Victim shot dead with Oki's gun: Ballistic expert

Victim shot dead with Oki's gun: Ballistic expert

JAKARTA (JP): A United States' ballistic expert, testifying in
the trial of an Indonesian charged with a Los Angeles triple
murder, said yesterday one of the victims was shot by a hand gun
believed to be the suspect's.

Anthony Larry Pall, 59, a retired ballistic expert of Los
Angeles Police Department (LAPD), told the Central Jakarta
District Court he drew his conclusion from a bullet removed from
Suresh Mirchandani's spinal column.

Harnoko Dewanto, alias Oki, 32, is charged with murdering
Suresh Mirchandani, an Indian who was his business partner,
Indonesian woman Gina Sutan Aswar and his younger brother Tri
Harto Darmawan, alias Eri, between August 1991 and November 1992.

Pall said the suspect had two guns: a rifle and a 38-caliber
Taurus handgun.

"After thorough examinations, we concluded the projectile was
from the handgun," said Pall, who worked for the LAPD for 30
years.

Karen Chiarodit, a Los Angeles Police Department forensic
print specialist, had previously said she examined the receipt
from the handgun's purchase which was in Eri's name.

However, Chiarodit said the handwriting on the receipt was
identical to Oki's.

When asked by defense lawyer Henry Yosodiningrat whether it
was the gun used to shoot Mirchandani, Pall said: "Through a
microscopic examination it was the only projectile shot from the
gun."

He said he took the bullet from Mirchandani and put a
registration mark on it.

Pall said the bullet pierced Mirchandani's heart and entered
his spine.

The Brazilian gun was powerful enough to kill even from 800
meters, he said.

He said he could not determine from what distance Mirchandani
was shot.

"The projectile would have pierced through Mirchandani's body
if it had not stopped in his spinal column," Pall said, adding
that the victim was shot from the front.

Physician Laskhsmanan, 48, said part of Mirchandani's chest
was removed. His heart and lungs were missing, and his hands
chopped off, he said.

"There were blood stains on his chest's wall, which proved
that when his heart and lungs were removed, his heart was still
pumping blood," Laskhsmanan said.

He said he examined the other two victims' bodies. The left
and back parts of their heads had been crushed by a wrench, he
said.

"There were no physical signs the victims had made any effort
to defend themselves," he said.

Presiding Judge I.G.K. Sukarata adjourned the trial until
Tuesday. (07)