Jakarta/Lombok (Indonesia).- The autopsy of the Spanish woman Matilde Muñoz, allegedly murdered on the Indonesian island of Lombok on July 2, reveals that the woman "died of
asphyxiation", which "strengthens the suspicion that she was a victim of violence", according to the report on the forensic examination released this Thursday by the Indonesian Police.
"The examination revealed signs of trauma to the head, neck and chest," says the statement from the West Lombok Police, in charge of the investigation and accessed by EFE.
Muñoz's body was found on August 30 on a beach in Senggigi, on the western side of the tourist island of Lombok, Indonesia, after his family and friends reported his disappearance in July.
The autopsy of the Spanish woman, who would have turned 73 this month, was performed on September 4th at the police hospital in Mataram, Lombok.
According to today's police statement, the findings of the forensic examination revealed that the asphyxiation that would have ended Muñoz's life was due to the "blunt trauma" he suffered in the upper part of his body, which "reinforces the suspicion that he died as a result of violence".
"The body was found face down, with clothes and jewelry, including two necklaces with pendants of a shell and a Buddha figure," adds the text, which indicates that the autopsy is crucial for the investigation.
Last month, Lombok Police arrested two men, an employee of the Bumi Aditya hotel where Muñoz was staying in the Senggigi area and a former employee of the same hotel, who claimed they confessed to killing the woman in her bungalow at the establishment on the morning of July 2nd.
Transfer of the corpse
According to the suspects' testimonies, previously shared by the Police and repeated in the statement this Thursday, Muñoz's body was first moved from his bungalow to the hotel's generator room, where it remained for four days.
Then he was moved to a back part of the hotel, without specifying how long; then, in August, he was taken to an empty lot outside the hotel; and finally, on August 24, "the remains of the victim were moved and buried on the beach".
The suspects are being held in a cell at the West Lombok police station.
Lombok Police said today that it "continues to complete the case file" so that "it can be delivered on time to the Prosecutor's Office and ensure a complete investigation" of what happened. It also underlines that the suspects "will be charged with premeditated murder" and "robbery with violence resulting in death".
Police investigation has specified that 3 million rupees (about $182) were stolen, the equivalent of the average monthly salary in the developing country.
Experienced traveler, Muñoz had arrived in Lombok in June, where she was accustomed to spending long periods for years, in that same hotel.
Despite the several displacements of the corpse, according to the police investigation, and the fact that the body initially spent a large part of the time in the hotel - a rudimentary establishment with bungalows half a kilometer from the beach where the body was found -, the investigation currently only considers two suspects.
Muñoz's family and friends have publicly insisted on their suspicions that there may be more people involved, specifically hotel employees.
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