Get email updates with the day's biggest stories. Thai police have said they will issue a summons for the British teenager raped on Koh Tao after her mother said she fled the island without reporting the crime because she feared for her life. [11][19] Several other suspects were also named, amid pressure to produce results, a new one every other day. [67] Protesters called for the release of the two suspects, who they believed were innocent and scapegoated for the crime. But although David's family called the verdict 'justice', the trial. The university graduate, who was two weeks. He was travelling Southeast Asia with a friend after completing a six-week work placement in Australia with a mining company,[6][8][9] and arrived in Thailand in August. The autopsy stated he had drowned. Regional Surat Thani governor Chatpong Chatphum said the Koh Tao murders had dealt a serious blow to tourism. A British man was found dead on Thailand 's notorious Koh Tao - also known as Death Island - on Wednesday. [1] Receiving half a million visitors each year,[1] Koh Tao is especially popular with backpackers and known for its marine life and scuba diving. GRAPHIC crime scene photos showing the corpses of English backpackers Hannah Witheridge and David Miller have surfaced online, traumatising their families. Thailands prime minister, Prayuth Chan-ocha, questioned the attire and behavior of foreign female tourists shortly after the killing of two British backpackers, David Miller and Hannah Witheridge on the island in 2014. Christina, from Orpington, South East London, died shortly after arriving on Koh Tao. Her dad Boyne said a toxicology report was not carried out. Valentina Novozhenova 2017; "In view of what's happened to David Miller and Hannah Witheridge and various other people I've read about, it just all leads to the same thing. Grace Beahm Alford/The Post and Courier/Pool Grace Beahm Alford/The Post and Courier/Pool Diagram of crime scene. A millionaire hotel tycoon and his wife have been found dead in a luxury resort on Koh Tao, colloquially known as Death Island. Defence lawyers had asked for the samples to be independently verified but have now been told there is nothing left of them to re-test. [51][56][57] They argued that the defendants, since they were vulnerable as illegal migrant workers, were scapegoated by the police for the crime. The two men deny murdering Miss Witheridge, 23, from Norfolk, and David Miller, 24, from Jersey. Some of these workers said they can earn more money in Thailand compared to Myanmar. We use your sign-up to provide content in the ways you've consented to and improve our understanding of you. SUPAPONG CHAOLAN DNA tests have failed to provide a match. A woman Povse had been interested in said he had called her twice on the phone that night but she had not picked up because she had been asleep. The island became world news when two British backpackers, David Miller and Hannah Witheridge were brutally murdered on the island in 2014. He said more security cameras would be installed on beaches. Elise's death is the latest in a string of seven fatalities in three years on the island. I'm asking if they wear bikinis in Thailand, will they be safe? He had been dead about 10 days and had left to go snorkeling alone on November 8. The Koh Tao murders involved the death of two British tourists in Thailand in 2014. [58] Ostensibly, Wai Phyo changed jobs at the end of September and was travelling by boat to Surat Thani for his new job on the day he was arrested. [83] A 2016 study said the case, which it described as a litmus test of Thailand's justice system, "seriously damaged the image of Thailand and of its forces of law and order on the global level". On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Rockefeller Audio 2022. The country's prime minister, who had been phoning the national police chief daily for updates on the investigation, said "this should not have happened at all, as it will affect Thailand in the eyes of the international community". The men, apprehended soon after the pair's bodies were found, initially confessed to the crime only to retract their statements amid claims they were extracted by torture. The body had to be identified using dental records and previous X-rays. There were no signs he was suicidal. KOH TAO, Thailand Promoters call the Thai island of Koh Tao a paradise. [47] Thailand's National Human Rights Commission attempted to investigate the allegations, but police representatives did not appear at four scheduled meetings. Local police claimed he had fallen 50 feet and . The authorities said he had died after striking the diving board from which he was jumping. They had been brutally beaten to death just a few feet away from their hotel rooms. The Thaiger 116K subscribers Join Subscribe 712 Share 29K views 10 months ago #thailand #kohtao #thailandtourist We've all heard. Due to the nature of her passing, our beautiful girl has had little privacy. Nick Pearson 2014; The official story is they were walking back to their hotel at night and were jumped by 2 Burmese men. They had been brutally beaten to death just a few feet away from their hotel rooms. The mother told Der Farang magazine that she had been promised an autopsy report - but has still not been delivered. Samui Times defended its reporting in an online post. They also raised concerns with the absence of legal counsel prior to the confession, as well as difficulties with translation and interpretation. We had one day on Koh Tao, it was really hard.". The last known video footage of the Russian woman showed her walking to Chaloke Hin Kao bay and never coming back. The father of murdered British backpacker Hannah Witheridge has wept as graphic photos of her body lying on a Thai beach were shown in court. The relevant standard in this case was ISO 17025. She was found dead in her bungalow with a mix of medication and alcohol in her system in 2015 - leading the coroner to ascertain she died of an accidental overdose. It is always challenging to bring ACCURATE & RELIABLE information about violent crime on Koh Tao because too many people are frightened to speak out publicly and still others try to SHOOT THE MESSENGERS . The Death Of Lana Clarkson. [10][32] They highlighted a British tourist who had shared a room with Miller as a suspect, labelling it a "crime of passion"; he became the subject of a nationwide manhunt before the police quickly dropped the lead. Fears over the safety of idyllic Koh Tao were heightened after the killings of Brits Hannah Witheridge and David Miller in 2014. The hoe was then used to knock Witheridge unconscious, after which the defendants used force to hold her down and took turns raping her, before killing her with the hoe. Hundreds dead in horror cough syrup tragedy, Hero Aussie soldier suddenly dies aged 33. The family has contested the police version of events. [1][96], Although tourist arrivals to Koh Tao dropped in the months immediately following the murders, there was little lasting effect on tourism to the island.