She also suffered some brain injury, but this was not the cause of death, according to Pattaya City police chief Anek Srathongyoo. “It could have happened after she died as the accused moved her body in a suitcase before dumping it,” he added.
“We received the autopsy reports from the doctor yesterday that she died of suffocation,” Srathongyoo said. “We will add the cause of death to our investigation reports, and hope we can submit a case to state prosecutors by this Friday (21st August).”
An Australian man, 45-year-old Simon Peter Carman, was charged with murder following the discovery of the victim’s body near a railway track. Police previously said they had found the naked body of Tunchanok Donhomla in a bag near the railway track in the early hours of 27th June, just 15 minutes after Carman was arrested at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport as he prepared to board a flight back to Australia. He was detained after the victim’s friend reported her missing.
Police said CCTV footage showed Carman entering a condominium in Pattaya with Tunchanok at 03:34 local time on 25th June. Later that evening, he emerged alone carrying a large black suitcase, which he allegedly loaded onto a motorcycle before riding to a grassy area near the railway line where the suitcase was later found. Inside was the victim’s body, which bore signs of violence.
Srathongyoo said the DNA found on Tunchanok’s body matched Carman’s, suggesting it likely came from when he put her body in the suitcase.
“[Carman] did not completely deny all the charges initially,” Srathongyoo said. “He admitted to taking her out. That said, even if he pleads not guilty in court later, I believe we have collected all the evidence thoroughly and closed every loophole in the case in order to prove to the court that he has committed those crimes.”
Police will be ready to submit the case to prosecutors by Friday, according to Srathongyoo, who noted that the deadline for them to indict Carman was 18th September. If convicted of murder, Carman could face the death penalty.
Following his arrest, Carman denied the charges against him and claimed he had acted in self-defence. He reportedly told police he had agreed to pay Tunchanok 1,000 baht ($30; £23) for sexual services, but that they had argued when they returned to his apartment after he offered only 500 baht.
In a video recorded while in custody, Carman addressed a message to Tunchanok’s family: “I feel bad for what happened to your daughter. It was out of my control. I know you’ll be very sad, upset… same [as] me. Please tell other girls… just to be careful.”
Tunchanok’s family previously told the ABC she was an only child who lived with her father and stepmother in the province of Kalasin, about 480km (298 miles) north-east of Pattaya. The teen, whose nickname was Cake, had told her parents she wanted to go on holiday with a friend and had travelled to Pattaya on 16th June.
Her father, Thongchai Donhomla, said he was “deeply saddened” by his daughter’s death. “My daughter had no mother, so whenever she wanted anything, she would find a way herself, and she always helped me too,” he told a local reporter.
Her stepmother, Oradee Bussarakum, said the news of Tunchanok’s death had confirmed their fears. “We were scared. We just hoped it wouldn’t turn out the way we feared,” she said. “Now our eyes are swollen from crying. I just want [Carman] executed. I even asked the police if I could hit him, if I could beat him.”
Popular with foreign tourists, Pattaya is known for its beaches and a nightlife scene that has long drawn scrutiny over sex tourism.
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