Economic Hardship Prompts Man to Murder Unregistered Wife in Meruyung, Depok

Police have revealed the motive behind Ahmad Ronny Hasiholan’s (ARH) decision to murder his unregistered wife, DH (56), whose remains were discovered in skeletal condition in Meruyung, Limo, Depok, West Java.

“The preliminary motive is believed to be rooted in economic problems. The suspect, known to be unemployed, felt aggrieved after being evicted from the house by the victim, and subsequently committed murder,” said Kombes Budi Hermanto, Head of Public Relations at Metro Jaya Police Regional Office, to journalists on Tuesday (10 March).

Separately, AKBP Resa Fiardi Marasabessy, Deputy Director of the Criminal Investigation Division at Metro Jaya Police Regional Office, revealed that before losing her life, the victim had a quarrel with her unregistered husband, Ahmad.

“They quarrelled at her house (the crime scene); during the altercation the victim evicted the suspect whilst shouting,” he said.

During the quarrel, Ahmad then covered the victim’s mouth with his hand. Not stopping there, Ahmad also throttled the victim until she became limp.

Subsequently, the suspect took a raffia rope and wrapped it around the victim’s neck. This was done by the suspect to ensure the victim’s death.

“The suspect then immediately placed the victim in a bedroom and covered her with a carpet. After that, the suspect took the victim’s mobile phone and left the house (crime scene) using the victim’s motorcycle,” Resa explained.

Previously, the body of a woman identified as DH (56) was discovered in skeletal condition in a house in Meruyung, Limo, Depok on Saturday (7 March).

The discovery of the victim’s remains began when witnesses R and L arrived to clean the victim’s house. While cleaning the bedroom, R planned to place a pile of clothes into a plastic bag.

Then, as R lifted a carpet over the pile of clothes, the witness found human leg bones. The discovery was subsequently reported to the authorities.

“Suddenly witness R saw a pair of human legs in a condition where only bones were visible and the skin was desiccated,” said Kompol Chaerul Saleh, Chief of Cinere Police Station, in his statement on Monday (9 March).

Chaerul noted that several of the victim’s possessions also went missing, including one motorcycle unit with ignition key and registration documents, and one mobile phone unit.

Following investigation, police successfully apprehended the perpetrator named Ahmad Ronny Hasiholan (ARH), who was the victim’s unregistered husband. Ahmad was arrested in the Jatimulya area, South Tambun, Bekasi Regency, West Java on Sunday (8 March) at approximately 15:30 WIB.