Local News

Australian man feared “murdered” in his Bali home

Police are treating the death as suspicious and are investigating all possible leads, including murder.
Stephen James Richardson, Murder, Bali

The bloodied body of a Perth man has been found inside his home in Bali.

Stephen James Richardson, 63, was discovered on a mattress in his rented home in Sanur with wounds to his right arm, right cheek, and forehead.

Denpasar police chief, Hadi Purnomo, told News Corp a cause of death has not yet been identified.

“We alleged that this is a murder case but we are still investigating,” Mr Purnomo said.

“Our team has conducted an investigation at the crime scene. The police forensic laboratory has also checked the scene and we also deployed the K9 [dog squad] to investigate.”

“We are informed that the victim was living in Bali, he is a retiree. But we haven’t got information yet how long he has stayed there.”

A knife has also been collected as evidence, police say.

Mr Richardson was discovered late Monday by an Australian friend after he failed to attend a wedding anniversary party or reply to a series of phone calls.

Speaking to News Corp, Garry Croker described the moment he happened upon the grisly scene.

“It (the door) was open for the cat and I seen him lying there. I jumped back and got the owner to ring the police,” he said.

“I just looked through the door. I didn’t go inside. On Sunday night there was a party for a wedding anniversary and he was invited and he never turned up. He hadn’t answered the phone for a couple of days actually and we got worried.”

Mr Croker added that he was unsure what had happened to his friend or if he had any enemies. He also said that the man’s motorbike was missing from the property.

WATCH: The victim, a retiree from Perth, is feared murdered. Post continues…

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Mr Richardson’s son, Ben Richardson, 29, told the Daily Mail that his family believed he had suffered a heart attack until police sent through photos from the crime scene.

“I will not stop until I know what really happened because it’s very clear someone took him from us,” he told the publication.

“I am fuming, he didn’t even get to see us get married or have kids.”

He added: “One of my favourite things about dad was when he’d give me a hug and tell me its ok when something bad happened or hurt myself or was upset.”

More as we get it.

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