Man Kills Girlfriend, Himself Because Her Parents Disapproved Marriage

A man fatally shot his girlfriend for refusing to marry him before killing himself at a hotel in Sumatra, Indonesia, on Monday.

The bodies of Hasyim Prasetya, 33, and Devi Setiani, 22, were discovered by a hotel staff when he went to the room to remind them about the check-out time. Investigation revealed that it was a case of murder-suicide. Prasetya shot his girlfriend at the back of her head before fatally shooting himself, local daily Sinarharian reported.

Though it was initially reported that “failure to engage in sexual act” was the motive behind the murder, WhatsApp messages exchanged between the two revealed Prasetya committed the crime because he was heartbroken about Setiani getting married to someone else. The two wanted to get engaged, however, the girl’s parents weren’t giving approval and pressurized her to get married to another person.

"The Hasyim victim, who was allegedly hurt, later invited Devi to stay at the hotel on Sunday afternoon. There is a possibility that Hasyim had planned to kill Devi's life and then commit suicide," Asahan police chief, Faisal Napitupulu, said, the Tribune news reported.

He added the investigation was now closed.

"There is no other party involved in this murder case. This murder case has been completed. But we will continue to coordinate with the North Sumatra Regional Police Lab for Team to investigate the possession of firearms," he said.

In a similar incident in December 2018, an Australian court sentenced a man to life imprisonment for stabbing his girlfriend. Senthill Kumar Arumugam stabbed Meena Narayanan, who he had met via an arranged marriage website, 32 times at a hotel in 2014. While Narayanan was a student in an Australian university, Arumugam worked as an engineer in South Africa. He came down to meet her when she refused to marry him.

After killing his girlfriend, Arumugam stabbed himself and informed the staff at the hotel reception that he was bleeding and that his girlfriend was dead. When police reached the room, he told them they had attempted a suicide pact after "she had asked him to help her die."