Murder-suicide raises concern<\/p>\n
Blontank Poer, The Jakarta Post\/Boyolali<\/p>\n
Anisa, 9, a third grader at the Sindon Madrasah Ibtida'iyah
\nIslamic school screamed in panic, "Astiwi is hanged... Astiwi is
\nhanged."<\/p>\n
Anisa seldom found the main door locked when she returned home
\nfrom school at around 11 a.m. Her mother, Mujinem, 30, would
\noften greet her affectionately at the front door.<\/p>\n
This time, however, there was no one to open the door and she
\npeeked through the keyhole. Her screams summoned dozens of Sindon
\nvillagers who broke the door down.<\/p>\n
Astiwi Lestari, 2, Anisa's younger sister, was found on
\nWednesday hanging from a piece of plastic rope tied to the house
\ncrossbeam that connected two pillars four meters high.<\/p>\n
Mujinem, her mother, was also found hanging with a waist sash
\naround her neck less than a meter away, a bamboo ladder was
\nnearby.<\/p>\n
Mujinem had borrowed the ladder from Senen, a neighbor, at
\n9:30 a.m., on the pretext that she wanted to mend the roof of her
\nhouse.<\/p>\n
"No one felt suspicious because we had talked with Mujinem
\nfrom morning and we saw nothing strange about her," Safitri told
\nThe Jakarta Post on Thursday.<\/p>\n
Mujinem's husband, Mujiono, 40, was still in a severe state of
\nshock, and Anisa was taken to a relative's house.<\/p>\n
Family members and neighbors said that Mujinem was known to be
\na quiet and introverted person.<\/p>\n
"But she told me once that she owed a lot of money, the
\namounts of which she never mentioned. She also sensed that her
\nhusband didn't trust her because he considered she wasn't thrifty
\nenough with money," Safitri said.<\/p>\n
Mujiono said he often asked his wife about the condition of
\nthe household finances. "But every time I asked her, she threw
\ntantrums at me. I didn't mean to be fussy about it," said
\nMujiono, who works as a bricklayer, earning between Rp 150,000
\n(US$16.00) to Rp 200,000 a month.<\/p>\n
The poor family had been living with Mujiono's parents for the
\npast 11 years, relied on Mujiono's earnings to live.<\/p>\n
Mujiono also tilled the family rice field not far from the
\nhouse when he was not working.<\/p>\n
The reserved man said that he never knew what problems had
\ncaused his wife to commit suicide and take the life of his second
\nchild.<\/p>\n
In the past 14 months, said Mujiono, his wife had on five
\noccasions attempted to commit suicide; by drinking pesticides,
\npouring kerosene over herself and trying to kill herself on the
\nroad.<\/p>\n
"Five months ago, instead of using the money to buy
\nvegetables, she spent it on liquid mosquito repellent worth Rp
\n7,500. As I felt suspicious, I observed her intently to prevent
\nher from committing such a dreadful act," said Mujiono.<\/p>\n
Mujiono said that Mujinem had never threatened him with
\nsuicide. "She abruptly committed suicide and took my daughter
\nwith her without threatening me or my parents beforehand," he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
While they were not common, murder-suicides, often by mothers,
\nwere a recognized problem, Prof. Dr. Sjamsul Hadi, a psychologist
\nfrom the Surakarta 11 Maret University, said.<\/p>\n
"Usually, the person whom a suicidal person takes along is
\nhis or her most beloved one," Sjamsul told the Post.<\/p>\n
He said that suicides or amok acts were usually committed by
\npeople with introverted personalities who were prone to
\ndepression. They easily blamed themselves and often feel deep
\nsorrow over trivial matters.<\/p>\n
"Economic hardship can become a trigger for suicide or people
\nrunning amok," he said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/murder-suicide-raises-concern-1447893297",
"image": ""
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