Irregular Burmese migrant workers were now required to register with the police in an attempt to discourage illegal workers and prevent bribery. An English human rights activist by the name of Andy Hall asked me to put him in touch with the Melbourne forensic expert, Jane Taupin which I did. [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. The circumstances around his death are a mystery. [95] The mayor of the island, Chaiyan Turasakul, announced a new police station and staffed it with 40 full-time officers, compared to five previously. Hannah was a University of Essex student from Hemsby in Norfolk, UK, and David was a civil and structural engineering graduate, from Jersey. His parents believe he was murdered - despite police claims he fell 50ft and drowned. Thailand's paradise island murder mystery continues to baffle police, BBC's south-east Asia correspondent reports from Koh Tao. They had been brutally beaten to death just a few feet away from their hotel rooms. He was discovered floating in the water by a member of hotel staff, with his death coming just days after a tragic final Facebook post on New Year's Eve, in which he said: "Can honestly say this new year I am living the dream". Bernd Grotsch 2017; Russian tourist Valentina Novozhyonova, 23, vanished from her hostel on Koh Tao in March and has still not been found. Hannah Witheridge and David Miller koh tao, Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo koh tao, dimitri povse koh tao, christina annesley koh tao, Valentina Novozhyonova koh tao, luke miller koh tao, Elise Dallemagne koh tao, Bernd grotsch koh tao, Alexandr Bucspun koh tao, The frightening case of the Trailside Killer David Carpenter, The Yosemite National Park Sightseer Murders and the two faces of evil, The mysterious Koh Tao - Death Island in Paradise, Exclusive members-only articles on StrangeOutdoors.com, The coroner concluded there was not enough evidence to say where or how he met his death. [67][21][68] The conviction was primarily guided by the DNA evidence,[67][69] and the court said it did not consider their confessions in making the judgement. Picture: Viral Press/Australscope Mr Sachathamakul's wife, Anshoo. Derby coroner Louise Pinder said there was not enough evidence to say how he died and recorded an open verdict. I just listened to your full podcast about Koh Tao with considerable interest. Doubts lingered over the conviction of two migrant Burmese workers for the rape and murders, Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo (also known as Win Zaw Htun). [51] This decision was criticised by the Solicitors International Human Rights Group, one of the observers at the trial. Hannah Witheridge was seen walking through Koh Tao with a group of friends - all of whom are thought to be British - just hours before being brutally murdered View gallery The 23-year-old is. If you are interested, I have further information on my social media accounts. [28], Due to concerns the murders might affect foreign tourism into Thailand, the national authorities sought to expedite the investigation into the murders. He said that the victim had been drunk to the extent that he was unable to control himself, he would not have been able to tie himself up so tightly that he died of suffocation. Now their families are demanding answers. But, his sister Maria and the family told the BBC they would not rely on what Thai police said as there was still speculation over the circumstances surrounding the death - and that they had received 'different versions' of what might have happened. Therefore, we would like to take this opportunity to ask that Hannah be allowed a well-deserved day of privacy on Friday whilst we join her many friends in a celebration of her life.. A millionaire hotel tycoon and his wife have been found dead in a luxury resort on Koh Tao, colloquially known as Death Island. According to the Daily Mail, the District Attorney publicized the gruesome photos a week after they were presented to a jury. The defendants have repeatedly stated their innocence over the murders, with the defence alleging they were framed. Koh Tao was plunged into the spotlight when the semi-naked bodies of backpackers Hannah Witheridge and David Miller were found on a beach. A police officer told the trial of the severe injuries Miss Witheridge suffered and evidence she had been raped. The autopsy stated he had drowned. But among some foreigners, Koh Tao has taken on a more sinister reputation. While police ruled out foul play, Nick's family, who say officers did not investigate a single witness, believe he was murdered. 