Sidoarjo Brother Killer Sentenced To Life In Prison

UNSPLASH ILLUSTRATION

SIDOARJO - The perpetrator of the murder of his brother and sister in Waru, Sidoarjo, Heru Erwanto, was sentenced to life in prison by the panel of judges at the Sidoarjo District Court, East Java.

"Imposing a life sentence," said Chief Justice Afandi Widarijanto while reading the verdict, quoted by Antara, Thursday, February 24.

In their consideration, the panel of judges considered the things that sent the defendant to be considered sadistic because they had killed two children's lives at once.

In addition to killing the victim, the defendant was also proven to have tried to possess a number of belongings belonging to the victim's family, ranging from cars to laptops. "There is no mitigating factor," he said.

The verdict against the defendant is the same as the demands made by the Public Prosecutor (JPU).

At the previous trial, Public Prosecutor Andik Susanto also demanded that the defendant be sentenced to life imprisonment.

Responding to the verdict from the panel of judges, the defendant chose not to comment much and together with his legal counsel expressed their thoughts.

Ngatmanto, parents of victims DR (20) and DA, (13) stated that they did not agree with the verdict. "It's less severe, I ask for the death penalty," he said.

Previously, in September 2021, the defendant had killed the brothers DR and DA, a resident of Waru Sidoarjo. They were found dead in the well of his house.

At that time, the police arrested Heru with multiple articles. Namely, Article 338 of the Criminal Code and or Article 365 paragraph 3 of the Criminal Code, and Article 351 of the Criminal Code. In addition, Heru was also charged with Article 80 paragraph 3 of Law Number 35 of 2014 concerning Child Protection.