Sydney plumber among three Australians charged with murder over Bali villa ambush

Sydney Morning Herald

18-06-2025

It is unclear how long the three Australians charged over the attack had been in Bali. Until recently, Jenson ran a plumbing business in western Sydney, and previously appeared in court in NSW over minor driving matters.
Coskun, also from NSW, pleaded guilty in 2023 to supplying drugs and dealing in the proceeds of crime, and was still serving a two-year non-custodial sentence. A condition of his release was not committing further crimes.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said it stood 'ready to offer consular assistance to any citizen, should it be requested', and confirmed it was already providing consular assistance to the families of the two Australian victims.
Adityajaya said on Wednesday that two of the men were alleged to have carried out the ambush while another, 'the planner', waited outside. Bali detectives said it was likely others were involved, but they were still investigating.
Two rented getaway cars were used – the first had picked up the attackers before being dumped in Tabanan, a neighbouring district, while a second was used to drive to Jakarta, police said.
The sledgehammer had been bought at a local shop, according to investigators, who were still conducting forensic testing on masks and gloves that had been recovered. Two of the motorbikes seized were used by the attackers during the ambush, they said, while three others recovered belonged to the victims.
The Australian Federal Police would not comment on whether Indonesia had requested its co-operation since the arrests, but said no one had been arrested in Australia over the Bali ambush.
Any request for cooperation by Indonesia would trigger a tightly controlled process in Australia, governed by long-standing federal police guidelines on crimes that carry the death penalty, an AFP spokesman said earlier.
Ghanim, a former kick-boxer with known underworld associates, was taken to hospital after the attack with gunshot wounds, blunt-force trauma injuries and bullets still embedded in his body, and now recovering. But police said he had yet to cooperate with investigators.
Radmanovic died at the scene. Forensic doctors said he had been shot in at least four areas – chest, stomach, buttock and palm – while also suffering extensive injuries to his head and foot. On Tuesday, his family arrived at the morgue to authorise a full autopsy.
The attackers were masked and wearing helmets, and at least one had spoken in an Australian accent, complaining his bike wouldn't start, before both fled the scene, witnesses told police. The men's voices were also caught by CCTV in the area.
Bali Police Senior Commissioner Ariasandy said authorities believed it was a targeted attack rather than a robbery as nothing was taken.
Officers recovered 17 bullet casings from the villa, Ariasandy said, but no guns or drugs.
Radmanovic's wife, Jazmyn Gourdeas, who was also in the three-bedroom villa during the attack, told police she did not recognise the men.
Gourdeas said she had fallen asleep in the locked villa before being woken by gunfire and her husband's screams.
Local media reported that she covered her eyes with a blanket before seeing two attackers wearing bright orange jackets and dark black helmets. One shot her husband in the bathroom, she said. Another woman staying at the villa with Ghanim reportedly heard loud bangs and saw the masked men fleeing.
Radmanovic has been described by loved ones as a 'kind, hardworking man devoted to his family' who left behind young children in Australia.
Radmanovic and Ghanim had been staying at the villa in Bali for a couple of months with their partners and one other person. But police said the group had so far been un-cooperative with detectives after Ghanim was released from hospital on Sunday, his leg heavily bandaged.
Ariasandy said Radmanovic, rather than Ghanim, was likely to have been the main target.
'Based on the wounds of the dead victim, two shots to the left chest, they wanted him dead,' he said. 'Until we can ask [Ghanim] questions, we cannot verify the situation yet. It's an ongoing investigation.'
Police said the victims and witnesses remained under 'observation' and were required to stay in the country.
Ghanim served jail time more than a decade ago in Melbourne for his involvement in two non-fatal shootings, as well as drug offences.
In the Indonesian legal system, being named a suspect is the equivalent of being charged with a crime. Bali police earlier said they could ask their Australian counterparts for assistance only once suspects had been identified.
On Sunday, an AFP spokesperson said such a case was automatically deemed sensitive and any co-operation with Indonesian authorities would require special oversight and approval by the top brass.
If an arrest is made, the AFP would require direct approval from the minister for home affairs before sharing information with Indonesian authorities, having to weigh the seriousness of the crime against the likelihood of a death sentence being imposed.
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Gun crime is rare in Indonesia, and police said they were investigating where the weapons had come from.
The Australian Attorney-General's office said as a matter of long-standing policy it did not disclose if it had received or made extradition requests from other countries or comment on its consideration of such cases.