Verry Henyansyah

Case overview

Verry Idham Henyansyah, also known as “Ryan,” was an Indonesian convicted serial killer. He was sentenced to death by an Indonesian court. He was awaiting execution at Kesambi Penitentiary in Cirebon. He was arrested in 2008.

Verry confessed to killing 11 people. The murders included the killing and dismemberment of Hery Santoso, and the later discovery of additional bodies buried in the backyard of his home in Jombang Regency in East Java.

Verry was openly homosexual and said that most of his victims were also homosexual men.

Timeline

• 2008 — The mutilated body of Hery Santoso was found on a Jakarta roadside; Ryan was later arrested.
• November 27, 2008 — Ryan went on trial in Depok for the first of 11 murders he was accused of committing since 2006.
• July 11 — Prosecutors alleged Ryan prepared weapons before inviting Heri to his rented house in the Margonda area of Depok.
• February 2009 — Verry released an autobiography titled The Untold Story of Ryan.
• April 6, 2009 — Verry was sentenced to death.
• April 22, 2009 — Coverage described him as sentenced to death.
• September 2010 — Eny Wijaya was released from Pondok Bambu Penitentiary around this time.
• October 2010 — Verry announced he planned to marry Eny Wijaya.

The offence

Murder of Hery Santoso

Hery Santoso’s body was found at the side of a road in Jakarta. His body was cut up into seven pieces and skewered with a crowbar.

Verry stabbed and bludgeoned Santoso to death, and cut Santoso’s body into seven pieces. Verry placed the seven pieces inside a suitcase and a plastic travel bag and dumped the items alongside a Jakarta road.

Verry admitted killing Santoso after Santoso offered him money and a car to have sex with Verry’s boyfriend.

Verry said he was furious and jealous. He stated: “I was furious and jealous. I only realised he was dead after I saw cut-up pieces of his flesh on my lap… the blood, the bad smell.” He also said: “Suddenly I was gripped with extraordinary fear. All I wanted to do was to get rid of him,” and that jealousy or unwanted romantic overtures of others, together with offers of money or reward, drove him to kill.

Additional confessed murders

An additional 10 bodies, including that of a mother and her three-year-old child, were found buried in Ryan’s parents’ backyard in East Java after his arrest for Santoso’s murder.

Verry said he killed one young woman after she attempted to seduce him, then killed her young daughter because she was a witness.

Verry said: “Most of (the victims) were gay men like me. They made me feel cheap. I got angry, we fought and I accidentally killed them,” and: “Not all gay men are promiscuous. Love is very important to me. It makes me furious when people say there's no such thing as loyalty in the gay world.”

Victims mentioned in Verry’s autobiography

In his autobiography, Verry wrote about killings involving Zaky and Aksony, stating:

“Zaky and Aksony [two of the victims] did not only strike me with hurtful words, but their hands groped my vital [sex] organ so that I would date them. I hated their acts. Especially when my homosexuality was used as a reason for them to satiate their lust,” he wrote.

Verry also wrote about four victims, three men and a woman, who came to his house and attempted to seduce him into having sex with them, leading to their deaths.

Verry wrote about difficulty remembering his crimes, stating:

“If you ask me why I had the heart to kill those five, I cannot explain it with certainty because I really cannot remember all of it clearly.”

He described the last murder as the killing of Heri Santoso at Ryan’s apartment in Depok, West Java Province. He wrote:

“After regaining consciousness, apparently the red color that I saw was a pool of blood and the pieces of meat around me were pieces of a human body,” he wrote.

Investigation

Police discovered Hery Santoso’s body, and the discovery led police to Ryan’s 10 other alleged victims whose severed bodies were buried in the garden of his parents’ home in Jombang.

Verry allegedly killed most of his victims by hitting them with a crowbar.

Arrest

Verry was arrested in 2008.

Trial

Charges and allegations

Ryan went on trial in Depok on November 27, 2008 for the first of 11 murders he stood accused of committing since 2006.

He was charged with the murder of a man whose mutilated body was found in Jakarta in July.

Prosecutor Budi Hartono Panjaitan said during the trial in the District Court of Depok that the crime was punishable by death.

The indictment, read by four members of the prosecuting team, alleged that Ryan’s murder was premeditated because Ryan prepared the weapons prior to inviting Heri to his rented house in the Margonda area of Depok on July 11.

Prosecutor Budi said: “Ryan was ready with a knife and a 51-centimeter long metal bar before the victim arrived at the house,” and also: “Also, there was Ryan’s sudden need to meet Heri after not being in contact with him for some time.”

Ryan was described as wearing a white embroidered Muslim shirt, a skull cap and a green scarf. He said he understood the charges and would make a written response. He was seen wiping away tears from his eyes several times during the opening hearing.

Ryan’s lawyers said he would face separate charges for the murders of the victims found in Jombang.

Prosecutors said that after killing Heri and cutting his body into seven pieces, Ryan stole possessions including a car, credit and ATM cards, a cellular phone and a laptop.

