Death comes to all the living. It marks the end of life.
While death is inevitable, the question is not why it happens, but how, when, and where. Almost no one can predict their own death, and nearly everyone hopes for a peaceful passing.
This was not something Vina Dewi Arsita experienced.
She died because she was murdered, after being allegedly gang-raped.
It took the police a long time to solve the case—until a horror movie, inspired by Vina’s tragic story, was made.
It all began on August 27, 2016, when Vina Dewi Arsita was riding a motorcycle with her boyfriend, Muhamad Rizky Rudiana.
They never returned home.
Their bodies were later found lying on the Kepongpongan flyover in Talun, Cirebon Regency.
Initially, the Talun Police classified the case as a single-vehicle traffic accident. However, after further investigation, the Cirebon City Police reclassified it as a case of murder and rape, with members of a motorcycle gang as the alleged perpetrators.
And among others, the investigators said that semen was found on Vina.
The breakthrough came when the police discovered that one of the motorcycle gang members, named Pegi, had once been romantically involved with Vina.
Vina, who was 16 years old at the time, had rejected Pegi’s advances.
This angered Pegi.
His frustration grew when he learned that Vina had a new boyfriend, and he became even more infuriated upon realizing that she planned to marry Muhamad Rizky Rudiana, who happened to be a close friend of his.
Fueled by jealousy, Pegi plotted revenge against Vina and her new boyfriend.
Late one night, Rizky—also known as Eky—asked Vina to join him for a midnight ride on his motorcycle.
As they rode around Cirebon, they crossed paths with Pegi and his motorcycle gang.
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Realizing that Pegi had sinister intentions, Eky and Vina fled the scene as quickly as they could. However, their panicked and reckless riding, combined with being pelted with stones, caused Eky to lose control of the motorcycle.
As Eky attempted to regain control, he was kicked by Pegi’s friends, resulting in both Eky and Vina being thrown off the motorcycle.
Helpless and on the ground in the middle of the night, on a flyover where their cries went unheard, Eky and Vina were severely beaten and sustained serious injuries.
Initially, the police stated that Eky and Vina had died as a result of a traffic accident, crashing into a utility pole and sidewalk on the flyover.
However, investigators soon noted something unusual.
First, the location of the incident didn't appear like a crash site
And second, the severity of Vina's injuries didn't appear like they were caused by just crashing onto something.
The investigators then found someone who claimed to see the incident first hand.
The person, the owner of a satay vendor who happened to be nearby, witnessed the incident, and helped by informing the police of the gang's hideout.
After conducting a series of intensive investigations, the police arrested eight out of the alleged 11 suspects.
Pegi, or also called Perong, the was arrested in Bandung.
At the time, they were proven guilty.
During interrogations, one of the suspects revealed details about the crime, and evidence of online chats showing plans to ambush Vina and Eky.
The police found this in one of the confiscated phones.
However, the police never really solved the case, as some of the alleged killers remained at wild.
Then, the case had an increased in interest, after a recording emerged, purportedly of Vina’s spirit possessing her friend Linda and recounting the chronology of the murder.
Although the recording of this kind could not be used as legal evidence, it was believed to provide clues for the investigation.
But it was after the release of the film Vina: Sebelum 7 Hari (English: 'Vina: Before Seven Days'), which depicted the chronology of the case, that the general public renewed their demand for further investigation into the unresolved aspects of the case.
The film, produced by Dheeraj Kalwani and directed by Anggy Umbara, resurfaced the case, and reignited interest in this cold case that had been unresolved.
Susno Duadji, former Head of the National Police's Criminal Investigation Agency from 2008 to 2009, noted that the film played a crucial role in bringing the case back into the spotlight.
"After 8 years, with some suspects still at large and others convicted and imprisoned, the film has renewed public interest and scrutiny," he remarked.
The film’s viral impact also led to a significant movement on social media advocating for the resolution of the case.
This movement includes various analyses and assumptions from netizens, who have even identified suspects and shared their findings online.
While some social media channels focus on mysticism, presenting spirit summons or similar content related to the case, others that include serious investigative channels, such as those run by former Purwakarta Regent and Member of the House of Representatives Commission VI (2019-2023), have conducted thorough searches and investigations on their YouTube channels.
It's worth noting that the public began to realize that something was wrong at first, when Pegi Setiawan was arrested.
Inconsistencies arose.
When he was arrested, the police announced it on social media. The public did not believe the arrest was genuine, due to discrepancies in facial features between recent photos of Pegi and older ones of him.
Pegi, the alleged perpetrator, had previously worn large earrings, called ear gauges, but the arrested individual did not have any signs of having ever worn the smallest of earrings.
Days later, the police held a press conference regarding the arrest of a suspect in the murder of Vina and Eky, stating that there were a total of nine suspects in this case.
And that Pegi was the only remaining fugitive.
Following list, the police eventually removed two other wanted fugitives from their list, after previously saying that they were 11 perpetrators.
The police 'apologized,' and further emphasized their commitment to fully resolving the case and assured the public that they would handle it professionally.
Subsequently, eight years later, the eight defendants who were convicted for eight years: Jaya, Supriyanto, Eka Sandi, Hadi Saputra, Eko Ramadhani, Sudirman, Rivaldi Aditya Wardana, and Saka Tatal, were released.
This led the public to urge the police to release the people that have been sentenced.
The first signs of this issue came from Saka, one of the convicts who was released after serving eight years.
He claimed that he had been wrongfully arrested and coerced into confessing.
Additional revelations came from witness who later retracted his testimony, claiming it had been manipulated to align with other witness statements. The witness stated that his original testimony had been altered during the investigation, and he had been pressured to corroborate the false narrative.
Gradually, it was also revealed that there might have been mishandling or procedural violations.
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Chief of Police's Expert Staff, Inspector General Aryanto Sutadi, said that this case should be a simple case.
The thing is, things become diluted as more information came in from irrelevant sources.
He added that in criminal cases, investigators should submit evidence to be corrected by the prosecutor. If the evidence is not complete, the prosecutor can ask for it to be completed. And if the evidence is not asked, then the case should go to court, and before the trial, the judge must examine whatever the investigators found, and whether it fits to the testimonies of the witnesses.
And unfortunately in 2016, the judge decided that the 8 suspects were appropriate or proven to have committed the act as alleged, he said.
"Then the film appeared, so there were assumptions that were wild that were different [...] . Coupled with social media noise with assumptions that were continuously developed," he said.
In 2024, after the film's release and the subsequent renewed interest, the public finally accused the 2016 court of being a heretical court, the investigators were criticized by experts, their examination and the validity of the evidence were also questioned not using scientific crime investigations, not using CCTV and so on.
The public came to wonder, why the police didn't use scientific investigations, and that the judges proceeded with the trials.
The chaotic event eventually drew the attention of Indonesia's President Joko Widodo, who instructed that it be re-examined and thoroughly investigated.
In response to the President's directive, the National Police Chief took action.
Additionally, the West Java Police have opened a dedicated hotline for anyone with information about the murder case to report and submit complaints.
Vina: Sebelum 7 Hari was released on May 8, 2024, and immediately garnered hundreds of thousands of viewers in its first day, placing it in the top five highest-grossing Indonesian films on opening day, surpassing KKN di Desa Penari.
The film ended its theatrical run after 41 days, finishing with a total of 5.8 million viewers, making it the second highest-grossing Indonesian film of 2024.
Despite its success and how it was praised for helping resurface the case, the film's release was also met with controversies.
The film is criticized due to the fact that Vina was 16 years old when she died, and the film depicted both murder and rape.
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