Germany to extradite suspect in Bulgarian journalist killing 'soon'

A German court said Friday that a man suspected of the rape and murder of Bulgarian television journalist Viktoria Marinova would be extradited to Bulgaria in the coming days.

"The extradition of the accused can be expected soon," the superior regional court in Celle said in a statement.

It added that the 20-year-old suspect, who was arrested on Tuesday on a European warrant, had said during questioning "that he did not want to kill the victim and denied raping her".

"The arrested man admitted to the court that he had a verbal argument with the victim on October 6, 2018," it said.

"He was under the strong influence of alcohol and drugs and punched the woman in the face, at which point she fell down. He then picked her up and threw her in a bush but said he then left the scene."