Briton found dead with throat slashed in Bali–police

A man carries a surf board into an ocean during the sunset at a beach in Bali, Indonesia, on Oct. 18, 2014. The body of a British man was found Tuesday tied up in a ditch with his throat slashed on the Indonesian resort island of Bali, police said. AP PHOTO/FIRDIA LISNAWATI

DENPASAR, Indonesia–The body of a British man was found Tuesday tied up in a ditch with his throat slashed on the Indonesian resort island of Bali, police said.

Local residents found the man, identified by police as 60-year-old Robert Kelvin Ellis, after they investigated a suspicious-looking object next to a paddy field.

“The body was covered with plastic and bed quilts,” said detective Wisnu Wardana. “His body and hands were tied and there was a wound on the victim’s neck. The neck was almost completely cut.”

The body was starting to decompose when it was discovered in a village between the tourist areas of Ubud and Kuta, the detective said, leading police to believe the victim died more than 24 hours previously.

It was far from any houses, and people in the area had previously seen an object in the ditch, but did not realize it was a body.

Police said Ellis had been living at a villa in the tourist area of Sanur for some years and his Indonesian wife had earlier reported him missing.

She is now being questioned, police said.

Ida Bagus Putu Alit, head of forensics at Bali’s main hospital, confirmed the body was tied up and suffered serious injuries.

“There are three gashes on the neck” that were caused by a sharp weapon, the official said.

A spokesman at the British embassy in Jakarta said: “We were notified of the death of a British national in Bali.

“We stand ready to provide consular assistance.”

The news comes after the body of an American tourist was found stuffed in a suitcase outside a hotel on the island in August.

The victim’s daughter and her daughter’s boyfriend were arrested over the killing.

Bali, a pocket of Hinduism in Muslim-majority Indonesia, attracts millions of foreign visitors every year with its palm-fringed beaches and tropical climate.

While tourists often fall foul of Indonesia’s tough anti-drugs laws, which include the death penalty, grisly murders are rare.