EXETER MAN ACCUSED OF MURDERING CONTROLLING EX-PARTNER
A mother named Gergana Prodanova was killed by her former partner, Kostadin Kostov, who was described as controlling and jealous.The court heard that Kostov stuffed her body into a suitcase and dumped it near train tracks after she went missing last year from their shared home.
Kostov, aged 42, appeared at Exeter Crown Court accused of her murder and denies killing her.
The court was told that Ms Prodanova, 38, had been in a relationship with Kostov for 15 years before she moved to Exeter in December 2015.
Prosecutor Simon Laws QC described the relationship as complex and troubling, with Kostov using physical violence and exhibiting jealous and controlling behavior, especially when he drank.
Ms Prodanova later moved to England alone, leaving her children and former partner in Bulgaria, and formed a new relationship.
Kostov flew to the UK in April 2016 and moved in with her on Mount Pleasant Road in Exeter.
The prosecution claims Kostov murdered her out of jealousy over her new relationship on August 4, 2016, and shortly after her disappearance, messages purported to be from her appeared to explain her absence.
Kostov told police that he last saw her alive and that a phone call from her sister told him her mother was dead, leading him to believe she had left the flat.
The trial continues.
