Slamet Tohari was born around 1977 in Indonesia. Little is publicly documented about his early life, family background, or education. By his early forties, he was involved in fraudulent activities, leading to a prison sentence in 2019 for producing counterfeit currency. After serving his time, Tohari returned to criminal behavior almost immediately, moving into elaborate scams designed to exploit the trust and desperation of others.

He posed as a shaman, claiming to possess supernatural powers that could multiply a person’s money. To maintain the illusion, he used counterfeit banknotes as “proof” of his abilities, convincing victims that his rituals had worked. The scheme targeted individuals willing to hand over substantial sums in the hope of financial gain. Tohari’s fraudulent lifestyle was funded by the money he extracted from these victims, which he spent on luxuries such as cars, jewelry, and karaoke entertainment.

While fraud was his primary occupation, his crimes escalated sharply when victims began confronting him to demand their money back. To silence them, he turned to lethal violence.

Tohari’s murder spree took place over a period of roughly three years, from 2020 until his arrest in 2023. His method was consistent and calculated: when a victim pressed him for repayment, he would offer them a drink laced with potassium cyanide, ensuring a swift and fatal result. He then buried the bodies near his home in Banjarnegara, Central Java, often alongside the very water bottles used to deliver the poison.

The last known murder occurred on 24 March 2023, when a man named Prasetyo visited Tohari to demand his money back. Before going, Prasetyo sent a WhatsApp message to his children, instructing them to bring police to Tohari’s home if he did not return. When Prasetyo failed to come home, his family reported him missing three days later.

Police visited Tohari’s property and discovered Prasetyo’s freshly buried body nearby. A deeper search uncovered 11 additional bodies, all buried within a 20-square-meter area behind his home. Victims ranged in age from 25 to 50 years old. Each grave contained the victim and the poisoned water bottle used in their killing.

Tohari admitted to police that he had buried “dozens” of victims, though only 12 murders have been officially confirmed. Investigators also arrested an accomplice who managed online advertisements for his scams, but Tohari claimed sole responsibility for the killings.

On 26 September 2023, he was formally indicted. His trial concluded on 12 January 2024, when the court sentenced him to death. In delivering the sentence, one judge described his crimes as “extraordinary” in their cruelty and their impact on the social order of the community. Tohari remains on death row in Indonesia, awaiting execution.