Bali Villa Shooting Case: Three Australians Sentenced to Prison for 2025 Killing
Denpasar court sentences three Australians over 2025 killing tied to debt dispute
A Bali court has sentenced three Australian men over the fatal shooting of a fellow Australian at a tourist villa, closing a high-profile case that stunned an island where gun violence is rare.
Court Hands Down Prison Terms
A court in Denpasar on March 9 sentenced Mevlut Coskun, 23, and Paea-I-Middlemore Tupou, 27, to 16 years in prison each for the 2025 fatal shooting of Australian national Zivan Radmanovic in Bali. A third Australian, Darcy Jenson, 27, was sentenced to 12 years for his role in organizing and supporting the attack.
Prosecutors had sought longer terms of 17 and 18 years. The court instead imposed slightly lighter penalties after finding Coskun and Tupou guilty of premeditated murder and illegal gun possession, and Jenson guilty of aiding and abetting the crime.
Shooting At A Tourist Villa
Radmanovic was killed in June 2025 when gunmen entered a villa in Badung and opened fire. Another Australian, Sanar Ghanim, 34, was seriously injured in the same attack.
The defendants said they had been hired to collect a debt from Ghanim, but they refused to identify the person who had allegedly engaged them. The case drew wide attention because firearms are difficult to obtain in Bali and violent crime on the island is uncommon.
Role Of The Third Defendant
The court found Jenson guilty of supplying weapons and helping plan the attack. He was arrested at Jakarta’s airport while apparently trying to flee Indonesia after the shooting.
Coskun and Tupou initially escaped Bali but were later returned from Cambodia to stand trial. Their capture and return highlighted the cross-border nature of the investigation despite the crime taking place at a private villa on a resort island.
Family Reaction And Legal Weight
After the verdict, Radmanovic’s wife and lawyer left court without commenting publicly, according to wire reports. The ruling closes one major stage of the case, though the emotional impact on the victim’s family remains visible.
The sentencing also underscores how seriously Indonesian courts treat illegal firearms and premeditated violence. Bali and the rest of Indonesia maintain strict gun laws, which made the case especially shocking for local authorities and residents.
Rare Case For Bali’s Security Image
The case stood out because Bali is better known as a tourist destination than as a venue for organized shootings. That made the villa attack unusually alarming for both Indonesian authorities and foreign visitors.
For Indonesia, the verdict sends a message that contract-style violence involving foreign nationals will be prosecuted firmly. For Australians, the case has drawn added attention because all three defendants and both victims were Australian citizens.
The Denpasar verdicts mark a significant moment in one of Bali’s most unusual criminal cases in recent years. For Indonesians, the sentencing reinforces the island’s strict stance on firearms and violent crime. For Singaporeans and other regional travelers, it is a reminder that even destinations known for leisure can be shaken by transnational criminal disputes, making law enforcement credibility a key part of regional confidence in tourism and security.
Sources: Straits Times (2026) , RFI (2026)
Keywords: Zivan Radmanovic, Denpasar Sentencing, Mevlut Coskun, Paea I Middlemore Tupou, Darcy Jenson, Bali Villa Shooting