Man Suspected of Murdering Girlfriend in East Java Pretended to Seek Help

A man with the initials RA (18) has been arrested by police on suspicion of murdering his girlfriend, MTA (22), in Lumajang, East Java. The suspect initially claimed he was confused when he could not contact his girlfriend and asked the victim’s neighbours to check on MTA’s condition. A family member of the victim, Diana, stated that neighbours received a call from the victim’s boyfriend asking them to check on her because he could not reach her by phone. Upon checking, she was found deceased and unclothed in her room. Police conducting further investigations found irregularities in the case. Officers became suspicious and subsequently arrested RA at his residence. According to the Lumajang Police Criminal Investigation Unit Head, AKP Ari Aulia, the perpetrator RA was the victim’s boyfriend. Police explained that the perpetrator used a blunt object and clothing to execute the victim. ‘The victim was struck with a piece of wood by the perpetrator, and her mouth was gagged and neck strangled with the victim’s own jeans,’ said AKP Ari. The perpetrator confessed that after the victim was lifeless, he deliberately removed all of her clothing, allegedly to fabricate a situation as if a rape had been committed by an unknown person. The perpetrator is now charged under Article 458 of the Criminal Code concerning murder, which carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison. MTA’s body was first discovered on Saturday evening (4/7) lying on her back, unclothed and covered in blood, on her bed.