Prosecutors insist on death penalty
JAKARTA (JP): Prosecutors told a court here yesterday that they intended to stick to their demand for the death penalty for a murder suspect.
Prosecutor Hatta Renuat demanded that the East Jakarta district court sentence Suparmi to death for her alleged involvement in the vicious murder of a teacher's family last year.
"It has been proven that Suparmi is guilty of planning and participating in the murder," Hatta concluded in the 24-page statement for the prosecution replying to Suparmi's team of lawyers' defense last Wednesday.
On Oct. 2, a woman and her three children were found dead in their home in Bambu Apus sub-district, East Jakarta.
Four other suspects, three of which are minors, have been detained and are being processed in separate court hearings.
Prosecutors demand that Suparmi and her husband Philipus be sentenced to death. The minors are facing 18-year jail-terms each.
Hatta said that the team of prosecutors' indictment was based on legal evidence which proves that Suparmi is guilty of the murder charges.
According to Hatta, Suparmi's lawyers focused their defense on information revealed in court and the suspect's persistent denial of her involvement instead of noting other witnesses' testimony, evidence and clues.
The discovery of blood stains on the suspects clothes and around their house, the fingerprints of suspect Philipus on a sheet of paper in Rohadi's house, and the tracking dog team which headed toward the suspects' house should not be ignored, Hatta added.
Alibi
Her alibi around 10 a.m. was not strong enough either, Hatta said.
"The suspect's statement that she returned home and watched a television series at 9 a.m. is irrelevant since the murder is thought to have occurred around 10 a.m.," he added.
A teacher of Gilang, one of the murdered children, had earlier told the court that Gilang left school at around 9:40 a.m. and that it would have taken him at least 20 minutes to get home.
The court hearing was adjourned until Thursday to hear the lawyers' final reply before the team of judges' ruling is announced. (14)