A task force including Denpasar and Bali Police has been established to investigate the gruesome stabbing deaths of an elderly Japanese couple in Jimbaran on Monday, Sept. 4.
The couple, identified as 76-year-old Matsuba Nurio and his 73-year-old wife Matsuba Hiroko, were discovered by a family friend on Monday on the second floor of the house. The friend had been alerted to smoke coming from the home and found the couple suffering burns.
Initial investigations revealed the couple had severe burns to much of their bodies as well as extensive stab wounds.
“Both had burns on their back. About 50 to 60 percent of their bodies were burned,” Sanglah Forensics Head Dr. Dudut Rustyadi said Tuesday, Sept. 5, as reported by Tribun Bali.
Denpasar Police Chief Commr. Hadi Prunomo confirmed investigations are continuing, with a forensics team scouring the crime scene.
Investigators are yet to classify the violent deaths homicide, insisting further evidence must be collected and autopsies completed before making the call.