Village Head in Sidoarjo Found Dead, Entangled in Hose
The head of Buncitan Village, Sedati Subdistrict, Sidoarjo Regency, East Java, known by the initial M, passed away in his own office or the village hall on Sunday (3/5). The body was found with the neck encircled by a water hose.
The Head of Criminal Investigation at Sidoarjo Police Resort, AKP Siko Sesaria Putra Suma, stated that his team immediately processed the crime scene and examined several witnesses to uncover the chronology of the incident.
According to police statements, the victim’s body was first discovered by a witness, who is a village hall cleaning staff member, around 4:22 PM local time.
The victim was known to have left home since the morning. This was corroborated by statements from the victim’s child, who mentioned that the father had still communicated via short messages before being found dead.
“The victim was found by the first witness in the condition at the scene around 4:22 PM. We also synchronised this with the victim’s child whom we examined; their statement indicated that the victim left home around 10:00 AM, and at 1:00 PM was still messaging the victim’s child,” said Siko on Monday (4/5).
Based on the autopsy of the victim’s body on Sunday night, the results of external and internal examinations showed strangulation marks on the neck and changes in internal organs consistent with death by strangulation, without any other signs of physical violence.
“In the external examination, one finding was a reddish bruise on the back of the neck that disappeared upon pressure. Second, rigor mortis was found. Third, no signs of decomposition. Fourth, estimated time of death 3 to 8 hours from the time of external examination,” said Siko.
“A strangulation groove was found on the neck, transverse from the right side of the neck to the left side, spanning 40 cm, directed upwards. In the internal examination, one finding was dilation of blood vessels in the brain, lungs, heart, and intestines. Blood seepage was found in the deep neck muscles on the right side. A broken bone was found,” he added.
Based on preliminary investigation results, police suspect the victim committed suicide or ended his life due to the burden of economic pressures.
This is because, Siko said, they found outstanding debts in the hundreds of millions related to land sale and purchase transactions as well as loans to local residents that were due soon.
“Suspected reasons for the victim ending his life include first, debt issues with arrears related to land sales that have a debt of approximately Rp270 million, which should be settled on 26 May this month. Then, the victim also has a debt to one of the RW heads in Buncitan of approximately Rp100 million,” he revealed.
In addition to debt factors, investigators also found digital traces on the victim’s mobile phone. In the internet search history, M was found to have searched for information on various suicide methods and religious legal issues regarding debts for those who have died.
“From the examination of the victim’s mobile phone, we found that the victim also conducted searches or had a phone history of searches,” said Siko.