YANBU — An Indonesian housemaid convicted of decapitating her employer's 4-year-old daughter was executed in Yanbu on Thursday, the Interior Ministry announced. Tala Bint Khaled Al-Shehri's murder in September 2012 had sent shockwaves across the country, with many questioning the wisdom of leaving young children in the care of house workers when parents went to work. Karni Midi Tarsim, 37, had confessed to killing the girl with a meat cleaver while the girl slept in her room. Tala's parents were away at work and her siblings were in school when the murder took place. When the girl's mother, a teacher, returned home, the maid refused to open the door and barricaded herself in the bedroom. Police arrived and smashed open the door. The housemaid was found at the side of Tala's decapitated body. Investigators found that the woman had attempted to commit suicide by consuming bleach. A court found her guilty of murder and sentenced her to death in March 2013. She was also sentenced to 200 lashes for the suicide attempt.
