Progress made in Bekasi murder case

Progress made in Bekasi murder case

JAKARTA (JP): Police are waiting for the results of a post
mortem examination at Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital before
they charge an unemployed man in the recent brutal killing of a
married woman in Bekasi.

"We can't yet give details on how ...the suspect, physically
abused the victim or whether he also raped her," City Police
Spokesman Lt. Col. Bambang Haryoko told reporters yesterday.

However, on the basis of witnesses' accounts and clues found
at the scene of crime, Bambang said police strongly believed that
the 28-year-old resident of the Kali Abang Tengah subdistrict in
north Bekasi was the main suspect in what they say was a violent
burglary which led to the death of the woman.

According to a report of the Bekasi police investigation unit,
Sri Wahyuningsih, 29, was strangled to death with a piece of
cloth which was found wrapped around her neck. Her mouth had been
gagged with another piece of cloth.

The woman's partially-naked body was discovered by her husband
Bambang Indriawan, 33, at about 9 p.m. on April 28 in the living
room of their small house in the Pondok Ungu Permai housing
complex in Bekasi, about 30 kilometers east of here.

The deceased housewife, known as Yuni, was found without
underwear.

However, her husband, a bank worker, informed local detectives
that Yuni had not worn underwear for a long time, reported head
of the Bekasi crime investigation unit Capt. Edward Syah Pernong.

"We have no idea why because her husband gave no further
explanation about it," one detective told The Jakarta Post.

According to Edward, the suspect was arrested three weeks
after Yuni's body was found.

The suspect was initially arrested on a charge of stabbing a
minibus commuter after failing to get money from him, causing
serious injury.

Police say that during questioning, the man confessed that he
was the one wanted in relation to the killing of Yuni.

He told the police that his main motive had been to steal
things from the house.

The suspect, who has been jailed many times for theft, remains
in detention with Bekasi police pending the completion of the
dossier regarding his alleged role in the Bekasi murder.

"The hospital's post mortem on Yuni's body will further help
us to complete our final investigation," Bambang said.

Officer Edward said that at least 12 people, including Yuni's
former friends and colleagues, had been questioned.

While police claim to be close to completing their
investigation, questions remain regarding the evidence found at
the scene of the crime.

At the house, police found a cigarette butt, a glass and a
bottle of water on a table, indicating that a visitor, believed
also to have been the murderer, might have been in the house for
some time. Further, several spots thought to be seminal fluid
were found at various places in the house. These and other facts
seem to indicate that the victim may have known her killer.

According to police findings to date, a radio-cassette player
was missing from the house, but a purse containing Rp 600,000
(US$268) was not taken.

Police said they had no eye witnesses. (bsr)