Wife admits ordering killing of Briton in Bali: police

DENPASAR, Indonesia – The wife of a British man found with his throat slashed and dumped in a ditch in Bali has admitted ordering the killing, police said Wednesday, October 22.

Robert Ellis, 60, who was also an Australian passport holder, was killed on instructions from his Indonesian wife, they said, with money or revenge being considered as motives

Residents found the decomposing body of Ellis, who had lived on Bali for several years, early Tuesday dumped next to a paddy field, wrapped up in plastic and blankets.

The wife, Julaikah Noor Ellis, went to the police to report her husband missing soon after the body was found, but she was later detained and named a suspect in the case.

“Our suspicion towards the wife of the victim was first aroused when some of the victim’s friends said there have been problems between the couple for a while,” detective Wisnu Wardana said.

“After talking to her slowly and kindly for a while, she finally admitted it.”

She was in the house at the time of the killing but told police that she was in her room when it took place, he said.

Badung Police chief Komang Suartana told News.com.au that the wife “wife felt embittered with the victim”.

“Because of many things. She said that her husband is often cheating on her. We allege that she paid the executioners to kill her husband,” he was quoted as saying.

The boyfriend of a housemaid had carried out the killing, police said. The maid had admitted it took place in Ellis’s kitchen between Sunday evening and Monday morning, they said.

The wife, two maids and the boyfriend were in police custody, while 4 friends of the alleged murderer suspected of involvement were being pursued by police.

Ellis had been living in a villa in Sanur, and his body was found in a village to the north of the tourist area, far from any houses.

He was originally from Britain but had been living in Australia for a long time before moving to Bali, and was a dual national.

The news comes after the body of an American tourist was found stuffed in a suitcaseoutside a hotel on the island in August.

The victim’s daughter and her daughter’s boyfriend were arrested over the killing. – with a report from Agence France-Presse/Rappler.com