Bulgarian journalist Viktoria Marinova raped and murdered

A Bulgarian journalist has been found dead in a park. Viktoria Marinova was found brutally murdered and raped in a park in the Danube town of Ruse on Saturday.

Ruse regional prosecutor Georgy Georgiev said that she died from blows to the head and suffocation. Her mobile phone, car keys, glasses and some of her clothing were missing.

Marinova, 30, was a board member of TV station TVN. She had apparently reported on an investigation into an alleged corruption involving European Union funds. She has been the third journalist to have been killed in the EU in a year. Interior Minister Mladen Marinov, however, said there were no information that her murder was related to her work. He confirmed that she had been raped as well.

“I am convinced it is a matter of time before the murder would be revealed. The best criminologists were sent to Ruse, let’s not press them. A large amount of DNA had been obtained,” Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov told reporters.

TVN also said in a statement, “With great pain and insurmountable grief, the TVN’s team is experiences the loss of our beloved colleague, Victoria Marinova, and we pray for sympathy to the sorrow of her relatives and colleagues.”

Reporters Without Borders data revealed that Bulgaria is at 111 on the World Press Freedom Index, which is lower than any other EU member state. However, Marinova’s death is the first time this year a journalist from the country has been killed.