A murder investigation was launched in Thailand after the body of a 51-year-old woman was found floating near Ban Tha Yai pier in Phang Nga province, a short distance from Phuket and Ko Phi Phi. Police discovered the victim with an iron chain wrapped tightly around her neck, attached to two heavy concrete dumbbells that were meant to keep her hidden underwater. Despite the weight, the body floated close to shore, where horrified fishermen raised the alarm.
The victim was identified as Ms Kansiri, a worker from northeastern Thailand who had been living in Phuket. She was wearing black shorts and a grey T-shirt when found. Police believed she was strangled before her body was dumped in the sea, likely two days before she surfaced in August last year.
Suspect arrested
A 21-year-old man was arrested in connection with the killing. Officers from the Region 8 Investigation Unit and Khok Kloi Police Station tracked the suspect following raids at properties in Kathu District, Phuket, and in Ban Kalai, Phang Nga. Police also seized a black Isuzu pickup truck linked to the crime, with CCTV footage capturing the vehicle travelling from Phuket to Phang Nga, dumping a body near Tha Nun before heading back. Forensic experts examined the truck for bloodstains and DNA evidence.
Police Lt Pheerawit Chaichanyut confirmed at the time: “This is a serious case, and we are treating it as a murder. The way the body was weighted down points towards a deliberate attempt to conceal the crime.”
Similar unsolved case
Phang Nga Provincial Police Supt Pol. Col. Prawit Engchuan added that the suspect was brought in for intense questioning as detectives attempted to establish a motive.
The grisly case bore striking similarities to an unsolved murder in Rayong province, where a decomposed female body was found stuffed inside a locked suitcase, also weighted down with two 10kg dumbbells in a canal. Local authorities in Phang Nga ramped up water patrols while a full autopsy was ordered to confirm whether Ms Kansiri was dead before being thrown into the sea.
