Tinder date murders have happened frequently in the past. And this is what exactly happened in Indonesia for the first time.
A couple was arrested in the capital Jakarta for murdering and mutilating a man into eleven parts for the sake of money. The couple then hid the body parts they dismembered at another apartment, before attempting to bury them.
The couple, 26-year-old Djumadil Al Fajri and his girlfriend 27-year-old Laeli Atik Supriyatin, were allegedly tempted by the 32-year-old Rinaldi Harley Wismanu's wealth that became their motive for the gruesome murder.
The perpetrators decided to target Rinaldi after discovering that he was financially well-off. Before his death, Rinaldi was a HRD manager at a Japanese contracting company Jaya Obayashi.
The police was alerted after Rinaldi's family filed a missing person report on September 12th, or three days after the murder.
During the re-enactment, Laeli demonstrated herself acting as a decoy on the dating app Tinder.
The woman started knowing Rinaldi for about a year. Because the acquaintance grew warmer, the two had exchanged phone numbers and chatted numerous times. One day, they agreed to meet at Kopi Kenangan coffee shop in Juanda Station in Central Jakarta.
Laeli seems to trick Rinaldi with her social engineering skills to know more about him.
"Laeli and the victim communicated on September 5. They later planned to meet at an apartment in Pasar Baru, Central Jakarta. The suspect had rented the place from September 7 to September 12," Jakarta Police Chief Inspector General Nana Sudjana said at a press conference.
Rinaldi and Laeli decided to meet on September 9, the day the murder happened.
When the two were having sexual intercourse in the apartment the murderers rented, and at the time when Rinaldi was off guard, Fajri who had been hiding inside the bathroom all this time, suddenly barged out and hit Rinaldi on the head with a brick three times.
Because Rinaldi managed to put up a fight, Fajri stabbed Rinaldi with a pair of scissors seven times to kill him.
After the gruesome murder, the couple didn't know what to do with the body.
Leaving Rinaldi there wasn't an option. And taking the body down the apartment would certainly cause suspicion among other residents.
While thinking what to do with Rinaldi, the couple moved the body to the bathroom, and started cleaning the crime scene. They went out to purchase a new bed sheet and white paint to remove the bloodstain off the scene, and also a machete and a saw to mutilate Rinaldi's deceased body.
Upon returning, the killer couple mutilated Rinaldi, dismembering his body into eleven parts.
During the re-enactment of the case held by the Jakarta Metropolitan Police, the murderers wrapped Rinaldi's mutilated body in plastic bags, and then placed them inside two suitcases and a backpack.
They later booked a ride-share vehicle and went to Kalibata City Apartment, on the 16th floor of the Ebony Tower, at Pancoran, South Jakarta.
The body of the man was found on September 16, 2020 at around 19.00 PM local time.
"There are 13 crime scenes," said Jakarta Police spokesman Chief Commissioner Yusri Yunus told reporters.
The police are also digging deeper into the mutilation case to look out for other potential victims.
"We worry that it is not just one victim, but there are others. The victim is chopped off into eleven parts. This is inhumane, this is very cruel," Nana said.
According to Nana, Laeli knew about Rinaldi's passcode to his bank account before the murder.
The sadistic couple was suspected to be in a financial crisis. Following the murder, the couple spent up to Rp 97 million ($6,577) on precious gold, two laptops, a watch, and a motorbike.
The police managed to track the suspect by tracking down Rinaldi's bank account transaction history.
Fajri was shot on the leg for attempting to escape, the police said, while Laeli was cooperative during her arrest.
According to one of Laeli's college friends, Laeli was known as a socially-active student, and also academically intelligent. Having graduated from the University of Indonesia’s Faculty of Math and Science, none of her friends knew that Laeli would end up being a sadistic killer.
“She was just fine on campus. She was logical and very critical, apart from being pretty bright,” said one of her friends to news agency Tempo. “And to think she could do something like that, Damn! That’s just crazy.”
The couple is charged under premeditated murder article of the Criminal Code which carries death sentence.
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