Ion Soltoianu was in a state of temporary insanity and acted in self-defense when he shot Ion Stratulat, according to his lawyers. Soltoianu's lawyers held a press conference to offer details about the September homicide, claiming that the prosecutors' investigation was evasive and that witnesses were heard superficially, Info-Prim Neo reports. Lawyer Mihai Contescu said he requested a psychological expertise to prove that Ion Soltoianu was in a state of temporary insanity when he committed the homicide, but his request was rejected as the investigators excluded the possibility of the athlete acting in self-defense. Another lawyer, Petru Ursu, claims that Soltoianu came to the terrace with a friend from his village and met Ion Stratulat by chance. They knew each other, but had a poor relationship lately. The former policeman called him to talk, but the discussion turned into a heated argument. The lawyer says that during the discussion, Stratulat touched his pistol a couple of times. Soltoianu knew the former policeman was a good shooter, got scared, decided to anticipate him and shot him three times and then fled. The bullets hit the victim in his head, shoulder and chest. The bullet in the lung was the lethal one. According to his lawyers, Soltoianu fled as he thought there were other armed persons with Stratulat at the terrace and felt he was in danger. His defenders stress that although Soltoianu had the chance to leave the country, he chose to surrender. Soltoianu is charged with intentional murder. The crime happened on September 19, at a terrace on 31 August Street in Chisinau. On October 27, the General Prosecutor's Office sent the case to court.