A woman in Surabaya allegedly murdered her own child before going on a trip with her husband in arguably one of the most disturbing cases of infanticide in Indonesia in recent memory.
Police said on Tuesday, June 21, 25-year-old ES slammed her 5-month-old son repeatedly in a fit of anger after the baby wouldn’t stop crying. It’s believed that the child died from cranial injuries soon after.
On Thursday at around 2am, ES took her baby’s body to her mother, EBS, in Wonocolo, Surabaya.
“At the time, the baby’s hands and feet were cold,” EBS told reporters.
ES told EBS that she was going on a company trip to Yogyakarta and that she would take care of the body upon her return. ES’ husband and their firstborn, aged one, were also going on the trip.
“I told her, “How could you? Look at your child.’ But I was scared [to tell anybody] because [ES] said she would kill me if I did,” EBS said.
EBS eventually couldn’t take it anymore and told her neighbors about the dead infant on Saturday. Police arrested ES that same day.
Police said ES may face up to 15 years in prison for infanticide, pending additional charges. The investigation has so far revealed that her husband, who is often away for work, was not present at the time of the murder and had no knowledge of the crime during the Yogyakarta trip.
In her official confession, ES said she would often take out her anger on the baby after she had a fight with her husband. The baby was also reportedly malnourished and suffered stunted growth.
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