Christopher Melky Tanujaya: killed by a robber ... or something else?

The tragic news offers a mystery: Christopher Melky Tanujaya--the silver medal winner at the 2009 National Science Olympiad--was stabbed to his death and yet, none of his belongings were stolen (according to his uncle Rudi Tanujaya--also mentioned by Jakarta Post that Christopher's cell phone was also in place!).

Another article by Jakarta Globe has stated that police dismissed robbery as the motive because his wallet was still on him along with all his money and identification.

However just one hour ago, it's reported by Jakarta Post that a jobless man was caught as he allegedly killed Christopher and also snatched his Blackberry.

So, which is the truth? Is it a plain, straight-forward bloody robbery? (Perhaps Christopher had two handphones? One is the one mentioned as 'cell phone was in place' and another is the allegedly missing Blackberry?!)

Or is it something else more sinister like what the victim's uncle Rudi Tanujaya suggested? What is the motive behind the murder, really?

Christopher Melky Tanujaya, 16, should have left for Australia on Wednesday, where he would have decided whether to study at the University of Sydney or the University of Queensland.

But the silver medal winner at the 2009 National Science Olympiad never had the chance to make that decision. His life was cut short by an assailant who stabbed him near a Transjakarta bus shelter in Penjari-ngan, North Jakarta.

Christopher was traveling home from a get-together held by fellow scholarship grantees in Singapore on Monday when the attack happened.

Soon after graduating from junior high in Pluit, North Jakarta, Christopher received a scholarship to continue his high school education at Saint Joseph’s School in Singapore on the merit of his academic records.

He won a silver medal for math at the olympiad in 2009 and likely had a bright future in academia.

Christopher’s mother, Norma Susilowati, 50, said she could not understand why anyone would have wanted to kill her son, saying that he had no enemies.

The boy’s uncle, Rudi Tanujaya, suspected that somebody might have cooked up a plot to kill Christopher out of vengeance.

“The motive could have been payback because none of his belongings were stolen. We found his cell phone and everything was still in place,” Rudi said as quoted by kompas.com.

Police in North Jakarta said that they had yet to find any clues that could reveal the motive behind the murder.

North Jakarta Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Irwan Anwar said that investigators were now scouring through footage from closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras installed near the crime scene.

Irwan also said that investigators had questioned several witnesses from the crime scene and established a description of Christopher’s assailant.

“Some witnesses said that once the victim arrived at the busway station, near state elementary school SDN 01 Pagi Pluit, the suspect stabbed him. They said that the assailant had wavy hair,” Irwan said.

Christopher is the latest example of a city youth perishing on Jakarta’s streets.

In August, Livia Pavita Soelistio, a student at the Bina Nusantara (Binus) University, was found dead in Cisauk after she was raped and killed.

Livia went missing after she left her home for the campus in West Jakarta on Aug. 16. The police have arrested four suspects in the case.

In March, Amanda Dewi Setiawan, a resident of Taman Kebon Jeruk, West Jakarta, and a student at IPEKA International Christian High School, died on her birthday after residents found her unconscious with stab wounds to her stomach on the side of a road in Taman Meruya Ilir, West Jakarta.

From Jakarta Post, "Brilliant young talent stabbed to death on Jakarta street".

Jakarta Police have begun to unravel the murder of an academically gifted 17-year-old student earlier this week, an officer said on Thursday.

Witnesses have provided clues on the identity of the man who stabbed high school Science Olympiad winner Christopher Melky Tanujaya to death on Monday, Jakarta Police general crimes division director Sr. Comr. Gatot Edy Pramono said.

“It’s still unconfirmed, but hopefully we can solve the case very soon,” Gatot said. “If that’s the man, we thank God.”

The suspected killer was 165 centimeters tall with curly hair and was wearing a sweater at the time of the murder, the officer said.

“We are having a sketch done, but it will be used in the investigation, not for publication,” he said.

Gatot declined to say whether the alleged murderer was a similar age to the victim or if the two knew each other.

“We’ll talk about it later. We are still searching for the man,” he said, adding that police were still analyzing footage from a security camera installed near the crime scene.

Christopher was stabbed outside a primary school in Pluit, North Jakarta, where he was visiting his family on holiday.

According to police, a passerby heard Christopher calling for help at around 7 p.m. He was taken to Atma Jaya Hospital in Pluit but died soon after.

He had sustained stab wounds to the left and right sides of his neck and to his back and chest.

Police dismissed robbery as the motive because his wallet was still on him along with all his money and identification.

According to the Ministry of Education and Culture, Christopher was the winner of the 2009 National Science Olympiad, where he represented Ipeka Pluit Junior High School in Kota, Jakarta.

He was a student at Saint Joseph’s Institution in Singapore, where he had been awarded a scholarship.

The victim’s father, Stefanus Hans Tanujaya, told the Jakarta Globe on Wednesday that the death was a huge blow to the family, especially because Christopher wasn’t the kind of person to get into a confrontation.

“He was a good kid, he liked to hang out with his friends and he never got into trouble,” he said.

“I never saw him argue with his friends. In fact, he had a lot of friends. He liked to socialize, to play sports. He was just a very down-to-earth person.”

All the family wants now, Stefanus said, is for the killer to be caught so they can know why their son is dead.

“I hope the police can solve this case soon and catch the killer, because we need to know their motive for murdering our son in such a sadistic way,” he said.

“We don’t ask for anything else, because even if the killer is sentenced to death, that won’t bring Christopher back.”

The family is holding a wake for Christopher at Atma Jaya Hospital and plans to bury him today.

From Jakarta Globe, "Clues Point to Killer of  Science Whizkid Christopher: Police".

Police have arrested a jobless man who, they allege, robbed and stabbed Math Olympiad winner Christopher Melky Tanujaya, 16, in Pluit, North Jakarta.

North Jakarta police chief Snr.Comr.Andap Bhudy said that Abdul Jalil,24, was arrested on Thursday night at his home in Pluit, kompas.com reported.

On the day of the incident, Abdul, a junior-high school dropout, woke at 10 a.m., watched a music program on TV and roamed around the area. Late in the afternoon, he allegedly prepared his knife and looked for a victim, according to Andap.

When he saw Christopher get off the Transjakarta bus, he followed him,snatched his Blackberry and stabbed him four times in the neck and shoulder, the police allege. He escaped by bicycle taxi.

Christopher, a student of Saint Joseph’s Institute in Singapore, died later in Atma Jaya hospital. He was on his way home after playing futsal when he was stabbed on Monday at around 5 p.m.

From Jakarta Post, "Jobless man arrested for stabbing Math Olympiad winner".