Bulgarian Reporter Viktoria Marinova’s Murder Suspect Arrested, Is From Romania

A suspect has been arrested in the rape and murder of Bulgarian television reporter Viktoria Marinova, the country's national radio reported Tuesday.

The name of the suspect was not released and was described only as “Romanian citizen with a passport from Moldova,” according to Fox News.

The body of Marinova, 30, was dumped near the Danube River in Ruse, a town in the far north, along the border of Romania on Saturday. Ruse prosecutor Georgy Georgiev told the AFP news agency on Monday it was highly likely she was killed in broad daylight. The cause of death were blows to the head and suffocation.

"Her mobile phone, car keys, glasses and part of her clothes were missing," Georgiev said.

Bulgarian Interior Minister Mladen Marinov also confirmed she had been raped.

Although investigators told the media there appeared to be no indication of Marinova’s murder being linked to her work as a journalist, Bulgarian prosecutors announced Monday they have opened an investigation into the suspected misuse of European Union funds — which was the subject of a show hosted last month by Marinova, who was the was a director of TVN, a TV station in Ruse.

As a part of its investigation, the prosecutors have frozen $16 million of the assets of GP Group, a building company which is believed to have misused EU money.

Investigators were also looking into people in Marinova’s personal and professional life who might have had motives to kill her. One of the theories explored by the police was Marinova was the victim of a random attack by someone from a psychiatric facility in the vicinity of the crime scene.

"However, we do not exclude a version for planned action also by such a person or a personal motive. So, absolutely no version is underestimated,” Marinov said, CNN reported.

A number of Bulgarian cities, including Ruse held vigils for Marinova on Monday, while international organizations called for a "rigorous, thorough investigation" into the killing.

"With enormous pain and insurmountable grief the team of TVN television is experiencing the loss of our beloved colleague, Victoria Marinova," TVN said in a statement. "Therefore we ask for sympathy for the sorrow of relatives and colleagues. A bow in her memory!"

The Committee to Protect Journalists’ (CPJ) European Union Representative Tom Gibson said: "CPJ is shocked by the barbaric murder of journalist Victoria Marinova. Bulgarian authorities must employ all efforts and resources to carry out an exhaustive inquiry and bring to justice those responsible."

Harlem Desir, media freedom representative for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe condemned the incident on Twitter.

“I will closely follow investigation into horrific murder of investigative journalist Viktoria Marinova in #Bulgaria. #noimpunity for killers of Journalists. Need to quickly determine if linked to her work,” he tweeted.