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Husband commits suicide after killing his wife in C. Java
The police are not looking to press charges after finding evidence the suspected perpetrator had committed suicide.
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A husband and wife were found dead at their home in Boyolali, Central Java, on Thursday in a suspected murder-suicide motivated by family issues. (Shutterstock/File)
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husband and wife were found dead at their home in Boyolali, Central Java, on Thursday in a suspected murder-suicide motivated by family issues.
Police believe Adek Hariyono, 47, killed his wife Muntamah before committing suicide.
The bodies were discovered by the wife’s older brother, Margono, 50, around 10 a.m. when he entered the house, which he owns, to turn off the lights.
Margono was shocked and ran out of the house shouting for help after finding Adek hanging in the living room. Several other residents arrived to check inside the house.
The neighbors were even more shocked after finding Muntamah dead in her bedroom. They subsequently contacted the police.
Adek and Muntamah had two children, 8 and 3 years old, who are currently living with their grandfather.
The police found a letter written by Adek at the scene. In the letter, Adek wrote "I hate divorce" and that he wanted to be buried in the Gatak Public Cemetery.
Police suspect that Adek murdered his wife by straggling her with a plastic strap. Afterwards, Adek hanged himself. Police suspect the motive was tied to family issues.
“We are not looking to press charges because the suspected perpetrator is dead. We have found evidence that Adek killed his wife before hanging himself,” chief of the Boyolali Police AKBP Kusumo Wahyu Bintoro said on Friday.
Among the evidence, Kusumo added, were wounds on Muntamah's neck. The strap used to strangle Muntamah is thought to be the same strap Adek used to hang himself.
Muntamah’s brother Margono confirmed the couple were experiencing problems, but he did not want to explain further.
According to the victim's neighbor, Basuki, Muntamah once told his wife that she often fought with Adek over financial issues.
“It is normal for there to be fights within a family over financial problems. I am shocked it ended like this," he said.
Basuki said Muntamah had filed for divorce after their arguments became more frequent. During the divorce process, Muntamah was living with her two children. During the incident, her eldest child was in school, while the youngest child was in the care of the grandfather.
“Muntamah usually picked up her two children and took them home after working at the local market. Adek sometimes came to my house two or three times a week, and would say he did not want to divorce his wife,” Basuki said. (das)
