Police identify British man found dead in rice paddy between Ubud and Kuta

Updates are continuing to flow in about the mysterious body found in the rice paddy and we now know more about the body’s condition and identity. 

Police have identified the body of the dead man found earlier Tuesday morning as Britishman Robert Kelvin Ellis, 60, a Sanur resident. The body was discovered in between Kuta and Ubud at about 8 am in a gruesome state, already decaying, reported The Guardian.

RELATED ACTUALLY HE WAS BRITISH, POLICE RETRACT STATEMENTS ABOUT NATIONALITY OF BODY FOUND IN RICE PADDY

Local residents of Sedang Village found the body on the edge of a rice paddy, wrapped in plastic and bedding. “There was a wound in his neck. The neck was almost cut entirely,” said Detective Wisnu Wardana, as quoted by The Guardian. “We suspect that there has been physical violence to the body.”

Ellis’ Indonesian wife has not confirmed her husband’s identification at the morgue yet, but she already identified him from a photograph after reporting him missing, according to police. 

Left behind at the crime scene were a mat, which detectives suspect was used to move the body, along with money and a cell phone. 

An autopsy at Sanglah hospital revealed bruising on the deceased’s face and three open neck wounds. “The fatal wounds were caused by sharp-object violence,” said Ida Bagus Putu Alit, Sanglah’s head of forensics. 

Correction: An earlier version we ran of this story erroneously reported Ellis as Australian, based on reports from the AAP. Police have retracted their prior statements about Ellis’ nationality and confirm he was British. The story has been changed to accurately reflect this.