Mutilated woman murdered by a 'professional'

Mutilated woman murdered by a 'professional'

JAKARTA (JP): The grisly murder of a woman whose mutilated
body was found in Tangerang on Sunday was probably the work of a
psychopath with a professional's knowledge of how to dismember a
body, a forensic expert said yesterday.

Zulhasmar Syamsu of the Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital
told The Jakarta Post last night that a large knife usually used
in slaughterhouses appeared to have been used to cut the body
into 12 parts.

"It seems the killer had sawn the body.

"Judging from the incisions, he or she must be a
professional," Zulhasmar said after examining the body parts.

Cuts had been made at the woman's neck and her joints. Her
digestive organs were removed.

"The killer must be very sadistic. He or she may have exacted
revenge on the victim. It's also possible that the killer is a
psychopath."

Stretch marks on her stomach indicated she had been pregnant
during her lifetime.

He said bruises were also found on her right palm and the ring
finger of a hand.

"Her teeth show the victim was between 25 and 30 years old."

Three teenagers reported the body parts -- packed in three
cardboard boxes -- near a railway track at Cisauk village of
Sampura district in Serpong, Tangerang.

Police also found a saw, a pair of jeans and T-shirt in the
boxes.

According to Zulhasmar, the boxes contained the woman's head,
arms, thighs, feet, four pieces of flesh from her stomach and
breasts and bits of her small intestines, large intestines and
stomach.

The largest segment of flesh from her stomach and breasts was
26 centimeters by 16 centimeters, and the smallest was 15
centimeters by 10 centimeters, he said.

"Her legs were well maintained, her face is intact and her
nose is flat," he said. He invited people with missing female
relatives to come forward regarding the case.

Zulhasmar added that forensic experts had not determined if
she was dead before her body was dismembered.

Tangerang police believe the victim was killed three days
before her body was found.

The teenagers said an unidentified man offered to pay them in
exchange for disposing of the boxes.

One of the teenagers, Dede Hermanto, 15, told the media the
man had "slanty" eyes and curly hair, and wore brown pants and a
red T-shirt.

The police have questioned five witnesses, including the
teenagers.

Head of Tangerang Police Lt. Col. Aryanto Boedihardjo said his
personnel were searching for the rest of the woman's body,
including most of her torso.

Highly publicized murder cases in the capital involving
mutilation include those of Nurdin Koto at the Bogasari Apartment
in North Jakarta in 1979 and a young woman named Christine in
Ancol, North Jakarta, in 1989.

"These types of cases are usually hard to solve because the
bodies have been severely mutilated in a bid to erase the
victim's identity..." City Police spokesman Lt. Col. E.
Aritonang said. (edt/ivy/41)