Security footage images obtained by the Guardian show the friend of a 17-year-old Thai girl allegedly murdered by an Australian man visiting his condo in Pattaya after reporting her missing to police. Simon Peter Carman, 45, was charged on the weekend with the alleged murder of Thunchanok Donhomla, whose body was found in a suitcase near railway tracks in Pattaya early on Saturday. Carman has denied the charges.
Friend's Actions After Reporting Missing Person
Pattaya city police began investigating on 26 June, when the friend reported Donhomla missing. Police said Donhomla, from the province of Kalasin in north-eastern Thailand, had only arrived in Pattaya a week earlier to visit a friend. The friend told police Donhomla had been hanging out with a foreigner and had been gone for about 24 hours.
Security footage images show the friend went to Carman's apartment after reporting her missing. In one image, Carman appears at the door of his apartment in Jomtien, a beachside area of Pattaya. Donhomla's friend can be seen entering the condo. A second image with a time stamp less than a minute later shows the friend in the apartment speaking with Carman. Images taken at 1.24pm that day show Carman's apartment with the mattress stripped of bedding, clothes in piles, and dishes visible in the kitchen.
Evidence from CCTV Footage
Colonel Anek Srathongyoo, a superintendent at Pattaya city police station, said the last text messages on Donhomla's phone show she sent her friend a message saying "don't worry I already arrived in the room. It's messy." After the friend filed the report, police tracked movements from CCTV inside the condo where Carman was living.
CCTV footage, seen by the Guardian and verified by police, allegedly showed Donhomla holding hands with Carman in the lobby of the condo he rented in Jomtien in the early hours of Thursday morning. Footage later that day showed Carman leaving the condo, but Donhomla was never seen leaving, Srathongyoo said. CCTV footage taken at about 9pm showed Carman leaving the condo with a suitcase. He was out for 20 minutes on a motorcycle with the suitcase. After returning to his condo, the suitcase was no longer with him, police said.
Police Investigation and Charges
Srathongyoo said they acted swiftly because they had seen incidents before of girls going home with tourists and not returning. Police said when they went to search Carman's condo, they didn't find any evidence suggesting a murder had taken place. They found a copy of his old passport and a room rental contract.
Police have charged Carman with murder, concealing a corpse in an attempt to hide the cause of death, abduction of a minor over 15 but not yet 18 years of age for indecent purposes, and taking a person over 15 but not yet 18 for indecent purposes, even if the person consents.
