[21][25] There was tearing present at the vulva, bruising on the perineum, and a bite mark on her right nipple. Only if they are not beautiful." The reporter was forced to leave the country she lived in for 20 years after Thai authorities issued an arrest warrant accusing her of publishing false information and violating the computer crime law.. Forensic report into British murders in Thailand leaked to local media https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/6729031/thailand-koh-tao-island-dad-dead-mystery/, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-derbyshire-30546787, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/09/17/sister-murdered-backpacker-hannah-witheridge-dies-falling-gravely/, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-53797951, https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/1282946/police-clarify-koh-tao-death-cases, https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1047575-death-island-riddle%C2%A0-koh-tao-mystery-deepens-as-%E2%80%98healthy%E2%80%99-dad-becomes-tenth-westerner-to-die-in-suspicious-circumstances/, https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4680394/Haunting-final-image-Koh-Tao-backpacker-Thai-hang-suicide.html, https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/thailands-death-island-tourist-33-13399601, https://www.chiangraitimes.com/crime-chiang-rai-thailand/body-of-moldavian-tourist-found-dead-in-sea-off-the-island-koh-tao-sent-to-bangkok-for-thorough-autopsy/, https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/443983/suter-hanspeter-body-found-on-beach-in-chumphon-thailand, Koh Tao Murders, Suspicious Deaths, Fatal Accidents Tribute to 20 Foreigners Tony Lotus & 1Survivor, Tagged: Koh Tao - Death Island in Paradise, Cases on the Death Island of Koh Tao, nick pearson koh tao death, The coroner concluded there was not enough evidence to say where or how he met his death. Date: July 24, 2022. Some sources also refer to Wai Phyo as Win Zaw Htun. Ben Harrington 2012; [11], An autopsy revealed that both victims were hit by a hard object resulting in head and face wounds. Murder of two backpackers on the island of Koh Tao I'm asking if they wear bikinis in Thailand, will they be safe? Controversy of Koh Tao murders - coconuts.co Now their families are demanding answers. All times AEDT (GMT +11). For example, she discovered that one of the DNA labs that conducted tests at the time only had accreditation to do paternity tests and not criminal profiling in a capital murder case. The family has contested the police version of events. [21][73], The death sentences were commuted to life imprisonment on 14 August 2020 following a royal decree to commemorate King Vajiralongkorn's birthday and "illustrate the king's clemency". The Koh Samui Provincial Court has set 24 December as the date to deliver its judgement on two Myanmar men, Zaw Lin and Zaw Ein Htun (aka Wai Phyo), who are accused of murdering two British tourists on Thailand's Koh Tao Island on September 15 last year. David Miller 2014; [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. Buy images; Sell images; Lightboxes; Get latest News Information, Articles on Thailand Vs Indonesia Odi Live Streaming Updated on December 27, 2018 19:20 with exclusive Pictures, photos & videos on Thailand Vs Indonesia Odi Live Streaming at Latestly.com - Page 18 Two of the victims were dismembered and disposed of in plastic bags. Bernd's cousin Christina said: ''We cannot accept what the Thai authorities on the island are telling us. German Bernd Grotsch's body was found at his home deep in the jungle in the Mae Haad part of Koh Tao. Last modified on Wed 29 Nov 2017 23.45 EST. On Tuesday, new details emerged as police investigated the death of a wealthy billionaire industrialist and his wife on Ko Tao last Friday. "What we're after are some answers- whether we are going to get them or not I don't know. "They said they were going to cremate him the next day - I had to call the Home Office to stop the cremation. While his death was ruled as suicide cops could not explain why his hands are tied behind his back. The university graduate, who was two weeks into a four-month backpacking trip round South East Asia, was found dead on her bungalow in January 2015. An unexplained fire that evening burned down three bamboo huts, including the one Elise had been staying in. Although Koh Tao is one of the most beautiful islands in Thailand, it has always been shrouded by a dark mystery. Why Alex Murdaugh was spared the death penalty, Why Trudeau is facing calls for a public inquiry, The shocking legacy of the Dutch 'Hunger Winter', Why half of India's urban women stay at home. (Washington D.C., February 27, 2023) - The Specialized Criminal Court (SCC) in Riyadh, used to prosecute "terrorism" cases in Saudi Arabia, has charged six former prominent SCC judges and four former judges of the High Court, the country's supreme court, with "high treason" - a crime punishable by death in Saudi Arabia - in its first secret hearing of the case on February 16, 2023, said . Outcry from the international community over the death penalties upheld 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. [7] Witheridge had completed undergraduate studies in education at the University of East Anglia and had started post-graduate studies in speech and language therapy at the University of Essex. It is not known who released the photos from the crime scene. The second man, Wai Phyo,[a] was believed to have left the island by boat the previous night. UK reporter Suzanne Buchanan has thoroughly investigated the cases alongside the deaths of Belgian Elise Dellemange, Swiss Hans Peter Suter and French Dimitri Povse -who also were also found dead under mysterious circumstances. koh tao murders crime scene photos. A backpacker from Belgium, Elise Dallemagne, 30, was found hanged in the hillson the island on April 28, 2017. [51][21] The trial was attended by external observers, including representatives from Amnesty International and the UK's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. She was dedicated, ambitious and would have made an amazing difference to the lives of many families through her chosen career as a Speech and Language Therapist. [5][40] The commutation was welcomed by Miller's family. GermanBernd Grotsch, 47, was found deadat his home deep in the jungle in the Mae Haad part of Koh Tao. The team were only allowed to spend two hours on Koh Tao and did not meet with the suspects or defence. How are they ever going to get closure and justice if they dont know what happened? The following morning the family raised the alarm when Nick failed to answer the door. ", Mrs Miller said: "It's been hard, very hard. [20] Both bodies were found semi-naked;[21] a pile of clothes was found nearby. Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, "This Septic Isle: Backpackers, Bloodshed and the Secretive World of Koh Tao", "Links revealed between police and migrants on Koh Tao", "Police: Still no suspect in killings of Britons on idyllic Thai island", "Thai king commutes death sentence of UK pair's killers", "Thailand: Hannah Witheridge 'raped by two men before being killed', "Thailand backpacker murders: David Miller and Hannah Witheridge - two lives cut short", "Thailand murders: Victims' families talk of senseless killings", "Hannah Witheridge's family pay tribute to "beautiful, intelligent, loving young woman", "British backpackers murdered in Thailand named as Hannah Witheridge and David Miller", "Thailand murders: Amnesty International call for police torture probe", Koh Samui Provincial Court No. Although Koh Tao is one of the . "I got him home and they had a proper postmortem - most of his bones were broken but the one bone that wasn't broken was his neck and there was no evidence of his face looking towards his back. A judge found the workers guilty and sentenced them to death despite questions about DNA evidence and the police handling of the case. Why are the police not thoroughly investigating, why are they changing facts? Eight days later locals living near Tanote Bay found Elise's body after becoming suspicious of a monitor lizard going back and forth into the jungle. The former founder of the Samui Times suggests in her new book The curse of the Turtle, released earlier this month by WildBlue Press, that something fishy is going on on that island., She challenges the validity of the investigations conducted by the Thai police claiming she has a lot of evidence and speaks of powerful local families running the island without having to comply with any laws. Our family have been further traumatised by reports that there are numerous unnecessary and senseless photographs circulating across the internet. At the end of the trial's third day, the judge said police had informed him all the samples taken on the island were "finished" - meaning they could not be analysed again. But, he said that most of these would have been present prior to his death, although he could not completely rule out the possibility that Nick had been attacked. [48], The guilty verdict resulted in widespread protests in Myanmar. Ms Taupin did note however that the document that the prosecution relied upon was an Unendorsed Report in that it had no seal or stamp certifying that it had been produced by an accredited laboratory and in accordance with international standards. 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. Measuring 21 square kilometres (8sqmi) in area, it is the smallest of three popular tourist islands in the Gulf of Thailand. [29][30] The police initially speculated about who the culprit might be, alleging various individuals of perpetrating the crime without clear evidence. [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". And at least six young Brits have all died in suspicious circumstances on the small island of Koh Tao, leading their loved ones to label it "Death Island". As we continue with our plans for our beautiful Hannahs party, our thoughts are with David Millers family who are suffering the same indescribable agony. Her mother, Michele claimed that Elise used a fake name of 'Elise Dubuis' to check into the Triple B Bungalows next to Mae Head Pier on Koh Tao. My YouTube channel is called KOH TAO MURDERS DEATH ISLAND. The items were still there are 3 am and he called the police. The bungalow is 50ft above the ocean, theres nothing but massive granite boulders between his bungalow and the ocean so how did he managed to tumble all the way down there? Their bodies were found on a beach on the island of Koh Tao last September. While police claimed that she hanged herself, mystery surrounded her death, as it was revealed she used a fake name at the hostel she was staying. Hannah was raped before she was killed. Koh Tao Cabana - UPDATED Prices, Reviews & Photos (Thailand) - Villa 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. 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. "They won't come forward because they know something is going to happen to them," he added. Hi there! https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/03/world/asia/thailand-koh-tao-death-island.html#:~:text=But%20among%20some%20foreigners%2C%20Koh,began%20calling%20it%20Death%20Island.&text=She%20accused%20the%20police%20of,up%20crime%20on%20the%20island. Amnesty International has demanded the Thai authorities investigate the torture allegations after one suspect reportedly said he was beaten and threatened with electrocution. 