The murder of an Australian retiree remains a mystery as Bali police seem to be stumped in their investigation.
Perth retiree Stephen Richardson, 63, was found dead in his Sanur villa rental 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 vila’s fence to spot his friend’s bloodied body through the window.
Forensics in Bali had said on May 10 that they found blood at the crime scene belonging to two different people, but that apparently later got retracted, after a lab in Jakarta found the samples belonged to just one person: Richardson.
Richardson died from strangulation, likely by someone familiar to him, police said on May 12. An autopsy revealed that Richardson had been both stabbed and hit by a blunt object, but it was strangulation that caused his death, Denpasar Police Chief Hadi Purnomo had said.
Police have been talking to witnesses, but now, over a month later, very little progress has been made, says head of Denpasar District Police Detective Unit, Commissioner Aris Purwanto.
“Up to now, we have questioned 35 witnesses. Several witnesses, we have also taken their fingerprints,” AAP quoted Purwanto as saying, in an article posted on June 13.
“But still, no-one saw what actually happened. And DNA tests are not helping because there’s only one blood (type) at the crime scene which is the victim’s blood.”
A cigarette butt found at the scene may offer some hints about the murder, says head of Denpasar Police Forensic Lab, Col. Koesnadi.
“We’re still waiting for DNA test result from cigarette butt. Hopefully, saliva in the cigarette butt would help. But this would take a little longer because of technical problems.”
There was also a footprint found at the villa not belonging to Richardson, but it hasn’t yet been analyzed, Koesnadi told AAP.
While Richardson doesn’t appear to be the victim of a robbery—his valuables like an iPhone and watch, along with Australian dollars and his passport were still there—police say there were “weird things”, like how the main gate to his villa was locked from the outside.
His phone, unfortunately, did not provide any new clues.
Richardson is understood to have moved to Bali about three months to ago, but has been coming to the island on and off for the past 10 years, says his son.
Reader Interactions