Police forensic examiners in Bali investigating the death of an Australian retiree found in his Sanur villa earlier this month, say that 63-year-old Stephen Richardson seems to have been killed by another man, based on new evidence.
DNA testing of blood collected at the crime scene show that blood coming from two different people both belonged to males, according to the head of Denpasar Police Forensic Laboratory, Koesnadi.
“This means that the perpetrator has been ascertained to be male,” he told AAP.
Koesnadi apparently didn’t want to say much else, since the evidence can be used to “capture the perpetrator.”
Police have interviewed twenty-seven witnesses, but there hasn’t been enough evidence to make an arrest, says head of Denpasar Police detective unit, Commissioner Aris Purwanto.
“We’re still studying all witnesses testimony to figure out facts in this case as well as looking for additional witness to bring light to this case,” he said on Tuesday, as quoted by AAP.
“Other evidence, especially from the forensic lab, is expected to help us reveal its suspect.”
Police believe that Richardson was strangled, probably by someone familiar to him. While Richardson had been both stabbed and hit by a blunt object, an autopsy revealed the man’s death was from strangulation.
“(But) the main (cause of death) is strangulation, which caused the victim to run out of breath and die,” Denpasar Police Chief Hadi Purnomo said.
The Australian was found dead in his rented Sanur villa on May 8, by his friend Garry Croker, who came to check on him after not being able to reach him for several days. Croker scaled the villa’s fence to find his friend’s bloodied body.
Richardson didn’t appear to have been robbed, since his passport, phone, and money were all found still in the villa.
Police initially weren’t sure if Richardson’s death was foul play, stating that the man could have been drunk and fallen on glass or had a health problem, since he had a history of heart disease.
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