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. Friends and family remain suspicious of the police investigation and the insistence that Dimitri committed suicide, especially as his hands were tied behind his back. Their parents must be going through hell just like we are and we have been for the last almost two years. But her parents slammed Thai authorities for failing to investigate the death. The Thaiger 116K subscribers Join Subscribe 712 Share 29K views 10 months ago #thailand #kohtao #thailandtourist We've all heard. They had no prior criminal records. [42][48] Amnesty International stated that Thailand "must initiate an independent, effective and transparent investigation into mounting allegations of torture and other ill-treatment by police". He later apologised for the comment after it was met with public backlash. A Thai/Indian couple circa June 2021. Speaking at the court, Mr Miller's father Ian said he and his wife Sue had come "with an open mind", adding that it had been an emotional time for the family. A mistake that many forensic experts say jeopardized the entire investigation.Throughout the investigation and criminal trial, the Thai government and police were heavily criticized by human rights organizations, legal experts, and the media. [77], An opinion piece in Bangkok Post wrote that "practically no one believes [Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo] really brutally murdered English tourists", adding "in Thai media of all kinds, the consensus is that Win and Zaw Lin are scapegoats. Picture: Facebook DEATH ISLAND VICTIMS REVEALED The images shown to the court were graphic, reports Jonah Fisher in Thailand. [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. He had entered the country on September 26, 2018, before traveling to the island, where stayed at the Monsoon Gym and Fight Club. Measuring 21 square kilometres (8sqmi) in area, it is the smallest of three popular tourist islands in the Gulf of Thailand. One of the most famous Hollywood murders of recent memory was that of Lana Clarkson, the actress and model. I should add that I was not representing the accused men so I am not presenting arguments on their behalf in any lawyer/client relationship. Fears over the safety of idyllic Koh Tao were heightened after the killings of Brits Hannah Witheridge and David Miller in 2014. Bernds family in Ingolstadt, Germany, said that the authorities told them he had died of heart failure or had been bitten by a snake. Elise's death is the latest in a string of seven fatalities in three years on the island. Hannah Witheridge and David Miller's bodies were found on a beach in Koh Tao in September 2014 Two Burmese migrants convicted over the killings had their death sentences reduced to life. Pathologists and legal experts criticised the police for mishandling the evidence, allowing contamination of the crime scene and failing to use experts to collect forensic evidence. [7][12], Miller and Witheridge were last seen at a bar called AC Bar[13] with friends at a party on Sunday night with around 50 people mostly foreign tourists before they left together after 1am. [5][6] Both were students who were backpacking in Thailand. Attempted murder by Thai diving instructor, Santi Khokpool in the Fishbowl Beach Bar, Koh Tao on 28-year-old British tourist on 15 August 2020. ISBN: 9780062802910. Thai authorities claimed he was drunk and fell, but his family believes he was murdered.. The DNA analysis in the case, which was not subject to independent oversight or verification, was provided to the court as a one-page summary with four supporting pages, some of it handwritten with amendments. The body of 48 year old diving instructor Neil Giblin, from Birmingham, UK, was found dead in his rented bungalow on the island after he failed to turn up to a diving . In 2014, Koh Tao was the site of the brutal double murders of two British backpackers, but theirs weren't the only suspicious backpacker deaths. Unfortunately more tragic news from the so called Death Island of Koh Tao occurred recently when on June 4th 2021 the 2 lifeless bodies of a Thai/Indian billionaire couple were found dead in the Jamahkhiri Resort & Spa hotel pool. 4.14. Ortega, 55, is charged . We had one day on Koh Tao, it was really hard.". She was said to have died of natural causes after mixing antibiotics she was taking for a chest infection with alcohol. Hannah, 23, from Hemsby, Norfolk, and David Miller, 24, from Jersey, were found dead on the island of Koh Tao on September 15. Since then the Samui Times has been inundated with . This story was huge at the time in the UK as they were both British. The crime's brutality amid Koh Tao's insular, backpacker