The grieving family of an Australian man killed in his Bali villa have slammed local police over the stalled investigation.
Stephen Richardson, 63, was found lying naked on a blood-soaked mattress in his rented home at the popular beachside town of Sanur by a friend in May.
Nearly eight months later, his family are still searching for answers and are frustrated with the lack of progress on the case.
The grieving family of an Australian man (pictured, in white) killed in his Bali villa have slammed police over the stalled investigation
Stephen Richardson, 63, was found lying naked on a blood-soaked mattress in his rented home at the popular beachside town of Sanur by a friend in May (pictured is the crime scene)
Mr Richardson’s son Aaron said the family is not receiving answers from either Indonesian or Australian authorities, The Sydney Morning Herald reported
‘There are just so many unanswered questions which we would be very grateful if they got answered,’ he said.
‘There just seems to be a complete lack of interest in the case … that has probably been the most difficult thing, just having no answers.’
Head of Denpasar District Police Colonel Hadi Purnomo said the case had not been closed, and investigators are still working on it.
‘We face difficulties because we lack witnesses and the limited evidence collected,’ he said.
Mr Richardson’s family said Australian authorities have been equally unhelpful, and they have received no replies to letters sent to Foreign Minister Julie Bishop’s office.
Nearly eight months later, his family are still searching for answers and are frustrated with the lack of progress on the case (Stephen is pictured with his partner Karen)
Mr Richardson (pictured) was found lying on a mattress in his rented home in Sanur with wounds to his arm, cheek and forehead
They have no been able to recover Mr Richardson’s savings, or his belongings, including his watch, wallet and passport.
Mr Richardson was found lying in a pool of blood with wounds to his right arm, right cheek, and forehead, but an autopsy revealed the cause of death was strangulation.
Bloody footprints at the scene appear to indicate that Mr Richardson moved from the bedroom to the bathroom to the living room during the attack, while a second set of smaller footprints discovered could belong to his attacker.
The discovery of the second set of footprints led local authorities to believe Mr Richardson was possibly the victim of ‘an act of violence’ at the hands of someone who close to him.
Police at the rented villa pictured scouring the scene as they continued to investigate the case
‘If they didn’t know the victim, he or she couldn’t get into the house,’ Mr Purnomo said.
There was no confirmation on whether the footprints belonged to a man or woman.
Initially police believed the 63-year-old may have died as a result of an accident while intoxicated.
‘There has been an assault that has caused the victim’s death,’ Mr Purnomo said during the initial investiation.
‘There’s also stabbing, blunt object [trauma] too. [But] the main [cause of death] is strangulation, which caused the victim to run out of breath and die.’
Police outside the rented villa of Australian man Stephen Richardson in Bali on May 9, 2017
There was no sign of robbery, with Mr Richardson’s passport, phone, money and jewellery left untouched at the villa.
The main gate had also been locked from the outside.
‘There are weird things [about the case]. The main gate was locked from the outside while the garage door was locked from the inside,’ police said.
When police arrived they said the house was locked and there was broken glass from a cabinet inside the villa.
Mr Richardson is believed to have moved to Bali around three months ago and was living alone at the villa
Mr Richardson is believed to have moved to Bali around three months ago and was living alone at the villa.
Friends had seen him on Saturday night drinking at a local bar and around 10 beer bottles were found at the scene.
Friend Garry Crocker, who found the body, scaled Mr Richardson’s fence after being unable to contact him for a number of days.
The worried mate borrowed a ladder from the house’s owner and jumped the fence on Jalan Danau Poso, only to be confronted with the horrific scene through the window.
Mr Croker gave police a statement while forensic officers and sniffer dogs searched the house and recovered his iPhone 5. His motorbike was also missing.
This is the rented house in Sanur, Bali, where Mr Richardson’s bloodied body was found