Urbanus allegedly slit Robert Ellis’ throat in Sanur, Bali

 
THESE are two of the five men who police allege slit the throat of Australian businessman Robert Ellis in Bali.
The pair was arrested after a dramatic chase involving poison arrows, machetes and guns in their native home of Sumba, an island east of Bali.
One of them, known as Urbanus, is alleged to have wielded the knife which ended Mr Ellis’ life and that he then used his share of the money he was paid for the murder to buy a motorbike.


The men were on Wednesday still being held at Sumba, pending transfer to Bali to face interrogation over their alleged role in the killing of 60-year-old Mr Ellis inside the home he shared with his wife Noor of 25 years.
Noor Ellis too has been arrested and is accused of paying the men to kill her husband, an allegation which she denies.
The two arrests on Sumba were made on Tuesday and the men, who were both shot in the leg as they fled police, were yesterday held at the local police station, rudimentary bandages around their legs.
They were photographed shirtless and unsmiling in the lock up.

News Corp Australia sources say that one of the men, a 23-year-old known as Urbanus, is alleged to have been the one who wielded the knife which ended Mr Ellis’ life and it is understood that both men have confessed involvement in the grisly crime. The other, a 22-year-old known as Yohannes, is alleged to have held Mr Ellis down for the murder, along with others.
Police claimed that the men used poisoned arrows and machetes as they attempted to escape during a two-hour chase in the darkness of a Sumba forest.

The arrests bring to six the number of suspects now arrested and in custody over the killing of Mr Ellis, whose throat was slashed in the kitchen of his Sanur villa and his body, wrapped in plastic, dumped in a ride paddy ditch.
His Indonesian wife, Noor Ellis, is accused of paying the killers, including the two new arrests, a total of $A14,200 to have her husband of 25 years killed. She denies the claim and says that she only asked for the men to give him a stern talking to but with no injuries after claims of marital discord and issues over money.

News Corp Australia understands that Urbanus was paid a total of 13.5 million Rupiah or $A1300 and that he used the money to buy a new motorbike. Yohannes claims to have been paid 17.5 million Rupiah or $A1700.
Mr Ellis was killed on October 19. The men are understood to have fled Bali for Sumba on October 22.
Bali police spokesman Hery Wiyanto said the two men were hiding out the home of a friend in a village in southwest Sumba. Police went to the home at 3am Tuesday morning but before they could grab the men, they escaped into the forest.
A two-hour manhunt ended when both men, who had been shot in the leg by police, were caught.
Another man, 23-year-old Adrianus Ngongo, has already been arrested. He is the boyfriend of one of the Ellis’ housemaids. Both the housemaids are also under arrest, accused of helping to keep the couple’s dog quiet during the murder and cleaning up afterwards.
Police allege they, along with the killers and Noor Ellis, were all present when the body was dumped about 25km away from their villa.
The Ellis’ two sons, Peter and John, who live in Perth, visited Bali last week and held an emotional meeting with their mother at the villa. They then went onto New Zealand, along with their father’s body, for a funeral.
The family at the time paid tribute to a “loving and devoted father, grandfather, brother, son and husband” and vowed to seek justice.

Devastated ... John Ellis is comforted as he visits his mother Noor, who is accused of killing his father Robert, at Bali Police headquarters in Denpasar. 

Mr Ellis, a well-known and respected businessman, ran a successful telecommunications business in Jakarta and Mrs Ellis had a dive business in Bali as well as property interests.