Bali police push for Connor murder charge

Bali police say they will press ahead with a murder charge against Australian mum Sara Connor, as they seek to extend her detention.

Australian national Sara Connor

Australian national Sara Connor Source: EPA

Bali police say they will continue to press for a murder charge against Australian woman Sara Connor, as they hand over the first stage of the case against her to prosecutors.

Denpasar district police detective chief Reinhard Habonaran Nainggolan said they would be seeking an extension to the detention of Connor and her British boyfriend David Taylor, which will enable them to hold the pair in police cells for a further 40 days.

This will give prosecutors time to look over the first stage dossier - which was handed to them on Monday.

The "second stage" involves prosecutors accepting the brief and then Ms Connor and Mr Taylor being handed over, along with evidence.

Det Nainggolan said police were pushing for the pair, who have been named suspects in the death of local police officer Wayan Sudarsa, to be charged with murder, assault causing death and manslaughter.

This is despite Ms Connor denying during last week's re-enactment and earlier interrogations that she did not hit Mr Sudarsa and only sought to separate the pair during the late-night confrontation at Kuta beach almost three weeks ago.

"The evidence has been strong," he told reporters.

"Even though there is some defence, we still have faith that both suspects (committed it).

"It will be tested in court. Evidence on Sara's hand and thigh is clear, the bite mark is quite deep that the victim (had caused).

"Normally, it wouldn't have (existed) if there was no resistance from the victim."

He said they hope to hand over the pair as early as Tuesday but Chief of General Crime at the District Attorney Office, Ketut Maha Agung labelled that time frame "impossible".

"Even in an ordinary burglary case, it needs (a detention) extension. Especially now when it is a homicide case," he told reporters.

More time was needed, he said, adding that next week could be "possible" for the matter to be fully handed over to prosecutors.

Usually in Indonesia a trial follows within a month of the full case being handed over to prosecutors.


Share

2 min read

Published

Source: AAP



Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world