An Australian man has been charged with murder after the body of a 17-year-old girl was found stuffed into a suitcase in Pattaya, Thailand.
Body found near railway track
Police in the Thai city say that the body of 17-year-old Tunchanok Donhomla was found in the suitcase near a railway track on Saturday (August 15), with police arresting Australian international Peter Carman inside Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport during what they say was an attempt to flee Thailand.
Local reports detail that Carman told police he had agreed to pay Tunchanok 1,000 baht (£23) for sexual services, but they argued after he offered her only 500 baht at his apartment, as per the BBC.
Suspect seen with suitcase on CCTV
Thai national Tunchanok was first reported missing the day before her body was discovered, with CCTV footage allegedly showing her entering an apartment with Carman on Thursday. The Australian would later be seen allegedly leaving the same property later that evening. Police say he was seen carrying a large suitcase, which he loaded onto a motorbike and drove towards the area where the body was found.
Carman denies both murder and other charges including moving or concealing a body and taking a minor for sexual purposes, claiming instead that he acted in self-defence.
Suspect expresses remorse, denies killing
In a video recorded in custody, he reportedly told her 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.”
Police chief Colonel Anek Srathongyoo said Carman had “fingernail scratches across his body that are consistent with a struggle”, but continued to deny killing the teenager. When confronted about the marks in a police video, Carman offered a bizarre explanation, replying: “I think it’s a spider; they always get in here.”
Family devastated by loss
Tunchanok, affectionately known as Cake, was an only child who lived with her father and stepmother in the province of Kalasin. She travelled to Pattaya on June 16 after telling her family she was going on holiday with a friend. Her devastated father, Thongchai Donhomla, said: “My daughter had no mother, so whenever she wanted anything, she would find a way herself, and she always helped me too.”
Heartbroken stepmother Oradee Bussarakum said the family had desperately hoped their worst fears would not come true. She said: “We were scared. We just hoped it wouldn’t turn out the way we feared. Now our eyes are swollen from crying. I just want him executed. I even asked the police if I could hit him, if I could beat him.” Carman could face the death penalty if convicted of murder.
