JP/3/Levina/set 2 cols Box

Police develop new theory on Levina murder

JAKARTA (JP): Police said they believe that six-year-old Levina Dwisy, whose body was found at Ancol Dreamland in North Jakarta, was murdered by hired killers paid by a lover of the girl's father.

"Unfortunately, Levina's father did not want to tell us the truth about his love affair," chief of the North Jakarta police precinct, Lt. Col. Heru Susanto, told reporters yesterday.

"We are now focusing our investigation on this love affair issue," he said.

Levina, the second of three children of an ethnic Chinese bicycle shop owner, left her house on Jl. Pantai Sanur in the plush Ancol Timur real estate complex on the morning of March 24.

Wearing her pajamas, the little girl rode her bike to try and find her parents during their morning exercise. It was the last time she was seen alive.

Levina was found under some bushes near a temple the next morning with her bicycle nearby.

Her attacker had apparently used her clothes to strangle her. According to the coroner's examination, she had been raped.

Previously, Heru said, Levina's father, named two of his lovers to the police investigators.

"However, we found no evidence to connect the two woman with the murder," he said.

"But we believe that there is a woman who had a special relationship with Levina's father who had been angry with him because of something, maybe because she found that the man she fell in love with was married," Heru said.

Five special teams have been established to help police investigate, with each team assigned to a specific task.

At least 13 people have been questioned including two fishermen living nearby, the housemaids and the driver of the victim's family as well as the security guards at the elite housing complex where the deceased's parents live. (bsr)