Screen time for kids is one of the parents’ main concerns. But while the amount of time kids spend on screens is important, the content that they are exposed to matters more. Such is the case of NF, an Indonesian teenager who was suspected of killing her 6-year-old neighbour due to her addiction to horror movies. Teen Allegedly Murders Boy
The 15-year-old, based in Sawah Besar in Central Jakarta, had played at the boy’s home on 5 March, according to Sinchew. She took the opportunity to murder her playmate by asking him to enter the toilet.
She had killed the boy who is named APA, by allegedly drowning him in a bathtub, strangling, and then storing his body in her own wardrobe. The murder was classified as “sadistic”.
Teen Allegedly Murders Boy: Said She Was “satisfied”
While the girl confessed to her crime at Central Jakarta Metro on 7 March, she said that she “did not regret” her actions and “was even satisfied”, mentioned Jakarta Central Police Chief Noviando.
Noviando pointed out that the teenager had been deeply affected by a horror movie she had watched a year ago, leading to her multiple attempts of trying to commit murder.
Teen Allegedly Murders Boy: The 15-year-old suspected of killing her 6-year-old neighbour said she was satisfied. | Source
The 6-year-old’s body was stored in the suspect’s wardrobe after he was killed. | Source
However, it was said that she tried to suppress those tendencies.
The girl was also reported to be a fan of watching horror genre films or movies with sadistic scenes.
Psychiatrist Said She Could Be a Psychopath
Prior to the alleged killing of the 6-year-old, the teenager was said to have abused small animals: from dropping cats from high-rise buildings to stabbing frogs with frogs, among others.
These are psychopathic signs according to Indonesian Psychiatrist, Dr. Dharmawan Ardi Purnama. He claimed the teenager could be a psychopath as one of the symptoms include liking to hurt animals, which could be seen from the girl when she was as young as 4 years old.
“Psychopath patients have a tendency to be rather blunt. Somewhat slow in terms of something that arouses emotions. That was also seen in the case of this child,” he added.
Kept a Diary of Her Secret Thoughts
During a police search of the teenager’s home, it was found that she had a habit of writing a diary.
Sad drawings accompanied by emo statements were found, such as “Daddy don’t provoke me”. There are also references to American singer Billie Eilish, with the song titles “ALL THE GOOD GIRLS GO TO HELL”, and “I’M THE BAD GUY”.
“I’m the teen that couldn’t control [my] emotions,” and “I’ll learn to change my life but I need more time” are other grieving statements by the 15-year-old.
The police also found images of Chucky (a notorious serial killer from a 1988 film) and Slenderman, after a deeper analysis of the teenager’s diary.
They are said to be fictional characters from films that have horror elements to them, and could have traumatising effects on children. It was also found that one of the girl’s favourite characters is Slenderman.
“The film had indeed become a trigger for her to execute its psychopathic impulse,” said Dr Dharmawan.
But according to the psychiatrist, there are other factors that could have triggered the sadistic killing such as environmental and parental control factors.
Parents Need To Provide Careful Assistance
He urged parents to provide careful assistance as “only an individual with a mental disorder would be triggered by such a film”.
“If a parent carries out careful assistance, takes his child to a psychologist or psychiatrist if his behaviour is distorted, then the psychopathic signs in children will be controlled.”
Currently, the teenager is reported to be undergoing a psychiatric examination to determine if she has a mental illness. In addition, her diary is also being sent to a psychiatric department for further analysis.
Also read: Schools To Provide Mental Health Education, Promote Digital Literacy With New Curriculum