Ryan’s defense team was headed by Kasman Sangaji. Kasman said they were surprised by the prosecution’s allegations that Heri’s murder was premeditated, stating: “That’s a fatal error. The prosecutors have made this allegation based on assumptions and public opinion,” and Kasman told reporters after the hearing that: “However, Kasman did not object to other allegations made by the prosecution as Ryan had already confessed to murdering Heri.”

Swidya, head of the panel of judges, adjourned the hearing until next week to give Ryan’s lawyers time to prepare their defense.

Statements in court and prosecution position

Just before entering the courtroom, Verry sang “Please Understand, Beloved” for the benefit of reporters and announced he was ready for any sentence as he hugged his parents.

Prosecutors demanded the death sentence for Santoso’s murder and dismemberment. Prosecutor Budi Hartawan Panjaitan argued: “His crime was sadistic and merciless,” adding: “He was fully aware and not hallucinating when he committed the murder and is not remorseful…there was some fear after each killing, but when nobody would find out he would do it again and again…he is not a psychopath. He knew what he was doing and knew the consequences. He wanted Hery Santoso to die and he planned for it…he cut the body into seven parts, stuffed them into a suitcase and a plastic travel bag and threw them away.”

Judge’s remarks and sentencing

The chief judge said at trial for killing Santoso: “His acts were sadistic and inhuman and caused deep sadness to the victims' families and anxiety in the community,” and: “His acts show he does not value life, which is given by God.”

Verry appeared calm as the sentence was read, and said afterward that “everyone has to die, and I'm ready.”

After the sentence, he smiled at reporters as he was led out of the courtroom.

Sentencing

Verry was sentenced to death on April 6, 2009 for the murder of Hery Santoso.

Appeals

An appeal of the sentence was anticipated. It was not clear whether he would be tried on the other murders he had purportedly confessed to.

Outcome

Verry was awaiting execution at Kesambi Penitentiary in Cirebon.

Aftermath

Autobiography and album

In February 2009, Verry released an autobiography titled The Untold Story of Ryan.

In his autobiography, he indicated he had been formerly a Koran recital teacher and later became a male model.

He wrote the autobiography while in prison. The autobiography invited readers into his childhood and included details including a map of the backyard of the family home in rural East Java, which he drew himself. The map showed graves of 10 of his alleged victims marked with letters corresponding with their names in the margin.

Verry wrote that he killed some victims in a rage, and he wrote that he fought verbally and physically with some victims. He stated: “After narrating the first five murders, he wrote: “If you ask me why I had the heart to kill those five, I cannot explain it with certainty because I really cannot remember all of it clearly.””

Verry released an album recorded in prison titled My Last Performance, described as consisting of 12 pop songs. The album included a song titled “Please Understand, Beloved,” written for Verry’s boyfriend.

Another song mentioned was “Forgive Me Mother” for his mother. Verry also stated that “Sun” was about lovers missing each other because they were separated until they die.

Verry told AFP that remorse for his crimes was the motivating force behind the album and that he recorded it in prison.

He was described as entertaining court officers, fellow inmates and media audience in his jail cell by singing a song from his upcoming album, and as being visited by teenage girls who wanted their photo taken with him in his holding cell.

Verry was also described as being openly homosexual and as being a Muslim openly, dressing in black pants, a long white robe and a black Muslim skullcap.

Relationship announcement

In October 2010, Verry announced he planned to marry a female convicted drug dealer, Eny Wijaya, whom he had met in 2008 when they were both detained at the Jakarta Police Narcotics Detention Center.

Eny Wijaya had been released from Pondok Bambu Penitentiary around September 2010.

Verry cited a reason for marrying her despite him being homosexual, to fulfill his mother’s wish that he be married to a woman.

Other details

People and roles

• Verry Idham Henyansyah — defendant; convicted serial killer; author of an autobiography and an album.
• “Ryan” — name by which he was known nationwide.
• Hery Santoso — victim whose body was found in Jakarta and whose murder was tried first.
• Prosecutor Budi Hartawan Panjaitan — argued for the death sentence.
• Prosecutor Budi Hartono Panjaitan — prosecutor who said the crime was punishable by death and was named during trial proceedings.
• Kasman Sangaji — head of Ryan’s defense team.
• Swidya — head of the panel of judges.
• Eny Wijaya — female convicted drug dealer Verry said he planned to marry.
• Verry’s parents — referenced in relation to the burial of additional bodies in the backyard of the family home.

Quoted statements by family

Verry’s father said: “He is insane, so he should not be sentenced to death,” and: “I'd never gone near him. I'd been slapped before.”

Prosecution quote about premeditation

Prosecutor Budi said: “Ryan was ready with a knife and a 51-centimeter long metal bar before the victim arrived at the house,” and: “Also, there was Ryan’s sudden need to meet Heri after not being in contact with him for some time.”