The Sofia City Court has ordered 25-year-old Ukrainian Yaroslav Gulyatkin to remain in custody over the alleged murder of his 18-year-old Japanese girlfriend in Sofia's Buxton district. Six knives bearing biological traces were seized from the apartment where the young woman was found, according to evidence presented during the court hearing.
In its ruling, the court said that for the purposes of deciding on the detention measure, there was sufficient basis to assume that Gulyatkin may have committed the crime of which he is accused. The judge noted that when police arrived, the defendant attempted to enter the apartment and lock the door, but was unable to do so.
Police subsequently found traces of blood in front of the apartment, on the entrance and inside the property. The court established that Gulyatkin lived at the address where the woman's body was discovered.
A forensic examination found numerous bruises and swellings on the victim's body. According to the evidence presented, the injuries could be consistent with the woman having resisted an attack.
Prosecutor Rusalina Mikhailova told the court that there was a reasonable assumption that Gulyatkin had committed the crime and argued that there was also a genuine risk that he could commit another offense. She also pointed to the events that allegedly followed the killing, saying Gulyatkin damaged three cars and the entrance door of the apartment building.
