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)