Jakarta Child Murder Case; Police Explain the Chronology

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Jakarta Metro Police Chief of Public Relations, Senior Commissioner Yusri Yunus, explained the chronology of a child murder case in Sawah Besar, Central Jakarta.

“The intention to kill occurred when the suspect and the victim were left alone together inside the house,” Yusri said in his office Saturday, March 7.

According to the police, the perpetrator and the victim were quite close as the victim often played at the suspect’s house.

“The victim often played with the younger sibling of the perpetrator but they were alone when the incident happened,” the police said, explaining that it was the time when the perpetrator had the desire to kill. 

The crime started when the suspect asked the victim to get a toy inside the bathroom tub. The victim was then strangled by the perpetrator and was drowned inside the tub. The teenage suspect even prevented the victim from screaming.

The child suffocated and helpless after being drowned for about 5 minutes. The suspect put the dead victim in a bucket together with dirty laundry and covered them with a bedsheet.

“The suspect kept the victim inside her cupboard for one night. She was previously confused if she had to throw the body,” explained the police.

The next morning, March 6, at around 11:00, the adolescent came to Taman Sari Police and admitted her action. “The police investigate her statement and confirmed that it was true.”

The police have yet to find out the motive of the killing but based on the suspect’s statement, she did it spontaneously since she often watches horror fiction such as The Slender Man and Chucky.

“She admitted that she’d always wanted to kill but she held it back. But now, she said she couldn’t hold it anymore,” said Yusri.

As of date, the police have yet to determine the articles that can be used in the child murder case as they are still waiting for the forensic lab test even though the suspect admitted that she was the real perpetrator.

“We’re also investigating [this case] with psychologists as she said she was satisfied [about what she had done],” Yusri said.

The 14-year-old girl killed a 5-years-old child at her home in Sawah Besar, Central Jakarta on Thursday, March 5. The police said the perpetrator likes to draw mysterious things that tend to be sadistic.

Besides, the police found that the teenager often tortures animals. “She once threw her pet cat from the second floor of her house,” Yusri said.

The authorities said the body of the victim was found to be tied with a rope and the mouth was clogged with tissue inside the wardrobe of the child murder suspect.

Ade Ridwan Yandwiputra (kontributor) | Antara