A Bulgarian national suspected of raping and murdering anti-corruption journalist Viktoria Marinova, has told prosecutors that he did not mean to kill her.

Severin Krassimirov, who was arrested on 9 October in the German town of Stade, told reporters he regretted taking the 30-year-old’s life during his first appearance in court on Friday.

“I regret it so much. I cannot believe I did it,” the 21-year-old Ruse resident said after refusing to heed warnings from his lawyers to remain silent.

Mr Krassimirov, who was sat in handcuffs, had previously told officials that he was under the influence of alcohol and drugs when he got into an argument with a woman he did not know on 6 October. He admitted hitting her in the face and throwing her into bushes, before blacking out. He denied raping and robbing her.

Asked what punishment he thought he deserved, he said: “Whatever I get, even if it is life in prison, I will serve it.”

Ms Marinova’s body was discovered in a park in the Danube border city of Ruse on 6 October. Investigators said she had been raped, hit on the head and suffocated.

DNA evidence found on her body implicated Mr Krassimirov in her killing, said Bulgaria’s interior minister, Mladen Marinov. He added that items belonging to the victim were also found at the suspects home in Ruse.

Severin Krassimirov, the suspect arrested in the rape and slaying of a Bulgarian television journalist, prior to his first appearance in court in Ruse, Bulgaria, on 19 October (AP)

Mr Krassimirov initially fled to Romania before travelling to Germany, where several of his relatives live. He was extradited to Bulgaria from Germany after Bulgarian authorities issued an European arrest warrant.

Ms Marinova’s murder draw international condemnation and prompted speculation that she may have been targeted as “a warning” after she presented a programme about alleged fraud involving EU funds days before the death.

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In the wake of the slaying, the owner of an investigative website that featured on the programme said he had received “credible” information that his journalists were in danger.

“Viktoria’s death, the brutal manner in which she was killed, is an execution,” said Bivol.bg owner Asen Yordanov. “It was meant to serve as an example, something like a warning.”

Mr Marinov rubbished the claims, saying an investigation found “no apparent link” to Ms Marinova’s work, which included exposing corruption.

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Mr Krassimirov will remain in custody until his trial on murder and rape charges.