public.
Due to the unusual circumstances, the lack of a clear motive and the interconnectedness of the victims, the case has already received the name "Bulgarian Twin Peaks" in the domestic and international media.
Murders with firearms
The first tragic event was discovered at the beginning of February in a mountain hut. The bodies of three men with gunshot wounds were found, while the building was partially burned in the fire. A firearm was found at the scene, which immediately raised the question of whether it was a showdown, suicide or a combination of several scenarios.
Just a few days later, the investigation took a new, even darker turn. In a wooded area above the town of Vrats, in an abandoned camper, three more bodies were found - two adult men and one minor. In this case too, the cause of death was gunshot wounds, and the police confirmed that there were no signs of a struggle with third parties outside the vehicle.
What further deepens the mystery is the fact that all the victims were interconnected and belonged to the same informal organization that presented itself as a group for nature protection and patrolling in mountainous areas.
According to current knowledge, the members of that group often stayed in isolated mountain camps, carried weapons and equipment, but their exact working methods and internal relations have not yet been fully clarified.
What happened
The bodies of the three men were found on Sunday. They died as a result of gunshot wounds in a camper van near the Okolčica mountain, the director of the Bulgarian National Police, Zahari Vaskov, said at a press conference.
Their bodies were found about 80 kilometers from the burned mountain hut where the triple murder was discovered on February 2. According to the Sofia News Agency, the emergency call to the police was made by a shepherd who noticed a person behind the wheel who appeared to be dead.
The three killed in the mountain hut, also by gunshots, were members of the non-governmental organization National Protected Areas Control Agency (NAKZT).
The police officers found two pistols and a rifle and four shell casings in the cabin where the first bodies were discovered.
Forensic evidence, said the head of the department for forensic medicine Aleksandar Aleksandrov, indicates that the bullets were fired from close range, that is, it is possible that they committed suicide.
The traces collected from the weapon match the DNA of the victims, said Kremena Iliyeva from the State Institute of Forensic Medicine.
"An unprecedented crime"
Vaskov said that the triple murder, as well as the three bodies found on Sunday in the camper van, which also belonged to the NAKZT organization, represented an "unprecedented crime, at least when it comes to Bulgaria."
"Whether it is murder or suicide - we are considering all possible scenarios," he said, according to the Bulgarian News Agency.
He added that it appears the shots were fired inside the vehicle, and that investigators are examining all possible hypotheses.
What is the NKST?
NAKZT presents itself as an organization of mountain rangers that, among other things, organizes summer and holiday camps for children and youth.
However, two years ago, a criminal complaint was filed against that organization for allegedly sexually abusing children, and it turned out to have a "paramilitary" structure, said acting director of the Bulgarian State Agency for National Security, Denjo Denev.
The Acting Chief Prosecutor of Bulgaria, Borislav Sarafov, stated at the press conference that it is believed that NAKZT engaged in activities that are not in accordance with "God's will, nor with the interests of society, the state and children".
He drew a parallel between this case and the series "Twin Peaks", an American television drama about an FBI agent who, during the investigation of a murder in a fictional city, comes across bizarre and terrifying discoveries. The author and cult director of that series, David Lynch, passed away last year.
