Georgi Markov - Later Investigation and Aftermath

Later Investigation and Aftermath

Due to the circumstances and statements Markov made to doctors expressing the suspicion that he had been poisoned, Scotland Yard ordered a thorough autopsy of Markov's body. The forensic pathologists discovered a spherical metal pellet the size of a pin-head embedded in Markov's calf.

The pellet measured 1.70 mm in diameter and was composed of 90% platinum and 10% iridium. It had two holes with diameters of 0.35 mm drilled through it, producing an X-shaped cavity. Further examination by experts from Robert Gergi and Porton Down showed that the pellet contained traces of toxic ricin. A sugary substance coated the tiny holes creating a bubble which trapped the ricin inside the cavities. The specially crafted coating was designed to melt at 37° Celsius (the human body temperature). As the pellet was shot into Markov, the coating melted and the ricin was free to be absorbed into the bloodstream and kill him. Regardless of whether the doctors treating Markov had known that the poison was ricin, the result would have been the same, as there is no known antidote to ricin.

Ten days before the murder, an attempt was made to kill another Bulgarian defector, Vladimir Kostov, in the same manner as Markov, in a Paris metro station. Doctors found the same kind of bullet in his skin. However, it seems that the sugar coating of the bullet protecting the ricin content was damaged during the shot or before, and thus, only a tiny portion of the poison got into his blood, causing only fever. Kostov reported that the shot came from a man carrying a small bag, but not an umbrella. The main reason for this was the declaration of Markov who saw the umbrella but never said he was shot by it. However, forensic experts declared that the probable "gun" that shot the bullet was probably very sophisticated, another reason to believe in state action.

Several well-known KGB defectors, such as Oleg Kalugin and Oleg Gordievsky, have confirmed that the KGB arranged the murder, even presenting the Bulgarian assassin with alternatives such as a poisonous jelly to smear on Markov's skin, but to this day no one has been charged with Markov's murder, largely because most documents relating to his death were probably destroyed. The British newspaper The Times has reported that the prime suspect is an Italian named Francesco Gullino (or Giullino) who was last known to be living in Denmark.

A British documentary, The Umbrella Assassin (2006), interviewed people associated with the case in Bulgaria, Britain and America, and revealed that the prime suspect, Gullino, is alive and well, and still traveling freely throughout Europe.

There were reports in June 2008 that Scotland Yard had renewed its interest in the case. Detectives were sent to Bulgaria and requests were made to interview relevant individuals. The communist regime in Bulgaria was overthrown in 1989; there seems to be a newfound interest on the part of the Bulgarian authorities to resolve the case.