An 18-year-old man has appeared in court charged with the murder of a woman he had allegedly met through Airbnb within hours of arriving in the United Kingdom. Enzo Bettamio, a dual Brazilian and Italian national, was extradited from the United Arab Emirates last week and appeared at the Old Bailey via video-link from Wandsworth Prison on Tuesday.
Prosecutor Nadeem Holland told the court that Bettamio, then aged 16, landed in the UK on a flight from Los Angeles on April 5 2024. He is accused of using the Airbnb app to book a room for a month at the property of 27-year-old Kamonnan Thiamphanit, also known as Angela, in Stanhope Place near Marble Arch in central London.
Ms Thiamphanit had spent the evening of April 5 playing board games with friends before leaving in the early hours of April 6, citing an emergency at her Stanhope Place address. She was dropped off by an Uber minicab at 4.24am, the last time she was seen alive. Some 13 hours later, Bettamio allegedly flagged down a black cab on nearby Bayswater Road to take him to the airport, where he bought a ticket to Dubai.
Friends of Ms Thiamphanit raised concerns, and police discovered her body inside her home on April 8. Mr Holland said she had sustained multiple stab wounds, with a large silver knife protruding from her neck. A post-mortem examination concluded she died from multiple sharp force injuries.
Bettamio was extradited back to the UK on April 24 this year and taken to Charing Cross police station, where he was charged with murder. He spoke only to confirm his identity during the brief hearing before Judge Simon Mayo KC, who set a plea hearing for July 14 and a provisional trial date of February 1 next year.
