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Central Java mother arrested on suspicion of killing son
The police exhumed the grave to confirm the boy’s cause of death.
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After the burial, local residents discussed possible causes of the boy's death as they had noticed bruises all over his body. (Shutterstock/File)
T
he police have arrested Siti Wakidah, 30, for allegedly killing her son, identified only as 6-year-old F, in Boyolali, East Java, after the boy's body was exhumed and signs of abuse were found.
“The police exhumed the grave to confirm the cause of death. Local residents who took care of the body initially found signs of abuse, such as bruises all over the body,” Boyolali Police criminal investigation unit chief First Insp. Mulyanto said on Wednesday.
The boy was found dead at his home in Tanduk village, Ampel, on July 11. One of the neighbors, Subroto, 45, said the boy’s mother came to his house in a panic and said her son was dead.
He said Siti did not elaborate on her son’s cause of death. At the time, the boy’s father, Iwan Sri Widadi, 45, was away for work.
“At the time Mbak Siti said that her son fell. Local residents took care of the body. After the boy’s father came home from work, we buried the body in Semarang,” Subroto said.
He said after burying the body, locals discussed the possible cause of F's death as they had noticed bruises all over the body. Local residents were also suspicious because the boy’s mother had answered vaguely when asked how her son had died.
Local residents then reported the case to the police.
Boyolali Police chief Sr. Adj. Comr. Kusumo Wahyu Bintoro said Siti had confessed that she had often abused her son, from yelling, pinching and punching to banging the boy’s head against a cupboard.
“The autopsy showed that the victim’s cause of death was bleeding and trauma to the head. We are questioning both parents. At this stage, the mother is the only suspect,” Kusumo said. (ami)
