Calls for punishment and a full investigation
In an October 28, 2026, press release, Hasbiallah said the killings and efforts to dispose of the victims' bodies warranted the harshest punishment. The victims were Dini Hardiyanti, 30, originally from Bogor, West Java, and her son, Arshaka Ghafa El Faezya, 4, whom police identified and earlier reports referred to as DH and AGF.
"This is not just an ordinary homicide case. Two lives have been lost, and there are indications of extreme cruelty, including efforts to eliminate the bodies of the victims," Hasbiallah said.
The National Awakening Party (PKB) lawmaker said prosecutors should account for the brutality as an aggravating factor. He argued that the punishment must uphold the right to life, match the gravity of the crimes and deliver justice for the victims' families.
Hasbiallah also asked police to establish the motive and sequence of events, investigate whether the killings were planned and determine from the evidence whether anyone else was involved. He urged residents and local authorities to be more alert to threats of domestic violence against women and children.
The sole suspect, Dwi Bagus Martono, 40, faces a charge under Article 340 of the Penal Code concerning premeditated murder. The available penalties are death, life imprisonment or a prison term of up to 20 years.
Relationship and missing-person report
Dwi, a resident of Winongo in Madiun City, was Dini's husband in an unregistered, or siri, marriage. According to Kompas.id, their relationship had lasted about three years. Dini had been married and divorced before, while Dwi remained legally married to a woman from an earlier marriage.
Police suspect that arguments over formalizing the siri marriage contributed to conflict between Dini and Dwi. That step would have required his legally registered wife's consent. Investigators said they were still examining the motive and collecting evidence.
According to police, Dini and Arshaka had been missing since September 20, 2026. Hotel surveillance footage showed them staying with Dwi in Madiun on September 19-20. Their family filed a missing-person report with Madiun City police on October 5.
Suara.com reported that Dwi went with the family to file the report and presented himself as concerned. His behavior initially helped convince the family and authorities that the mother and child had simply disappeared.
East Java police criminal investigation director Roy Hutton Marulamrata Sihombing said officers arrested Dwi in Madiun on Sunday night, October 25.
Police reenact events at three locations
On October 27, East Java police investigators conducted a preliminary reenactment at three sites in Madiun. Dwi, also identified by the initials DBM, acted out 48 scenes covering the alleged killings and attempts to conceal them.
Investigators identified Hotel Mataram Baru as the site of Dini's killing. They said Dwi killed his own child inside a car at his parents' home in Gang Tentrem on Jalan Doho, in Winongo, Manguharjo. The third location was Dwi's private residence, where he allegedly burned the bodies to conceal the crimes.
Suara.com's account of the police chronology placed the burning at a house at Jalan Kunir No. 13 in Madiun, where Dwi had moved the bodies. It reported that he subsequently ordered a grinding and shredding machine online from Gresik. The machine arrived in Madiun on September 23, 2026; the burned remains were then ground up and burned again.
Police are investigating the machine and indications that the ashes and body fragments were intended to be dumped in the Bengawan Solo River and possibly the sea.
Women's commission classifies the killings as femicide
Komnas Perempuan, the National Commission on Violence Against Women, classified the Madiun killings as femicide. It urged investigators to look for earlier threats, controlling behavior and violence, and to examine the extreme and sadistic treatment of the bodies rather than settle for jealousy or emotion as an explanation.
The commission also stressed that an unregistered marriage does not diminish a victim's or her family's rights to justice, protection and recovery. It said Dini's marital status must not become a basis for blaming or stigmatizing her.
Drawing on its own monitoring of 452 news reports about killings of women in 2025, Komnas Perempuan said it identified 239 femicide cases. About 61 percent were classified as intimate femicide, involving a partner or close family member as the perpetrator.
Other mutilation murder cases in East Java
Kompas.id reported that at least four mutilation murder cases had drawn public attention in East Java over the previous two years, placing the Madiun killings in a series of similar cases.
In September 2025, the Kediri District Court sentenced Rohmad Tri Hartanto to life imprisonment for murdering Uswatun Khasanah. Eko Fitrianto in Jombang and Alvi Maulana in Mojokerto also received life sentences.
