Mirulewan's body was found with apparent bruising on a remote beach in Kisar, one of the eastern Maluku Islands, according to The Jakarta Globe and other news accounts. He had been missing for two days.

Insany Syahbarwaty, a coordinator for the Maluku Media Center, a local support group, told The Globe that Mirulewan, 28, chief editor of the Pelangi Weekly, had been looking into allegations of unlawful fuel sales. Mirulewan was working on the story with a colleague from another publication when the two became separated while following a fuel truck, Syahbarwaty said. Mirulewan had also covered recent, sharply contested elections, The Jakarta Post said.

Police offered differing accounts regarding the condition of his body. One officer told the Jakarta Post that the body showed clear signs of assault; another attributed the condition to decomposition.

In January 2011 five suspects were arrested, one of whom was a police officer, according to news reports.