Harnoko Dewantoro, better known by his nickname “Oki,” was born on November 3, 1964, into a well-off and prominent Indonesian family. Raised in privilege, Dewantoro had access to opportunities many in his home country could only dream of. In the late 1980s, he relocated to the United States with his girlfriend on student visas. The pair initially settled in Kansas, where Dewantoro enrolled in school. After completing his studies, he briefly lived in Pennsylvania before moving west to Los Angeles, California.

His lifestyle in Los Angeles reflected the ambitions of many international students turned entrepreneurs. Dewantoro began operating a dry-cleaning business and lived in affluent or suburban areas, including North Hills, Northridge, Westwood, and Lake Forest. For all appearances, Dewantoro was adjusting well to American life. However, his business dealings began to sour, and his personal life showed signs of unraveling.

The murder spree he would eventually undertake shocked two nations — Indonesia and the United States. What made Dewantoro’s case especially rare was that he would be tried and sentenced not by the U.S. justice system where his crimes occurred, but in his native Indonesia. 

The first known victim of Harnoko Dewantoro was 40-year-old Indian businessman Suresh Gobid Mirchandini. In January 1991, Dewantoro sold his dry-cleaning business to Mirchandini for $100,000. However, seven months later, Mirchandini abandoned the business and allegedly failed to pay the remainder of the amount owed. Dewantoro, enraged over the financial fallout, decided to exact revenge. In August 1991, he lured Mirchandini into his car for a drive through Los Angeles. During the drive, Dewantoro fatally shot him. He then transported the body to a rented property he owned in Northridge and buried it in the backyard.

By 1992, Dewantoro's relationship with his wealthy girlfriend had deteriorated. Around the same time, he began targeting Gina Sutar Aswan, a 28-year-old Indonesian student and acquaintance. He persuaded her to invest $200,000 in his business and convinced her to relocate to Los Angeles. After returning from a trip to Paris, Aswan had a change of heart and refused the investment. On November 3, 1992 — his birthday — Dewantoro lured her to a rental home in Brentwood, where he bludgeoned her to death. He then gruesomely mutilated her body, cutting off her hands, nose, and heart.

Roughly a month later, Dewantoro turned on his own family. His next victim was his 26-year-old brother, Eri Triharto Dharmawan. He killed Eri in a similar manner — bludgeoning him to death — this time in an apartment in West Los Angeles.

To avoid suspicion and conceal the crimes, Dewantoro initially buried the victims' bodies at separate locations. However, fearing discovery, he later exhumed the corpses and moved them to a Sherman Oaks storage facility. Eventually, he relocated them again — this time using a hand truck — to a U-Haul storage unit in Northridge.

Shortly after the third murder, Dewantoro fled to Jakarta, Indonesia. He continued to make rent payments on the U.S. storage units using his own funds and money from his mother. He misled his mother, telling her that the storage space was being used by his brother Eri, who was already dead.

On August 10, 1994, the gruesome truth was discovered when the decomposing remains of the three victims were found in the U-Haul storage unit. Detective Ted Ball traced checks linked to the rental back to Dewantoro and his mother. One of the checks even bore Dewantoro’s fingerprints. These discoveries were forwarded to the Indonesian police.

Acting on the information, Indonesian authorities arrested Dewantoro in January 1995 in Jakarta. During interrogation, he confessed to the murders of Aswan and his brother Eri but denied responsibility for Mirchandini’s death, blaming it on his deceased brother. The authorities rejected his claims and charged him with all three murders.

Despite the murders being committed on U.S. soil, Dewantoro was tried in Indonesia due to his nationality and the absence of an extradition treaty. In a rare move, Los Angeles detectives and 14 additional witnesses flew to Jakarta to testify. During the trial, police presented chilling evidence, including photos of decomposed corpses and murder weapons.

In 1997, Dewantoro was convicted of all three murders and sentenced to death by Judge G. K. Sukarata. He was incarcerated at Cipinang Penitentiary Institution, awaiting execution. Over the years, Dewantoro submitted two clemency petitions, both of which were rejected due to the severity of his crimes.

Still, prosecutors noted Dewantoro had shown good behavior in prison. He avoided riots and disturbances and taught English to other inmates. Some argued that as the last surviving member of his family — his brother and parents having passed — clemency could be a form of mercy.

On November 20, 2019, after serving nearly 25 years in prison, Dewantoro was granted conditional parole by President Joko Widodo. His release ignited controversy in both countries, though Indonesian officials claimed his time served and rehabilitation justified the decision.

A side note in this saga occurred in November 2011, when 17-year-old Raafi Aga Winasya Benyamin was fatally stabbed in a Jakarta café. Indonesian journalist Linda Djalil alleged that Raafi was Dewantoro’s son. However, Dewantoro’s former lawyers denied this claim, stating they were only aware that he had a daughter.