Disappearance and discovery
The sisters were last seen alive around midnight on January 28, 2006 in Pazardzhik after leaving a nightclub. Their parents reported them missing, and a nationwide search followed.
On January 31, their bodies were found in the Gramadite area near Bratsigovo. The case drew sustained national attention, in part because investigators spent years trying to reconcile conflicting forensic conclusions and identify the biological material recovered during the examination of the victims.
The investigation and forensic evidence
Lazar Kolev became the only defendant ultimately tried for the murders. Bulgarian courts heard extensive forensic evidence, including DNA examinations performed in Bulgaria and abroad. Later appellate reporting said the prosecution relied on biological material linked to Kolev, witness evidence and additional evidence challenging his alibi.
That evidence did not end the controversy. Kolev consistently maintained his innocence, and the victims' parents publicly said they believed another participant had not been identified. The existence or identity of any such accomplice was never established by a final criminal conviction, so this dossier does not present an uncharged second offender as fact.
First conviction and retrial order
In June 2011, the Pazardzhik court sentenced Kolev to life imprisonment without parole. The Plovdiv Appellate Court upheld that sentence later that year.
In October 2012, however, Bulgaria's Supreme Court of Cassation sent the case back for a new appellate hearing. Contemporary reporting described the high court as identifying serious evidentiary issues that required fuller review. That ruling did not acquit Kolev; it reopened the appellate stage.
Final judgment
After the renewed appellate proceedings, the Plovdiv Appellate Court again upheld life imprisonment without parole in June 2013. The case returned to the Supreme Court of Cassation.
On May 21, 2014, the Supreme Court of Cassation confirmed the conviction and the life-without-parole sentence. Bulgarian public-broadcast and national reporting described that decision as final.
Timeline
January 28, 2006: Rositsa and Hristina Belneyski are last seen alive in Pazardzhik.
January 31, 2006: their bodies are found near Bratsigovo.
June 2011: Lazar Kolev receives a life-without-parole sentence at first instance.
November 2011: the Plovdiv Appellate Court upholds the sentence.
October 2012: the Supreme Court of Cassation returns the case for a new appellate hearing.
June 2013: the Plovdiv Appellate Court again upholds life without parole.
May 21, 2014: the Supreme Court of Cassation confirms the conviction and sentence, making the judgment final.
Current classification
The murders of the Belneyski sisters are classified Solved / Adjudicated because Lazar Kolev stands finally convicted. Questions raised by the family and defense about a possible unidentified accomplice remain separate from that adjudicated responsibility.
Sources
- Bulgarian National Radio — May 21, 2014: Supreme Court of Cassation confirms the final life-without-parole sentence
- Vesti / BTA-BGNES — May 21, 2014: final judgment, victims, discovery and forensic evidence
- Sofia News Agency — October 12, 2012: Supreme Court orders renewed appellate proceedings
- Dnes.bg — June 28, 2013: second appellate judgment and evidentiary review