A man convicted of killing 42 women

and girls in western Indonesia in

ritual slayings he hoped would bring

him magical powers will soon be executed, 

his lawyer said Thursday.

Police say Ahmad Suradji, 57,

lured his female victims to a sugarcane

field near his home, 

buried them up to the waist, 

and then strangled them before

reburying their bodies with the

heads pointing toward his house.

Suradji was arrested in May 1997

following the discovery of a body

in the field in Lubukpakan, 

a village in North Sumatra province. 

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Dozens of other corpses were later

found nearby.

A district court found the sorcerer

guilty a year later of killing 42 women and girls, 

between the ages 11 and 30,

over an 11-year period. 

He was sentenced to death.

“We have received formal notification

that Suradji will soon be executed,” 

Mansar said, adding that he was

not informed of the date.

.

His client was placed in isolation Monday,

however, indicating it could occur within days. 

“I just met him at the prison this morning,

and I think that was our last meeting.”

Many Indonesians believe in witchcraft

and Suradji claimed he had the power

to influence people’s futures. 

The victims were believed to have

been seeking his help in making

their husbands or boyfriends faithful. 

.

Suradji said he had hoped their ritual

killings would increase his powers.

Suradji’s wife, Tumini, was also

sentenced to death for assisting with the murders, 

but her sentence was later reduced to life in prison.

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