Retarded daughter killed by her troubled mother
Retarded daughter killed by her troubled mother
JAKARTA (JP): A troubled mother slashed the throat of her own
retarded daughter in her house on Jl. Mandala Barat in Tomang,
West Jakarta, on Saturday to "end" the 20-year-old girl's sorrow.
Tanjung Duren Police chief Capt. Eko Budi S. said on Saturday
that the mother, identified as Nancy Gunawan, 52, cut her
daughter Vivin's throat with a knife at about 1 p.m.
"Nancy reported to the police that she felt sorry for Vivin,
who could do nothing without other people's help," Eko said.
He said Vivin lived with the mother, father and her only elder
sister at the house.
The murder happened when the father, identified as Gunawan,
and Vivin's sister were out at Senen market in Central Jakarta
shopping, Eko said.
After killing her daughter, Nancy washed the blood-stained
floor in Vivin's bedroom, he said, adding that she then left her
house and visited the neighborhood chief, Buyung, to tell him
what had happened.
Nancy fluently told Buyung that she had just killed Vivin,
asking the neighborhood chief to check whether the girl was
already dead, he said.
She told him that she was distraught and tired of looking
after the daughter since her maid went to her hometown for Idul
Fitri holiday and never came back.
"I felt pity for Vivin. She could not eat by herself nor put
on clothes nor take a bath without any help. I preferred to end
her life," Nancy was quoted as saying.
Buyung then reported the murder to the nearby police station
whose officers then rushed to the scene and found Vivin's body
lying on the floor.
The officers then arrested Nancy, who was still waiting at
Buyung's house, and confiscated a knife which was believed used
in the murder.
Eko said that on Saturday evening the police were still
questioning the suspect.
"We are still questioning her about her motives for the
killing. We will ask a psychologist for help in questioning the
suspect," Eko said.
He said Nancy told the police about the chronology of the
murder smoothly and without any apparent guilty feeling.
Nancy admitted that she actually wanted to commit suicide
after killing her daughter, but drew back from doing so, he said.
Vivin's body was sent to the morgue of the Cipto Mangunkusumo
General Hospital for a post mortem examination.
Besides the slashed throat, several wounds were also found on
Vivin's fingers, an employee of the morgue who asked for
anonymity said.
"Probably, the victim tried to catch the knife used to kill
her," he said. (jun)