Arthur Leigh Welohr from the United States, who killed his father-in-law Agus Sopiyan, was sentenced to 16 years in prison.
The verdict hearing was held at the Banjar District Court on May 7, 2024. Arthur was also sentenced to pay restitution of Rp 192 million.
It is known that Arthur killed Agus in 2023 in Randegan Hamlet, Banjar City, Indonesia. At the time of the verdict hearing, Arthur was accompanied by a lawyer and translator and was escorted by police personnel.
The judge’s 16-year sentence was two years lower than the public prosecutor’s demand of 18 years in prison.
The verdict was read out by Chief Judge Muhammad Adi Hendrawan, stating that the defendant, Arthur Leigh Welohr, had been proven legally and convincingly guilty of committing the crime of ‘premeditated murder’ as in the primary indictment of the public prosecutor.
Therefore, the defendant was sentenced to 16 years imprisonment. Punish the defendant to pay restitution to the witness Poniah Siti Rohmah Binti Dulah Ambari for IDR 192 million.
Suppose the defendant does not pay the restitution within 30 (thirty) days after the verdict is legally binding. In that case, the public prosecutor may confiscate the defendant’s property and auction it for the payment of the restitution, provided that if the defendant’s property is insufficient for the payment of the restitution, it shall be replaced by imprisonment for 6 (six) months.
The suspect, Arthur Leigh Welohr, admitted that the victim obstructed the family relationship between him and his wife. Feeling that he was not defended, he finally killed his in-law.
Based on police information, the incident began with a quarrel between the suspect and his wife due to family problems. The suspect, alias Arthur, came to the victim’s house looking for his wife. His wife was not there; only his in-laws were in the garden. He immediately stabbed the victim in the neck.
He already had a criminal record
However, a number of people questioned the figure of Arthur, who allegedly had a criminal record while still living in America but was able to escape to Indonesia.
As reported by detikJabar, KTVU news, a United States media, reported on August 24, 2015, that police arrested Arthur for attempted murder.
“Arthur Leigh Welohr was arrested on two counts of attempted murder. Welohr allegedly pulled out a sword and slashed the victims, both in their 50s. The male victim suffered injuries to the front of the head, hand, and shoulder. In contrast, the female victim suffered lacerations to both hands,” San Francisco police spokesman Albie Esparza was quoted in the news.
This information was later highlighted because Arthur Leigh Welohr’s criminal record was not detected when he entered Indonesia.
