Police weigh out cause of journalist's death

Police weigh out cause of journalist's death

Wahyoe Boediwardhana, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar, Bali

Twelve days after the death of former Time magazine senior
journalist Sandra Jean Burton, police here are still struggling
to determine whether they have a homicide case on their hands.

"We are still investigating whether the bruises and wounds
found on her body were the result of an accident or of some other
cause," Bali Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Rosalia P. Gaut said on
Tuesday.

Citing the autopsy report, Gaut stated that a skull fracture
on the right side of Burton's rear cranial bone was believed to
be the primary cause of death. Intense contact between the head
and a blunt object was considered the probable cause of the
fracture.

The postmortem report also noted eight different contusions on
her head.

"Moreover, there was a contusion on her wrist, a rupture on
the cheek -- right under one of the eyes -- and another wound,
which looks like a strangulation mark, on her neck," Gaut said.

However, Erwin Siregar, the lawyer for Burton's partner Robert
Delfts, asserted an accident was the only possible cause of
Burton's death.

"I have spoken to Robert, his housekeepers Agus Susanto and
Nengah Sudasti. Based on those conversations I am convinced that
her death did not involve any foul play," he said.

Burton's body was first found by her husband on Friday night,
Feb. 27, lying on the bathroom floor of their rented house in
Sanur. It appeared she had experienced difficulty in breathing.

Delfts tried to resuscitate her for some time. When
resuscitation failed, Delfts and Agus moved the body to a more
spacious room. While Agus called an ambulance, Delfts tried once
again to revive her.

The 62-year-old veteran U.S. journalist died before the
arrival of the ambulance. Her body was cremated on Monday at the
Taman Mumbul crematorium in Jimbaran.

sikat aja oom

A family member said the cremation was not possible until 10
days after her death. Without the autopsy, the remains of Burton
could not be discharged from the morgue.

Known to her colleagues as a top-notch reporter, Burton had
written many high-profile political stories in Asia, covering the
popular uprising against Marcos in the Philippines, which won her
the respect and friendship of former Philippine president Cory
Aquino.

After resigning, she moved to Bali to write her memoirs, a
relative said.