Police uncovered stepfather Alex Iskandar's repeated revenge plans in digital messages before kidnapping and killing 6-year-old Alvaro Kiano Nugroho. The motive stemmed from suspicions of his wife's affair while working abroad. The boy's body was dumped under a bridge in Tenjo, Bogor, after being missing for 8 months.
Alvaro Kiano Nugroho, a 6-year-old boy, went missing in the Ulujami area of Pesanggrahan, South Jakarta, around March 2025. His mother, Arumi, recounted that Alvaro asked permission to go to the nearby mosque for Maghrib prayer before he was reported missing. After 8 months of searches, police found his body in a deceased state on Sunday, November 23, 2025.
The main perpetrator was his stepfather, Alex Iskandar, arrested by Polres Metro Jakarta Selatan. From the secured phone, police discovered repeated messages in Alex's digital conversations with his wife: 'gimana caranya gue balas dendam'. These appeared in contexts of anger and heartbreak related to suspicions of his wife's affair while she worked abroad.
"From the secured handphone, the suspect openly wrote the sentence, 'gimana caranya gue balas dendam'. This appeared repeatedly in contexts of anger and hurt directed at certain parties," said Head of Public Relations of Polda Metro Jaya, Commissioner Big Police Budi Hermanto, on Tuesday, November 25, 2025.
Head of Criminal Investigation Unit of Polres Metro Jakarta Selatan, Ajun Commissioner Big Police Aridan Satrio Utomo, explained the motive: "From the chat results, there emerged suspicions of an affair committed by his wife. There, there's a specific motive for the suspect to commit the murder against the child. Because this child is the suspect's stepchild."
Alvaro's body was dumped under the Cilalay Bridge in Tenjo, Bogor Regency, a quiet garbage disposal site with minimal lighting. Alex asked his relative, Guntur, who lives nearby, to dispose of it at night to make it hard to find. "The perpetrator was confident the body wouldn't be found because the place is secluded, with low lighting, and under the bridge structure," added Aridan.
Tragically, Alex Iskandar died by suicide in the counseling room at Polres Metro Jakarta Selatan in the early hours of November 23, 2025, not in a cell. "The person in question is suspected of committing suicide in the counseling room. Not in the detention cell," said Budi Hermanto on Monday, November 24, 2025. Pesanggrahan Police Chief, Ajun Commissioner Police Seala Syah Alam, confirmed the discovery: "Alvaro has been found in a deceased state."