Indonesian teen allegedly murders 6-year-old after getting 'inspired by horror movies'

Screen time for kids is one of the parents' main concerns. 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 six-year-old neighbour due to her addiction to horror movies. 

The 15-year-old, based in Sawah Besar in Central Jakarta, had played at the boy's home on March 5, according to Sin Chew Daily. She took the opportunity to murder her playmate by asking him to enter the toilet.

She killed the boy named APA by allegedly drowning him in a bathtub, and then hiding his body in her own wardrobe. The murder was classified as "sadistic".

TEEN SAID SHE WAS "SATISFIED"

While the girl confessed to her crime at Central Jakarta Metro on March 7, 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 at committing murder.

However, it was said that she had tried to suppress those urges.

The girl was also reported to be a fan of horror genre films and movies with sadistic scenes.

PSYCHIATRIST SAID SHE COULD BE A PSYCHOPATH

Prior to the alleged killing of the six-year-old, the teenager was said to have abused small animals such as dropping cats from high-rise buildings.

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 the girl was seen doing since she was four years old.

"Psychopath patients have a tendency to be rather blunt. Somewhat slow in terms of things that arouse emotions. That was evident in the case of this child," he added.

KEPT A DIARY OF HER SECRET THOUGHTS

As the police searched the teenager's home, they found that she had a habit of writing a diary.

Disturbing drawings accompanied by emotional statements were found among the pages of her diary, such as "Daddy don't provoke me". There are also references to American singer Billie Eilish's songs such as "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," the 15-year-old wrote.

The police also found images of Chucky (a notorious serial killer from a 1988 film) and Slender Man in her diary.

They are fictional characters from horror films that could traumatise children.

"The film Slender Man had indeed become a trigger for her to execute her psychopathic impulse," said Dr Dharmawan.

But the psychiatrist said 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 has been sent to a psychiatric department for further analysis.

This article was first published in theAsianparent.