Police point to drowning in slaying of woman, daughter

Police point to drowning in slaying of woman, daughter

TANGERANG (JP): Preliminary results of a police investigation
revealed on Tuesday that the four children alleged to have killed
their mother and sister may have drowned them in a water tank at
the family's house.

"Based on the suspects' confessions, both victims were pushed
in the tank. We also found bubbles coming from the victims'
mouths," Tangerang Police chief Lt. Col. Pudji Hartanto said on
Tuesday.

Pudji said on Monday the four suspects, aged between 12 to 21
years old, admitted to police that they had killed their mother
Minah, 45, and sister Erna, 17, on Sunday morning at the family's
house in Cipondoh.

None of the suspects were clear about the motives to kill, he
said.

Pudji said on Monday that they were probably possessed by evil
spirits.

Further autopsy results were still expected in order to
clarify the cause of death, he said on Tuesday.

"We also found a hammer which the suspects claimed was used as
a weapon in the killing," Pudji said.

But he added there was no trace of blood found on the hammer.

"Blood stains were only found on the floor in the guest room
of the house," Pudji said.

The four suspects, identified as Erni, Zaimi, Nurochman and
Abdul Latif, were questioned intensively by the police.

All children, except for Erni, are awaiting further cross-
examining by police psychologists to determine their mental
health.

Twenty-one-year-old Erni is undergoing treatment at the
Soekanto Police Hospital in Kramat Jati, East Jakarta as she was
reported to be severely affected by the incident.

"Erni was mentioned as the major player in this murder case,
but we cannot question her properly because she is not stable
enough.

"The three boys can respond to the police's questions but
sometimes they say some weird things," Pudji said.

Zaimi told the police that there was somebody else who knew
about the killing. But no further details were available.

Pudji reiterated that the involvement of psychologists in the
investigation was necessary to justify whether the children were
in a trance when the murders occurred.

"It is hard to bring this case to court if we're not able to
prove the condition of the suspects during the murder.

"We do not know for sure if it's true that they were possessed
by evil spirits. Who can ever prove that? Moreover, a possessed
person can only be cured by a psychic.

"In this case, when police detectives arrived at the crime
scene, the children who were thought to be under evil spirits'
influence, were normal," Pudji said. (41/edt)