19 November 2004
:: NEWS ::
Resident from Pastra Social Care Institution found murdered
Additional information:
Mentally ill man beaten
to death in social care institution
24 March 2003
Another death case of resident
in social care institution
21 April 2003
|
|
One of the residents of the social care institution for men with mental disabilities in the village of Pastra, in South West Bulgaria - Boris Ivanov, 59, was found dead in his bed on Wednesday, reveals the Trud daily quoting information from the Kjustendil police.
Orderlies found the man on 17 November and called for a doctor, but he only established the death. A post mortem revealed that Mr. Ivanov had died of a severe skull trauma. According to police reports, another resident was suspected of the murder. An investigative case has been launched into the death of Ivanov.
In 2003 and 2004 the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee reported about several death cases of residents in social care institutions for mentally disabled adults, which had occurred as a result of conflicts between residents. In March 2003, a 32-year-old man from the social care institution in Batoshevo was found beaten to death. In April 2003, a 41-year-old resident died after being strangled by another resident in the social care institution in Podgumer. On 24 February 2004, in the social care in the village of Govezhda, one resident died in a fight that arose for two cigarettes.
The Bulgarian Helsinki Committee has stated that insufficient psychiatric
care, understaffing, especially with regard to orderlies, and accommodating
mentally ill residents together with residents with developmental disabilities
are behind the large number of conflicts between residents, which sometimes
have a fatal end.