Eri's remains arrive from L.A. for burial

Eri's remains arrive from L.A. for burial

JAKARTA (JP): The remains of Tri Harto Darmawan, known as Eri
and a victim of the Los Angeles triple murder, was flown home to
Jakarta yesterday, a week after the arrival of Gina Sutan Aswar's
body, another victim of the murder.

Eri's brother, Hernoko Dewantono, alias Oki, 30, has been
accused by the Los Angeles police of perpetrating the murder that
is now being investigated here in Jakarta by the city police.

Delivering his eulogy at Eri's funeral ceremony at the Tanah
Kusir cemetery in South Jakarta, their father, Hendarno
Hendarmin, an ex-bank employee, could not hide his deep sorrow
and was forced to pause several times during the eulogy.

His ex-wife and the mother of Eri, Oki and their brother Tito,
Sekartini Ramadidjaya, was visibly distraught from the moment the
coffin containing Eri's remains was brought to her home on Jl.
Bank 19 in Pejaten Barat subdistrict, South Jakarta.

Tito, the second of the three Hendarno-Sekartini children,
also failed to stop crying while reciting the azan (Moslem call
to prayer) over his younger brother's deceased body at the
funeral rite.

Tito and Sekartini picked up Eri's corpse from the Los Angeles
County coroner and arrived aboard a Garuda Indonesia plane at the
Soekarno-Hatta airport at around 10:30 a.m. yesterday. The coffin
was immediately driven to Sekartini's house, where her family
members, relatives and friends were waiting.

Like Gina, the arrival of Eri again attracted media people,
though far fewer.

While trapped in a traffic jam on the way to the house, the
convoy was approached by newspaper boys offering magazines with
news of the Oki case as their cover stories.

After Friday prayers, and a prayer at Sekartini's home, the
body was taken to the public cemetery to be buried.

Eri's corpse had been kept in a storage locker in Los Angeles
along with the bodies of Gina and an Indian businessman until
they were found in August of last year.

Oki has been in Jakarta police custody since his arrest on
Jan. 7 for passport forgery. Now, he is also being questioned for
his alleged role in the murder of the three victims as accused by
the Los Angeles police.

Since his arrest, police have not allowed anyone, including
his family and lawyers, to see Oki, worrying that his testimony
might get distorted.

In a two-minute interview with reporters prior to the arrival
of Eri's body, Hendarno insisted that he and other relatives
badly need to meet with Oki.

"Wouldn't any father want to meet with his own son?" he asked
reporters.

This was the first time Hendarno had spoken with reporters
since the murder was reported by the media.

He, however, refused to answer questions from reporters, such
as if he was sure that Oki had killed the three victims.

Asking about a letter believed to be written by Oki while in
police custody, Hendarno said: "I have not read, nor even seen, a
single letter from him."

In Oki's letter shown to reporters by the police, he rejects
the lawyers appointed by his father from Ruhut Sitompoel, Tommy
Sihotang & Associates.

Hendarno added, "I know my son better than anyone else."

Ruhut said: "None of us know if it's Oki's handwriting or, if
it is, if he did it under pressure."

The most important thing, he said, is to, "give us or his
family a chance to meet with Oki." (bsr)