Police in the Indonesian province of Lampung on Friday detained Wagiran, a 35-year-old laborer, who is the main suspect in the case of a 15-year-old girl who was raped and murdered in September.
The victim, identified by her initials RA, was buried after the killing but police were able to locate her body.
Based on their investigation and an interrogation of Wagiran, police say the suspect picked RA up on his motorcycle on the evening of September 30 from her uncle’s house, where she was living at the time. He initially promised RA a job at a store nearby.
Instead of taking her to the store, Wagiran took her for a drive around sugar cane plantations. During their trip, Wagiran professed his love to RA three times but she turned him down.
“She declined Wagiran with various answers, such as ‘I already have a handsome boyfriend’ and ‘You’re ugly and you have dark skin’,” North Lampung Police Criminal Investigation Unit head Donny Kristian Baralangi said, as quoted by Viva.
Donny added that as soon as Wagiran and RA arrived at the plantation, he grabbed her from behind and slammed her to the ground. She kept on resisting, and then Wagiran choked her until she was unconscious.
Wagiran then proceeded to rape RA and choked her again until she died. He buried her body on the plantation, stole her cellphone and hid some of her other belongings in a well.
Soon after, RA was declared missing, and her family reported the case to the police on December 5. Wagiran was arrested on Friday and named the sole suspect in RA’s murder.
Wagiran is currently under investigation and could face multiple charges, including first-degree murder, theft, and sexual violence against a child. He could potentially face the death penalty.
In 2016, after the brutal gang rape and murder of a teenage girl in Bengkulu, President Joko Widodo signed a Perppu (Presidential Regulation In Lieu of Law) introducing the death penalty and chemical castration for convicted child molesters. Activists say that the threat of severe punishment has not been as successful a deterrent as the government hoped, as sexual assault against children continue to be a serious problem in Indonesia.
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