28-Year-Old Dismembers And Cooks Parts Of Transgender Girlfriend Before Killing Himself
A grisly murder-suicide in the upscale Brisbane neighborhood of Teneriffe has shocked residents of the Queensland city.
By Sadho Ram — 07 Oct 2014, 06:27 PM — Updated about 10 years ago
Australian chef Marcus Volke is believed to have killed his girlfriend before cooking her body parts, according to reports
An Australian chef killed his Indonesian girlfriend in their apartment and cooked several parts of her dismembered body on the kitchen stove, police say. Neighbours said they heard rows at the flat Marcus Volke, 28, shared with 27-year-old Mayang Prasetyo – then told of an “eye-watering” smell like rotting meat several days later.
A workman called to the flat to check it out squelched across carpets he believes were soaked with blood. When detectives eventually forced their way in, they found parts of Indonesian Mayang’s body boiling on the stove.
dailyrecord.co.ukThe 28-year-old, who was caught by police boiling several parts of Mayang Prasetyo's body in chemicals, fled and then used a knife to kill himself in an industrial bin near his Ballarat apartment
Crews start the long clean up at a grizzly murder in Teneriffe where a dismembered body was found pic.twitter.com/4ElXLWn5nz
— Tom Snowdon (@TWSnowdon) October 6, 2014
The gruesome scene unfolded on Saturday night when police responded to complaints about "rotting meat" smell from Volke's neighbors in the complex. There they found Volke -- who immediately ran away-- and Prasetyo's other bodily remains in garbage bags.
Police have yet to formally identify either Prasetyo or Volke
"Post mortems are being conducted at present and results won't be released for a couple days, only after that time will they officially identify the deceased," a QPS communications officer told CNN.
cnn.comWhile police have yet to confirm details, on Monday officers were photographed taking large containers used for chemical waste out of the Brisbane apartment
Local residents said the smell in the building began on Thursday. Teagan Downey told reporters: “About lunchtime [on Saturday], it got so bad in the foyer, it was so strong it would make your eyes water. That’s when the on-site manager alerted police. It was a really distinct smell.” After allegedly fleeing the scene on Saturday, Volke was found dead nearby from a “self-inflicted throat wound”.
On Sunday, his mother, Dorothy, said she had spoken to her son only a week before and he had seemed fine. She said:
He’d been on a ship, going from one country to another. They [Volke and his girlfriend] hadn’t been in Brisbane for very long, only a few months. They were starting to get settled. I don’t know what was going on — we hadn’t seen him for a year and a half. It still doesn’t feel real. He was one of these kids that would do anything for you – he had a feel for nature.
cnn.comFriends have been paying tribute to Prasetyo on her Facebook page since the news broke, describing her as an "amazing soul" and a "happy, cheerful person"
Prasetyo, a transgender cabaret dancer, met Volke on board a cruise ship that they both were working on. Australian media reported that she was working as a "high class prostitute" and using her earnings to fund the education of family members in Indonesia.
cnn.comMeanwhile, police couldn't confirm how long Prasetyo had been dead before they found Volke. Her remains will be repatriated to her family home in southern Sumatra for burial, an Indonesian foreign affairs official confirmed on Tuesday.
An Indonesian foreign affairs official said on Tuesday the government was making arrangements for Ms Prasetyo's body to be returned home and buried near her home in Lampung.
Director of Indonesian Citizens' Protection and Law, Tatang Budie Utama Razak, is quoted by news portal Tribunnews saying his department was trying to organise the repatriation. He said he had been in contact with the family and "they wish for the remains to come back to be buried at home".
Staff at the foreign affairs department would be sent to Lampung to verify documents of her citizenship, because she also has a passport issued in Bali, he said. "Our team is working because his address stated in passport is in Denpasar but his Indonesian Identity Card says it's in Lampung," Tatang Razak said. Ms Prasetyo's Facebook profile lists her home city as the Balinese capital, Denpasar.