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. "We'll go with the flow as much as we can. 2040 / 2557", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Koh_Tao_murders&oldid=1135707447, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 26 January 2023, at 10:00. [15], Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo retracted their statements following a visit from a consular lawyer for Myanmar and said they had made their statements under duress, after they had allegedly been beaten, left naked in a freezing room, and threatened with electrocution and an extrajudicial killing. But "Turtle Island" has its dark side. His family accused the Thai police of a cover-up. Both were found dead on the bottom of a swimming pool at a seaside resort on Koh Tao in Surat Thani. Thai murders: Backpacker killers face execution | Herald Sun Nationwide News Pty Ltd 2023. BBC correspondent Jonah Fisher said Miss Witheridge's father and brother sat with their heads bowed as the evidence was presented in court but continued listening. The body had to be identified using dental records and previous X-rays. Also on the list of unexplained tourist deaths are French Dimitri Povse, 29, who was found hanged in a bungalow on New Year's Day 2015. Create an account. Ten days after he went missing from Sairee Beach on Koh Tao, the body of Swiss tourist Hans Peter Suter, 44, was washed ashore at Talay Ngam beach in Lang Suan district of Chumphon province on Tuesday, November 18, 2014. [1][51] According to an observer, the sittings lasted over ten hours each day. It has over 100 hotels and resorts and was deemed the busiest diving centre in Southeast Asia in 2014. [15] Experts have considered the forensic investigation to have been incompetent, and to have possibly framed the suspects. The authorities said he had died after striking the diving board from which he was jumping. Thailand backpackers murder trial: Hannah Witheridge's father weeps in Koh Tao murders: Thai court upholds death penalty for two men convicted of killing British backpackers . Anthony Cardullo 2013 (USA); 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". Boyne Annesley believes his 23-year-old daughter Christina Annesley, of Orpington, southeast London, was murdered on Koh Tao Island in January 2015. Police major general, Surachate Hakparn, said in an interview that the police have cracked down on crime syndicates on Koh Tao since the backpackers double killing. The Mirror reports that Hannahs family have pleaded for the photos of the pair, who were brutally murdered on a Thailand beach, to be taken off the internet. [3] The murders were the first cases of homicide on the island in over eight years. [48][35] A 900-page police report was produced to guide the prosecution's case, but the defence were not allowed to see the report until the trial began. Saudi Arabia | Saudi Prosecutor Seeks Death Penalty against 10 Former Koh Tao murders: "Person of interest" (updated Tuesday) [49] Wai Phyo was also charged with stealing Miller's phone. The trial provided an obvious example of Scientific Fraud being used to convict two scapegoats. The head of the country's Central Institute of Forensic Science found that the DNA on the hoe did not match the defendants. Bernd Grotsch 2017; [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. But many cases appear very suspicious according to family members and insufficiently investigated. [64], Several CCTV cameras near the crime scene were reported to be nonfunctional, and cameras near the pier were not checked by the police. She added: The families of all the victims are not happy with the police reports, autopsy reports in Thailand dont match autopsy reports in the UK. Ms Witheridge, from Hemsby in Norfolk, and Mr Miller, from Jersey, were murdered on the popular holiday island on September 15. The father-of-ones family in Ingolstadt, Germany, said at the time they did not believe the authorities' claims that hedied of heart failure or had been bitten by a snake.. The Backpacker Murders Of Koh Tao. What Really Happened There? [52] The suspects were defended pro bono by two lawyers from the Lawyers Council of Thailand. [31] Media reports speculated that was because the defence was wary of calling on foreign experts fearing it could appear as undermining the Thai justice system, and could bias the judges against their case. We won't comment on the trial process. To inquire about a licence to reproduce material, visit our Syndication site. 851 River diver Videos, Royalty-free Stock River diver Footage [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. Hotels near The Heart of Chechnya Hotels near State Gallery named after A. 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". We've all heard about the 2014 backpacker murders of two British tourists in Koh Tao, Thailand. British Bricklayer Luke Miller, 26, was found at the bottom of a swimming pool at the Sunset Bar at Sairee Beach on January 6, 2016. [87][88] The protests angered Thailand's prime minister, who believed the demonstrations were a plot "instigated" to hurt the government. [1][4][24] Witheridge's body indicated she had been raped. In 2018 in Cancn alone, there were 540 murders. But they were skeptical and he was fit and healthy at the time of his death. The two are charged with the murder of David Miller, 24, and Hannah Witheridge, 23, on . Koh Tao Murders, Suspicious Deaths, Fatal Accidents Tribute to 20 There were no signs of a struggle or rape or other human DNA. The police investigation and criminal trial were widely criticised by international media, human rights organisations, and legal experts. [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. The pictures, which News Corp Australia will not reproduce, were taken on the beach at Koh Tao, where the pair was hacked to death with a garden hoe, allegedly by two Burmese men who confessed to the bloody crime then withdrew their confessions. And on Koh Tao there are around 5,000 Burmese conspicuous by the golden streaks of thanaka paste, a traditional sunscreen and beauty product, garnishing their cheeks who build hotels, sweep. "As long as I can breathe I will keep trying to find answers.". [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. [31] They focused on foreign nationals, with a spokesperson for the police claiming "Thais wouldn't do this". Despite claims of a fall, he had no broken bones. 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.
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