Girl falls to her death

JAKARTA (JP): An 18-year-old girl died after falling from the 22nd floor of Plaza Sentral, an office building on Jl. Sudirman in South Jakarta, on Sunday night.

Murry, a resident of Srengseng Sawah in West Jakarta, attended a church service at the building, her brother, Jordan, said. But as soon as the mass finished, Murry went straight to the 22nd floor while her friends came down, he said.

No one knew why or with whom Murry went upstairs, he added.

Jordan said the last time he saw Murry was on Aug. 16. At that time, Murry said she wanted to stay at a friend's house and told him her plan to attend the church service on Aug. 19.

Jordan said Murry was a quiet girl and spent most of her time at home.

Murry finished high school two years ago and was about to enroll in university this year, he Jordan.

Meanwhile, a Plaza Sentral security guard Yadi said a fellow security guard Herry Suyono found Murry's body at the back of the building and immediately contacted the Setiabudi Police subprecinct.

The police report states that Murry was suspected to have committed suicide, but a forensic expert, Mun'im Idries, disputes this. He said there were bruises on Murry's neck, which could be signs of suffocation.

"... or signs of a struggle as if someone held her to push her down," Mun'im told reporters at Jakarta Police Headquarters.

The postmortem examination also showed that other than the bruises there were no other signs of violence inflicted on Murry's body. (emf/07)