charm caused an international sensation and threatened to further weaken a tourist industry already reeling from the military coup of. [80][81], The Prime Minister of Thailand, Prayut Chan-o-cha, said "[foreign female tourists] think our country is beautiful and safe and they can do whatever they want, wear bikinis wherever they like. The authorities said he had died after striking the diving board from which he was jumping. Christina, from Orpington, South East London, died shortly after arriving on Koh Tao. Koh Tao Mayor Chaiyan Thurasakul said the website is accused of damaging Koh Taos reputation by calling it Death Island. Phone records showed that Elise called her mother on Skype on April 17, 2017, before leaving Koh Phangan on a Ferry on April 19. Controversially, Surat Thani governor Auaychai Innak dismissed as untrue some foreign news reports which claimed reptiles had eaten half of Dallemagne's body. Had he hanged himself, the professor pointed out that the bruises should have appeared on the neck than on his wrists. Most are running guesthouses, eateries and scuba-diving operations or working as diving instructors. [3] The murders were the first cases of homicide on the island in over eight years. It just doesn't go away.". [92], Thailand's government became concerned the murders may affect tourism to the country. The police investigation and criminal trial were widely criticised by international media, human rights organisations, and legal experts. The murders on Koh Tao, a laid-back haven for divers, sullied Thailand's image in the tourism industry, which accounts for about 10 per cent of the country's economy. The convictions were mired in controversy, with supporters of the two men arguing they had been framed because their initial confessions were made under duress. But it was in this idyllic setting that their horribly bludgeoned bodies were discovered, their blood seeping into the sand and staining the water. Only if they are not beautiful." But they were skeptical and he was fit and healthy at the time of his death. 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 family claimed the circumstances surrounding his death and the local police's refusal to co-operate with them have led them to believe the death is "suspicious". 2145/2559, "Two British tourists found dead on Thai island of Koh Tao", "Suspects in Thai Tourist Murders Face Dubious Trial", "Manhunt underway after brutal murder of 2 British tourists on Koh Tao", "Thailand's paradise island murder mystery", "What the Murder of Two British Tourists Tells Us About Thailand's Dark Side", "Thailand's Supreme Court upholds death penalty for men convicted of murdering British backpackers", "Koh Tao DNA evidence & international standards", "Thai court upholds death penalty for murder of Hannah Witheridge and David Miller", "Thailand backpacker murders: Burmese workers sentenced to death", "Thailand beach murders: A flawed and muddled investigation", "Koh Tao murders: DNA matches, confessions obtained, crime re-enacted", "Hearings Open Into Killings of Two British Tourists on Thai Island (Published 2014)", "Thai king commutes death sentence for Myanmar men in British tourist murder case", "Burmese men confess to killing British tourists on Koh Tao, Thai police say", "The Investigation Into Thailand's Backpacker Slayings Is Officially a Farce", "Migrants accused of murder of British couple in Thailand recant confessions", "Thai Dictator Faces Ire Over Murder Probe", "Koh Tao murder suspects plead not guilty", "Burmese pair to be executed for murder of British tourists on Koh Tao, Thailand", "2 Sentenced to Death in Killing of British Tourists in Thailand (Published 2015)", "Thailand murders: Two men found guilty and face death for UK killings", "Thai beach murders: Convicted men lose death sentence appeal", "Thai beach murders: Death sentence upheld by Supreme Court", "Backpacker's family 'grateful' for Thai king's clemency", "Koh Tao pair claim they were tortured before confessing", "Thai beach murders: DNA investigation into death of British backpackers Hannah Witheridge and David Miller 'incompetent at best', "Koh Tao murders: suspects in killing of David Miller and Hannah Witheridge say they were framed", "Koh Tao's dark side: dangers of island where Britons were murdered", "Thai Paradise Gains Reputation as 'Death Island', "Foreign Office calls in Thai diplomat over murder inquiry concerns", "Thailand murder suspects can't have British police report: UK judge", "Thai officials on alert as Myanmar protests spread", "Prayut lashes out at Myanmar Koh Tao protestors", "Thailand's Migrant Worker Woes Exposed in Koh Tao Murder