[92]. Most are running guesthouses, eateries and scuba-diving operations or working as diving instructors. A Thai police officer who was called to the scene of the killing of two British tourists on Koh Tao island in September 2014 testified on Wednesday, the first of dozens of witnesses who . The island of Koh Tao, off the coast of Thailand, is often described as a paradise. Elise went 1.5 miles (2.5km) through the jungle to Tanote Bay and took a room at the Poseidon Resort where she booked another ticket for Bangkok leaving on April 24. On September 20, 1988, Tara Calico left her home in New Mexico to go on a bike ride she took, In November 1981, actress Natalie Wood mysteriously drowned off the coast of Southern California during a boating trip with her, In July 2014, 52 year old Lynn Messer mysteriously disappeared from her familys 260-acre farm in Bloomsdale, Missouri. The suspects were initially denied access to legal counsel, and alleged that police used torture and threats to secure a confession. koh tao murders crime scene photos Koh Tao - Thai Police - Their scapegoats, Tourist Trade Exposed by Anonymous Greetings world, We are Anonymous. They had no prior criminal records. They followed the animal and discovered that it had been feeding on Elise's remains, which were found among rocks behind the Tanote Family Bay Resort. He also had to track down a man seen on surveillance footage leaving his daughter's flat hours before she was discovered. [66], On 24 December 2015, Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo were found guilty of murdering Witheridge and Miller by the three judges, and were sentenced to death. Deaths have been explained away by the authorities as unfortunate accidents or suicides. [1][11][18] A bloody hoe, believed to be the murder weapon, and a wooden club were found near the bodies,[19][4][14] along with three cigarette butts and a used condom. See the latest list of Exclusive members-only articles on StrangeOutdoors.com, https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30320196. In a statement following his hearing, James Gissing, who was in Thailand with Luke, said he felt police were covering up as it was the death of another foreigner on Koh Tao, referring to the Witheridge and Miller murders. From the beginning, the Thai police had difficulty securing the crime scene. Koh Tao was plunged into the spotlight when the semi-naked bodies of backpackers Hannah Witheridge and David Miller were found on a beach. [71], A lawyer for the men, Nakhon Chomphuchat, said "we will appeal as soon as we can, we have just got a copy of the court's verdict. Fototeka is a large photo digitation service that works in conjunction with the National Film Archive to enhance historically relevant vintage photographs. Resting in the Gulf of Thailand, a two-hour ferry ride north of Koh Samui, Koh Tao is best known for its incredible marine life, which over the years has attracted a small but buoyant expat. The defendants have repeatedly stated their innocence over the murders, with the defence alleging they were framed. [38] Both men were 22-year-old illegal migrant workers from Rakhine, Myanmar, who worked in the hospitality industry. The past three weeks have been unimaginably difficult and there are no words that can adequately describe the heartache and despair that our family is experiencing. I On Thursday the 29 th of August 2019, the Supreme Court of Thailand handed down its decision to uphold the death penalties for Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo, the Burmese migrant workers found guilty of the rape and murder of British holidaymaker Hannah Witheridge and the murder of fellow countryman David Miller in September 2014 on Koh Tao in Thailand. Guardian. [42][43] The police said the suspects' DNA matched a sample of semen taken from Witheridge's body, and to the hoe and cigarette butts found near the body. [50], An 18-day trial began on 8 July 2015 in the Koh Samui Provincial Court. Suter had been a regular snorkeler and his death was totally unexplained. "We're more and more thinking that the police information is not the right explanation.". On February 16, 2015, Russian tourist Valentina Novozhyonova, 23, vanished from her hostel on Koh Tao. I am the former owner and editor of the Samui Times, a news publication on Koh Samui, and covered the stories of the so-called "backpacker murders" and other suspicious . Hannah was a University of Essex student from Hemsby in Norfolk, UK, and David was a civil and structural engineering graduate, from Jersey. One of the most famous Hollywood murders of recent memory was that of Lana Clarkson, the actress and model. Virat Asavachin (Mr Ban) 2002; It is not known who released the photos from the crime scene. His family accused the Thai police of a cover-up. [51] The defence provided a separate explanation for the events on the night. Nick Pearson, from Derby, was found floating in the sea on New Year's Day 2014. His body was found at the beach at the Hillside Resort on Koh Tao, on January 1, 2014. Nicola Gissing, who was also on holiday with Luke when he died, has claimed her friends death was no accident. She had checked into the hostel on February 11 and was due to check out on February 16, but failed to do so. [48], The guilty verdict resulted in widespread protests in Myanmar. A former Australian soldier, Justin Christopher House, died in Bangkok, where he was living, on February 2. [31][65] Jane Taupin, an Australian forensic scientist brought in by the defence, claimed that the timeline of DNA extraction was dubious; a rapid analysis of DNA samples had happened in less than 12 hours,[34] which she said was unusual because "extracting DNA from mixed samples was difficult and time-consuming". Aran Klaewklong, a security guard from Big Blue Diving shop, told police he found a mobile phone, clothes, a hotel key, shoes and an ID on the beach at 1.30 am during a beach patrol. [93] Amid the investigation, Tourism and Sports Minister Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul visited Koh Tao on 28 September 2014 in an attempt to reassure tourists. Read about our approach to external linking. The island of Koh Tao is located in Southern Thailand. It has long had a reputation as a home for organized crime, corruption and as a place where the police protected local interests. Police concluded she wanted to break a deep-diving record at more than 24 meters. 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