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A man from North Sumatra, Indonesia, is on trial for allegedly murdering his wife and mutilating and boiling her body.

According to Detik, the public prosecutor is seeking a sentence of life imprisonment for 43-year-old Harapan Munthe.

3-year-old child witnessed the alleged murder

The alleged murder occurred on Nov. 11, 2022 at the couple's house in North Sumatra, reported Tribun News Medan.

Harapan was in the room with their 3-year-old adopted child, while his wife, Nurmaya Situmorang, was cooking in the kitchen.

Nurmaya then brought the cooked food to the room for the defendant and their toddler to eat.

While eating, Harapan supposedly was reminded of his wife's "harsh treatment", involving harsh words. Nurmaya supposedly swore at Harapan, calling him "shit".

Harapan then allegedly stood up and put his arms around her neck. While holding the victim, Harapan allegedly took a 30cm dagger and stabbed his wife on the right side of the neck, causing her to fall to the floor.

Nurmaya reportedly tried to stand up, but was kicked by Harapan. When she stopped moving, Harapan covered the victim's body with a blanket.

After the alleged murder, Harapan tried to calm their crying child who witnessed the murder. He moved the child to another room before taking his next steps.

Allegedly mutilated the body

Harapan allegedly returned and dragged her body to the living room. He then went to the bathroom to clean off the blood on his hands before cleaning up the trails of blood on the floor with a mop.

At around 6:30pm, Harapan allegedly dragged Nurmaya's body back to the kitchen. He took a knife and stabbed the body twice in the chest to make sure that his wife was dead.

At around 7pm, Harapan allegedly decapitated the body and put the severed head in a sack. The defendant took a blanket and a sarong from the living room to cover the victim's body. He then went inside the room and slept with his child.

Around 11pm, the defendant woke up and headed to the kitchen. He took a sharp object and is alleged to have cut the victim's right wrist, right forearm, and right upper arm.

Harapan put the victim's right wrist into a pot, washed it, and cooked it.

Tasted it

At around half an hour past midnight the next day, Harapan allegedly continued cutting up his wife's body parts.

Harapan then allegedly added salt to the pot which contained his wife's body parts. Reportedly, he took a sip of the boiled water to taste it.

He then took a nap. Around 5:00am, Harapan woke up, returned to the kitchen, and allegedly heated up the pot containing his wife's body. The remains were then wrapped up and placed into a sack.

The defendant allegedly took the sack to a field which was about 50 meters behind his house and proceeded to burn the sack containing the victim's body.

Reported to the police

At about 7:30am, Harapan bumped into his nephew Hari Jumadi Munthe, reported Tribun News Jatim.

Harapan told Hari that he had killed his wife, shocking his nephew.

Hari rushed home and reported the matter to his father, Marnangko Munthe.

Upon receiving the news, Marnangko rushed to the defendant's house and saw his younger brother burning a sack behind the house.

Upon closer inspection, Marnangko saw the victim's legs protruding from the sack. When asked, Harapan nonchalantly said he had just killed his own wife.

Marnangko then reported his younger brother to the police.

The arrest

Not long after the report, police officers arrived at Harapan's house and arrested him.

Police found Nurmaya's mutilated body parts in three different locations -- the kitchen, behind the house, and the sack.

Humbahas police chief Achmad Muhaimin said the victim's head, hands, and feet had been separated from the body.

"We found pieces of hands that had been boiled in a pot," Muhaimin said, as quoted by Tribun News Jatim.

Harapan and Nurmaya's 3-year-old child who witnessed the murder was immediately given assistance by the police and the Humbahas regency government.

History of mental disorder

Further investigation revealed that Harapan had a history of mental disorders, though specifics about his conditions were not reported.

Marnangko said that his younger brother previously had stabbed a masseuse who was giving him a massage, reported Detik.

Harapan was deemed mentally unstable and received treatment in a mental hospital in 2004.

Prior to the incident, Nurmaya told her family that her husband's mental disorders appeared to have returned. Marnangko advised that all sharp objects be hidden from sight.

"But no one expected that something like this would happen. My brother killed his wife," Marnangko said.

Demanded life imprisonment

Harapan's trial was held last Thursday (May 11), Detik reported.

Public prosecutor in charge of Harapan's case believed he had been proven guilty and demanded for the defendant be sentenced to life imprisonment.

"I declare that the defendant Harapan Munthe has been legally and convincingly proven guilty of committing a crime intentionally and with prior planning to take the lives of other people, as in Article 340 of the Criminal Code on the public prosecutor's primary indictment," the prosecutor said, as quoted by Detik.

If found guilty, Harapan faces a death sentence or life imprisonment.

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Top image via @DomuDAmbarita/Twitter.