'Petrohan' Case - Ivailo Kalushev’s Mother Tells BNT: “My Son Is Innocent – I Am Devastated”

The Petrohan case is in the public spotlight for another day. On Tuesday, February 10, new details emerged from the prosecution, which announced the results of the autopsies of the bodies found in a camper van below Okolchitsa Peak (Northwestern Bulgaria). According to forensic experts, the deaths were the result of two murders followed by a suicide.

The Prosecutor's Office said Ivailo Kalushev held permits for two combat pistols, issued on 1 November 2021. Both weapons were found at the crime scene beneath Okolchitsa Peak. It also emerged that on 23 August the same year, Ivailo Ivanov had been granted a permit to possess 16 firearms. Twenty-four-year-old Nikolay Zaykov legally owned one combat pistol, registered in his name in February 2023. All of this information was confirmed by the Prosecutor's Office.

Speaking to Bulgarian National Television (BNT), the mother of Ivailo Kalushev rejected the investigators’ version of events, according to which her son was responsible for a tragedy that has claimed six lives.

“The only thing I can say is that I am more than convinced my son is innocent, that he could not have carried out everything that is being written and broadcast everywhere,” said Stella Dimitrova-Maystorova, mother of Ivaylo Kalushev.

At a special press conference on Monday, the Ministry of the Interior and the Prosecutor's Office said that on 1 February the camper van belonging to Ivailo Kalushev, together with Nikolay Zlatkov and a 15-year-old boy, left the area of the former Petrohan mountain lodge and headed towards Okolchitsa Peak. A week later, the vehicle was discovered with the bodies of the three inside.

According to investigators’ latest findings, the case involves two consecutive murders followed by a suicide.

“I am shocked, honestly, I did not expect this,” Ms Dimitrova-Maystorova said. “I loved Bulgaria. I was happy when he returned from Mexico to live here. And now, I sincerely tell you, I regret that.”

It also emerged that a private foundation had financed activities linked to Ivailo Kalushev, who had been sought by police. For more than a decade, he had run a business in Mexico, with projects focused on extreme cave diving and underwater exploration in the Yucatán Peninsula.

Asked whether she was aware of her son’s work, Ms Dimitrova-Maystorova replied: “I know everything about what he does. A mother has nothing more to say.”

She added that this would be her only statement to the media.

Yani Makulev, father of the 15-year-old boy who died, also declined to comment further on the investigation. He repeated his earlier position, saying he trusted Ivailo Kalushev.

“Whatever is written about this man is not true, and as a parent and an athlete I am 100% calm,” he said in an interview on 6 February 2026.

The investigation into the Petrohan case is ongoing.