Judge Imposes Heavier Sentence: Indramayu Family Killer Gets Life Imprisonment

A life sentence has been handed down to Priyo Bagus Setiawan after he was found guilty of the premeditated murder of five members of a single family in Indramayu Regency. Presiding Judge Wimmy D. Simarmata, reading the verdict at the Indramayu District Court, stated that Priyo was legally and convincingly proven to have committed premeditated murder and violence against a child resulting in death. “We therefore sentence the defendant to life imprisonment,” he said on Friday, 3 July 2026. The defendant was proven to have violated Article 459 of Law Number 1 of 2023 concerning the Criminal Code in conjunction with Article 20 letter c of the Criminal Code, as well as Article 80 Paragraph (3) of Law Number 35 of 2014 concerning Child Protection in conjunction with Law Number 1 of 2026 concerning Criminal Adjustments. The judge stated that the element of premeditated murder was fulfilled because, since 24 August 2025, the defendant and Ririn Rifanto had agreed to commit the murders to seize the victims’ assets. According to the panel of judges, the five-day period before the execution was used by the defendant to modify a hammer, devise a method to approach the victims, determine the time of execution, and prepare the sequence of crimes. The panel also assessed that there was close cooperation between Priyo and Ririn from the planning stage, through the execution of the murders, the seizure of the victims’ property, the burial of the bodies in a single grave, to the efforts to eliminate evidence. In its considerations, the court noted that Priyo handed the hammer to Ririn to attack victim Budi Awaludin (45). The defendant also carried an infant victim to the bathroom and drowned the child in a water-filled tub as part of the murder execution. “The defendant’s contribution was of decisive significance to the realisation of the entire event,” the judge stated. The panel of judges considered that the defendant’s actions caused a psychological impact on the community, left deep sorrow for the victims’ family, and wounded human values by taking the lives of an entire family, including children. “The defendant’s actions fall into the category of extraordinary crime, the most serious crime, and are highly reprehensible in the context of premeditated murder,” he said. The Public Prosecutor of the Indramayu District Attorney’s Office had sought a 20-year prison sentence for Priyo Bagus Setiawan. However, the panel of judges decided to impose a life sentence.