An Indonesian man convicted of killing 42 women and girls in ritual slayings that he hoped would bring him magical powers has been executed.

Ahmad Suradji, 57, was killed by firing squad despite a last minute appeal from human-rights group Amnesty International.

Bonaventura Nainggolan, spokesman for the Attorney General's Office, said: "He appeared resigned to his fate.

"His final wish was to see his wife. We fulfilled this."

He added: "He pretended to be a shaman who could heal any kind of disease. If someone asked to be healed, both their possessions and their lives were taken."

Suradji lured his female victims to a sugarcane field near his home in western Indonesia.

He then buried them up to the waist and strangled them before reburying their bodies with the heads pointing toward his house.

Suradji also drank their saliva, believing it would enhance his powers.

The serial killer was arrested in May 1997 following the discovery of a body in the field in Lubukpakan, a village in North Sumatra province.

Dozens of other corpses were later found nearby.

A district court found the sorcerer guilty a year later of killing 42 women and girls, between the ages 11 and 30, over an 11-year period.

Many Indonesians believe in witchcraft and Suradji claimed he had the power to influence people's futures.

The victims were believed to have been seeking his help in making their husbands or boyfriends faithful.

Suradji's wife, Tumini, was also sentenced to death for assisting with the murders, but her sentence was later reduced to life in prison.

Source: news.sky.com

I agree, he wasn't right in the head

What a sick bastard that guy was.