Police deepen investigation of Angeline's murder

The Bali Police have been deepening the investigation into the alleged murder of Angeline, the 8-year-old girl whose body was found buried in her backyard almost a month after being reported missing

Ni Komang Erviani (The Jakarta Post)

Denpasar

Fri, June 12, 2015

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Police deepen investigation of Angeline's murder

The Bali Police have been deepening the investigation into the alleged murder of Angeline, the 8-year-old girl whose body was found buried in her backyard almost a month after being reported missing.

A preliminary reconstruction of the case was conducted on Thursday morning, involving Agustinus Tai Hamdamai (Agus), the only suspect in the alleged murder so far.

The preliminary reconstruction was held on Jl. Sedap Malam, Denpasar, Bali, at the house where Angeline's body was found a day before. The reconstruction lasted for about an hour.

Hundreds of people flocked to the site to have a look at the reconstruction process but the police banned anyone from approaching the house. Only the police investigators and members of the forensic team were at the venue.

'Just kill him, kill him!' some people yelled repeatedly as the suspect arrived at the house with the police investigators.

Some people were also seen expressing anger by crowding the road as the car, which carried the former housemaid of the family, was leaving the house after the reconstruction was finished.

Denpasar Police chief Sr. Comr. Anak Agung Made Sudana said that a total of 18 scenes were taken during the preliminary reconstruction. But he declined to give any more details on the reconstruction process, arguing that the investigation was still underway.

The same stance was taken by Bali Police chief Insp. Gen. Ronny F. Sompie. He said such information could not be shared as it was part of the investigation.

Ronny said the initial reconstruction was part of the investigators' strategy to thoroughly understand the case. 'It's part of the investigators' tactics to get an early picture of the case,' he said.

However, a source said that during the preliminary reconstruction, Agus admitted that Angeline did come to his room on the day Angeline was reported missing.

He reportedly told the police that he tried to sexually abuse the girl when she came to his room. Police said he panicked when Angeline shouted and he decided to bang the girl's head against the wall until she fainted. He then allegedly raped Angeline while she was unconscious and reportedly buried the girl in the back yard of the house at 8 p.m. the same day. It was, however, still unclear whether the girl was alive when she was buried.

Ronny said that so far the police had yet to name other suspects in the case. 'But we are open to the possibility that there may be other suspects to name. The investigation is ongoing. For sure, we will uncover the full story of what happened,' he said.

As of Thursday night the police were still questioning Angeline's adoptive-mother, Margriet Megawe, and her two daughters.

'We are now struggling to reveal more details, to find evidence. We need all the evidence to bring the case to court,' he said.

The police said Agus, the suspect, would be charged with violating Article 80 of the Child Protection Law, which carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison.

The body of Angeline, who was reportedly missing for 23 days and feared dead, was finally found on Wednesday, buried near a chicken coop in the backyard of her family's house.

The body had begun to decay when the police found it covered in a white cloth along with a doll, an adult's black T-shirt and a small pair of blue jeans.

An autopsy conducted by a forensics team revealed that Angeline had been dead for about three weeks. The team also found indications of injuries on the girl's body.