After more than a decade in Kerobokan Class IIA Penitentiary, a foreign national from the United States with the initials TS was released from prison early.
He was previously sentenced to 18 years’ imprisonment for the murder of his girlfriend’s mother in Nusa Dua, Bali.
TS was released and left Kerobokan Penitentiary on Tuesday, the 17th of February, at 12 PM local time. The Head of the Education and Training Section at Kerobokan Penitentiary, Moretska Victor Noya, confirmed TS’s release.
“That’s right, today [Tuesday] TS is free,” Noya confirmed.
After being declared free, TS was immediately handed over to immigration authorities in accordance with procedures. There was no involvement of foreign authorities in the pick-up process.
“Earlier, only immigration picked him up, and he was released at 12 noon,” Noya continued.
The case involving TS began in August 2014. SW, 62, was found dead in a suitcase in the boot of a taxi in the parking area of a five-star resort in Nusa Dua. The discovery of the body in the suitcase immediately shocked the public at the time, both nationally and internationally.
The taxi driver, with the initials KW, a key witness in the case, became suspicious after seeing blood stains on the suitcase carried by TS and a fellow United States citizen with the initials HM, the latter being SW’s daughter and TS’s girlfriend. When the suitcase was opened, SW’s body was found wrapped in a hotel bedsheet and folded tightly. Due to the victim’s gruesome state, the murder case immediately attracted national and international attention.
An autopsy later revealed that the victim had suffered serious injuries to her head, face, and hands — indicating a struggle before her death. The day after the body was discovered, HM and TS were arrested at a hotel approximately 10 kilometres from the scene.
On the 21st of April 2015, the Denpasar District Court sentenced TS to 18 years’ imprisonment, while HM, then 19 years old, was sentenced to 10 years for accessory to murder. During his sentence, TS reportedly participated in several prisoner development and rehabilitation programmes, while also receiving several remissions. HM was released first in 2021 and was subsequently deported to the United States.