Locals in Blitar, East Java, made a gruesome discovery on Wednesday — the remains of a man who had been decapitated and shoved inside a black suitcase that was thrown under a bridge.
The victim was identified as 28-year-old Budi Hartanto, a dance teacher from the nearby city of Kediri. Police have yet to locate his head nor identified any suspects.
Based on the evidence collected and testimony from 14 witnesses interviewed so far, the police are leaning towards Budi’s death being a crime of passion.
“We’re not going into theft or any economic factors [to explain this alleged murder]. We are going into matters related to romance,” East Java Police Spokesperson Frans Barung Mangera told reporters today as quoted by Viva, despite previous reports that the victim was last seen carrying a lot of cash and that his motorcycle has gone missing.
Frans added that some witnesses have testified that Budi’s sexual orientation was “outside the norm”, a claim he said was supported by forensic analysis of his remains. Frans says the police may already have leads pointing to a possible suspect — a man who is believed to have been romantically involved with Budi.
The police also noted that there were several stab wounds around Budi’s body, supporting the theory that he was murdered.
Budi was buried by his family without his head on Wednesday evening, soon after the police carried out an autopsy on the body.
