Wedding sacrifice
How could an act so evil have been driven by love?
The STORY
The clear blue waters and unspoilt sandy beaches make the Indonesian island of Bali a perfect holiday destination.
For 34-year-old Heidi Murphy, though, it was home.
A free-spirit, Heidi had spent her early life in Australia before travelling the world.
She’d visited more than 20 countries, making friends at every stop, before choosing the beachfront community in north Kuta, Bali, as her base.
Heidi spent her days making clothing and jewellery.
The laid-back lifestyle was perfect for a woman described by a friend as ‘a happy, loving person...never judgmental. She would take anyone in with open arms.’
Heidi lived in a two-bed villa which she’d spent hours transforming, painting gold stripes on the walls, making it her sanctuary. A place of peace and harmony. But, tragically, it was there that Heidi would meet a violent end.
On 10 February 2008, Heidi declined to go to a party, and instead stayed at home to work.
It was a decision that cost her life.
Because the next day, a close friend arrived at the villa and made a grim discovery.
Heidi had been killed.
Her body was naked and wrapped in a blanket.
She’d been brutally stabbed at least 16 times. It was a shocking crime. As the police began their investigations, it was hard to believe that a woman like Heidi would have any enemies.
Then, after a two-week hunt, officers arrested a man named Ahmad Fahrul Rosi.
The labourer didn’t deny the crime and led police to the spot where he had dumped the deadly weapon – a kitchen knife – and his bloody T-shirt.
But even more shocking was the reason Rosi had killed Heidi.
The young woman lost her life in a botched robbery – to help pay for her killer’s wedding.
The laptop Rosi had taken from Heidi’s home had been sold for the equivalent of £170, which had, in turn, been used by Rosi to buy an engagement ring for himself and his fiancee.
And it was while Rosi and his fiancee were on their way to get the two gold rings engraved that Rosi had been arrested.
‘His plan was theft, but he murdered because he was caught red-handed by the victim, who was startled and had a chance to scream out. He spontaneously stabbed her,’ said the local police superintendent.
Three weeks after Heidi’s death, the killing was re-enacted by the Indonesian police, a common method used to investigate crimes in the region.
Rosi himself carried a cardboard mock-up of the deadly weapon, while a policewoman played Heidi.
During the re-enactment, it emerged that Rosi washed the knife in the bathroom, then jumped into Heidi’s swimming pool to wash her blood off himself.
Rosi said he was ‘scared’ of returning to the scene of his crime and said that he feels haunted by Heidi.
In July 2008, Ahmad Fahrul Rosi, 23, appeared at Denpasar District Court, accused of brutally killing Heidi Murphy.
He broke down in tears as the prosecutor demanded he serve life in jail.
In August, Rosi was back in court again for sentencing and begged for forgiveness.
‘I would like to apologise to both parents and family of Heidi Murphy for what I have done which caused her death,’ he said.
‘My intention was only to steal because I was pushed by economic
This was her sanctuary, a place of peace and harmony
needs and the result of that burglary was meant to buy a ring and to fund my marriage.
‘I didn’t have any intention to do this.’
He also apologised to his own parents for causing ‘deep pain’.
Rosi said that he’d been watching several properties in the beachside area, with the intention of using a rope to climb in and steal valuables, and that he’d only attacked Heidi because she’d woken up when he’d tried to take her laptop.
He admitted stealing two mobiles, the laptop and cash, and said that he needed the money to pay for his wedding, because his ageing farmer parents couldn’t afford to.
In September 2008, a panel of three judges found Rosi not guilty of intentional killing, but found him guilty of a secondary charge of robbery with violence, resulting in death.
‘The defendant unintentionally committed murder against the victim,’ the Chief Judge told the court.
‘The defendant went to the victim’s place to steal. During the burglary, the victim woke up, the defendant panicked and stabbed the victim.’
Rosi was sentenced to serve the maximum possible term of 15 years in prison.
The Murphy family’s lawyer said they were not satisfied with the verdict.
‘This was savage. We do not respect this sentence. He must be punished for all of his life,’ she said.
In November 2008, the High Court increased Rosi’s jail term from 15 to 20 years, after an appeal found that he should have been convicted of intentional killing.
Heidi’s ashes have been scattered in her mother’s garden, back in Australia.
More than 300 friends and family from around the world gathered to say goodbye, and fire dancers, face painters and violinists performed at the memorial service.
A fitting tribute to Heidi, the free spirit who’d travelled the globe, touching so many lives.
he admitted stealing two mobiles, the laptop and cash