The discovery in Borisova Gradina
Yana Krasteva was found dead in Borisova Gradina, one of Sofia's largest central parks, on July 10, 2011. She had been at a concert-area venue the previous night. The killing drew intense national attention and a prolonged investigation.
Police initially detained another man, Plamen Trifonov, but the evidence against him did not sustain a prosecution. Later forensic testing shifted the focus toward Nikolay Rusinov, who acknowledged that he had met Yana that night but denied killing her.
Forensic evidence and the changing investigation
Bulgarian reporting on the investigation said biological material recovered from the scene was tested abroad and linked to Rusinov. Contemporary accounts also described other biological traces and shifting police theories about whether additional people had been present. Those preliminary theories did not become final convictions of unidentified accomplices, so this dossier does not present any other person as an adjudicated offender.
Rusinov was eventually charged and brought to trial. He maintained that he left Yana alive. Prosecutors argued that the physical evidence, witness testimony and surrounding circumstances established his responsibility for the killing.
Trial and appellate history
In October 2014, the Sofia City Court convicted Rusinov and imposed life imprisonment. The case then moved through appellate review rather than ending with that first-instance sentence.
On May 31, 2017, the Sofia Court of Appeal again found Rusinov guilty but reduced the punishment to 20 years. Bulgarian National Radio reported that the appellate panel concluded the legal basis for the harsher life sentence had not been established to the required standard.
Final Supreme Court decision
On March 29, 2018, Bulgaria's Supreme Court of Cassation left the appellate judgment in force. The 20-year prison sentence therefore became final and non-appealable.
The final judgment is the controlling legal outcome for this archive. Earlier reporting that described a possible group attack or additional unidentified participants remains part of the investigative history, not a substitute for adjudicated responsibility.
Timeline
July 9–10, 2011: Yana Krasteva is killed after a night out in central Sofia.
July 10, 2011: her body is found in Borisova Gradina.
2011–2012: the investigation changes direction as forensic testing and witness evidence are reassessed; an initial suspect is released and Nikolay Rusinov becomes the principal defendant.
October 20, 2014: Sofia City Court convicts Rusinov and imposes life imprisonment.
May 31, 2017: Sofia Court of Appeal upholds guilt but reduces the sentence to 20 years.
March 29, 2018: the Supreme Court of Cassation confirms the 20-year sentence, making it final.
Current classification
The murder of Yana Krasteva is classified Solved / Adjudicated because Nikolay Rusinov stands finally convicted. The archive does not treat early suspicion directed at Plamen Trifonov, nor references to unidentified additional biological traces, as proof that another person participated in the murder.
Sources
- Bulgarian National Radio — May 31, 2017: Sofia Court of Appeal imposes a 20-year sentence
- Dnes.bg — March 29, 2018: Supreme Court of Cassation confirms the final 20-year sentence
- Sofia News Agency — May 8, 2012: forensic evidence and the investigation's shift toward Rusinov
- Sofia News Agency — October 20, 2014: first-instance conviction and life sentence