Byron Bay mum Sara Connor to be released from Bali’s Kerobokan jail
Sara Connor will be released from Bali’s horrific Kerobokan jail after spending four years behind bars for the fatal bashing of a police officer.
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Byron Bay woman Sara Connor will be released from Bali’s horrific Kerobokan jail in July.
The 49-yer-old mother of two will have served four years in the notorious Indonesian prison for the fatal bashing of a police officer in Kuta in 2016.
Sara Connor and her former boyfriend, 38-year-old British national David Taylor who was once a dread locked toy boy called DJ Nutzo, were found guilty of the deadly assault of Balinese officer Wayan Sudarsa, whose broken body had 42 bloody wounds, including grisly head injuries, was found in the sand of Legian beach in August 2016.
Connor, whose $2500 in compensation offered to the policeman’s widow was rebuffed, has always maintained her innocence.
She was sentenced to four years jail for her involvement in the killing. Later on appeal three high court judges increased her sentence to five years.
The two faced a maximum sentence of 15 years for murder, however, the prosecutor pursued the assault charges, finding the couple had no intention to kill the officer.
Connor – a quiet prisoner known among other inmates as a woman who keeps to herself while learning hair dressing - received several remissions that have taken a year off her jail term.
Kerobokan jail’s prison chief, Ms Lili, said that Connor is healthy and ready to leave.
“Sara looks happy and (she has) become nicer and not emotional. She likes to follow the hair cut course at the prison,” Ms Lili said.
After a marathon four month trial in 2017, Connor was found guilty of fatal group assault that resulted in the death of the policeman. Co-accused David Taylor insisted that he was acting in self-defence.
The court found that Taylor had hit Mr Sudarsa, a police officer of 35 years, with multiple objects including a mobile phone, the officers own binoculars and a Bintang beer bottle, which smashed on impact.
During the trial, Denpasar District court heard that Connor claimed that she had attempted to separate her boyfriend and the police officer when she sat on the policeman’s stomach, however, the judge’s found that she sat on Mr Sudarsa to prevent him from fighting back.
She was also found to have put her arm around the policeman’s neck, but it was the blunt force trauma that killed him several hours after the couple fled the scene. During the trial it was noted the Ms Connor had a bite mark on her thigh.
Connor had claimed the altercation began after she asked the policeman for help over her missing handbag.
The bag, with credit cards and Driver’s License, was later found near the scene where the officer died.
Blood from both Taylor and Connor was found at beach location and blood was found on the wall, bed, floor and doors of Taylor’s hotel.
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Connor was found to have cut up Mr Sudarsa’s police identification cards – an action which she claimed was done to protect the policeman from identity theft.
Before their arrest the couple had burnt their clothes and destroyed some of Mr Sudarsa’s belongings.
The day after they were detained, Connor and Taylor were returned to the crime scene on Legian beach at dawn to carry out a re-enactment of the brawl.
Connor, who once owned Byron Bay Fresh Pasta, has two children who are now 13 and 15 years old, will be deported to Australia after her released from jail.