Case", "Govt vows "high-tech" defence against hackers", "Island killings prompt stiffer worker rules", "Contesting narratives: the Koh Tao tourists murders", "Unofficial translation of Koh Samui Provincial Court No. . Aug 10, 2017. Passport photos of David William Miller, and Hannah Victoria Witheridge, both 24, were placed on this memorial on Koh Tao on Wednesday. [55], The defence claimed that the investigation was flawed due to mishandling of forensic evidence, lack of legal representation during interrogations, use of threats and intimidation to secure a confession, and intimidation of witnesses. Elise's mother Michele van Egten says she does not believe the Thai police's version of events amid fears authorities are working to suppress speculation about the many murders on the island. We use your sign-up to provide content in the ways you've consented to and improve our understanding of you. The murders on the popular dive island of Koh Tao drew intense media attention from across the world. It has long had a reputation as a home for organized crime, corruption and as a place where the police protected local interests. The Samui Times believes that it is in the best interests of any visitor to the island to be aware of the numerous tourist deaths and the fact that many families of those who died on the island are not satisfied with police investigations.. To narrow down the search and display some truly rare crime scene photographs, all images on this list have been taken by the photographer Weegee the Famous, who rose to prominence in the 1930s and 40s. [14][22] The police moved the bodies to prevent them being swept up in the rising tide. Unfortunately, the Thai defence lawyers did not call Ms Taupin to give evidence even though she was available. Pol Lt Gen Thanate Pinmuangngam, acting chief of Police Region 8, said In the Dallemagne case, the cause of death was suffocation. Christina Annesley 2015; [61], On July 10, the court ordered the DNA to be retested. [31] They focused on foreign nationals, with a spokesperson for the police claiming "Thais wouldn't do this". But behind paradise lies a grubby underbelly where, according to one report, there are "enough suspicious disappearances to warrant the island its own CSI franchise". WARNING CONTAINS SOME DISTURBING IMAGES OF DEATH. Taupin was ultimately not allowed to testify by the defence, and these issues were not raised by the defence until their closing statement. [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. By the mid 1980s, the criminal underworld . It was revealed yesterday that on April 28 Elise became the latest tourist found dead on the island of Koh Tao. BANGKOK A Thai court sentenced two men from Myanmar on Thursday to death for the murder of two British tourists last year, ending a high-profile trial shadowed . "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. Some of these workers said they can earn more money in Thailand compared to Myanmar. The family has contested the police version of events. It will take a bit of time to find loopholes to appeal. Pol Maj Gen Pornchai Sutheerakhun, director of the Institute of Forensic Science at Police General Hospital in Bangkok, said There were wounds around the neck due to the hanging and some non-fatal bruises in the head, and no drugs were found in the body. Luke Miller 2016; He originally moved to the island in the late 1990s but left in 2016 after becoming frustrated with the corruption and hostility towards foreign business owners. a crime scene with a fallen chair and a blood spot in an abandoned room - bloody crime scene photos stock pictures, royalty-free photos & images View of the body of an unidentified homicide victim under a bloody sheet on the beach in Lands End Park, San Francisco, California, August 1973. Frenchman Dimitri Povse, 29, was found hanged in a bungalow on the island on New Year's Day 2015 and his death was ruled as suicide despite his hands being tied behind his back. [1] After initially failing to find a match to one of the migrant workers, the police focused their attention on Western tourists related to the victims. 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. Samyak Choudhary; and Photographs of the bodies . Ms Witheridge, from Hemsby in Norfolk, and Mr Miller, from Jersey, were murdered on the popular holiday island on September 15. [70] Wai Phyo was also convicted of theft for allegedly stealing a phone and sunglasses from Miller's body. British woman, Christina Annesley, 23, was found in a room at the In Touch Resort on Jan 21, 2015. "We'll go with the flow as much as we can. 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