British Media Highlights, The Sun-Mirror On Matthew Harper In Bali Who Was Allegedly Murdered Is Denied With This Evidence

Denpasar Police Chief Kombes Jansen Avitus Panjaitan at a press conference on the case of a British foreigner committing suicide in Bali/PHOTO: DAFI-VOI

DENPASAR - The mystery of the death of Matthew Harper in Denpasar, Bali has been revealed. Allegations that Matthew Harper - who once worked as a chef at the Karma Kandara Hotel - was killed because he had stab wounds on his body, was denied.

The Head of Denpasar Police, Commissioner Jansen Avitus Panjaitan, confirmed that Matthew Harper committed suicide, not murder. The basis for this police belief is based on the autopsy results.

"That's why we dismissed the evidence earlier. The evidence was from the Forensic Lab, then the autopsy results and CCTV analysis were the same as the witness statements. So it's undeniable that all of them are not true (murders) and that's just an issue," said Jansen at the Denpasar Police Headquarters, Bali, Wednesday, January 19.

Highlights of the death of Matthew Harper appeared in the British media. The mirror in the initial news reported that Matthew Harper was allegedly murdered by his girlfriend. Meanwhile, The Sun, the mainstream media in England, wrote the narrative that Matthew Harper was stabbed to death. (Read more about the events prior to Matthew Harper's suicide here)

“British Man Murdered Indonesian Girlfriend Bali”, as the initial headline was written by The Sun.

But the autopsy results show different facts. Dr. Ida Bagus Putu Alit, a forensic expert witness at the Sanglah Central General Hospital (RSUP), Denpasar, revealed this.

On autopsy examination, found wounds and stab wounds with a width of 3 cm with a length of 15 cm wound channel. The wound on the chest right in the front midline and on the lower right abdomen has two sharp angles. While the lower left abdomen has one acute angle and one obtuse angle.

Furthermore, from the description of the wound, it can be explained that the weapon that caused the wound on the body was a single-edged weapon or knife with a maximum width of 3 cm and a minimum length of 15 cm.

Stab wounds to the right in the mid-front line and in the lower right abdomen, the weapon is swung when it stabs the body in the lower right abdomen in a vertically stabbed pattern.

Then, judging from the pattern and description of the violence of sharp weapons, the wounds are located on parts of the body that can be reached and there are vital organs in those parts.

Injuries to the neck are cuts that are not too deep on the left and right sides of the neck. In addition, the victim's clothing that covered the sharp violent wound was not torn.

So from these facts, it can be explained that the injuries - as stated by the police - were carried out by the victim himself, namely a stab wound to the right abdomen, cutting off the right main intestinal artery which resulted in bleeding.

Meanwhile, the amount of blood buried in the victim's abdominal cavity was 950 ml. This amount of blood can cause death because it exceeds one-third of the blood flowing in the body.

As for the time of death of the victim based on changes after death in the form of bruises still missing on the emphasis and stiffness of the corpse, it can be estimated that the time of death was 8 to 12 hours before the external examination, i.e. 01.25 a.m. to 05.25 a.m. local time on January 13, 2022.

"The reason for the death of the victim by suicide is based on the location of the wound on the part of the body that was reached by the victim.

The picture of the wound is in the form of a slash that shows doubt (murder, ed), the clothes that cover the stab wound do not tear," said Denpasar Police Chief.

Meanwhile, the cause of the bruises was a blunt force, which can be estimated from the color of the injury 1 to 3 days before death.

The stab wound cut off a large artery so that the bleeding was profuse. Death can occur in just a few minutes so the victim's condition cannot be helped.

"The cause of the victim's death was a stab wound to the lower right abdomen that hit a large blood vessel or artery, which was carried out by the victim himself," said Commissioner Jansen.

In addition, evidence found at the scene was a single-edged kitchen knife 15 centimeters long, vodka alcohol, CCTV footage, video footage of the victim's girlfriend's cellphone, and anti-depressant drugs.