The evidence in the form of this Unendorsed Report would have been ruled as inadmissible in US courts and other Western courts. We beg that Hannah and David are afforded privacy and dignity through the removal of these pointless and insensitive reminders. Ive never been happier than here, David, a 24-year-old on holiday with friends, told relatives in Jersey in what was to be his last phone call home. 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. [2] In 2014, the island had a population of around 5,000 locals. [21][25] There was tearing present at the vulva, bruising on the perineum, and a bite mark on her right nipple. This led to dozens of charges accusing Alex Murdaugh of stealing nearly $5million in settlement money from lawyers who sued him over the death.. [67] Protesters called for the release of the two suspects, who they believed were innocent and scapegoated for the crime. Bernd had also recently separated from his wife, Oey, a Koh Tao native, with whom he had a seven-year-old daughter, Bene, who had been living for the last two years with his sister, Monica, in Germany. The autopsy stated he had drowned. Andy was assisting the defence lawyers. [42][43] Early police reports said Miller's mobile phone was also found in Zaw Lin's home,[44][45] although the media had previously reported the phone was handed to police by a friend of the victim. The Thaiger 116K subscribers Join Subscribe 712 Share 29K views 10 months ago #thailand #kohtao #thailandtourist We've all heard. [29][30] The police initially speculated about who the culprit might be, alleging various individuals of perpetrating the crime without clear evidence. [3] The murders were the first cases of homicide on the island in over eight years. There were no signs he was suicidal. He said more security cameras would be installed on beaches. 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.. Police have, however, agreed to hand over the garden hoe which was the murder weapon, along with a shoe and a plastic bag. Rockefeller Audio 2022. [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". Wai Phyo and Zaw Lin during a police "re-enactment" of the crime on Koh Tao. Nicola Gissing, who was also on holiday with Luke when he died, has claimed her friends death was no accident. Nick Pearson 2014; The Koh Tao murders involved the death of two British tourists in Thailand in 2014. The two men deny murdering Miss Witheridge, 23, from Norfolk, and David Miller, 24, from Jersey. It has long had a reputation as a home for organized crime, corruption and as a place where the police protected local interests. Bernds family in Ingolstadt, Germany, said that the authorities told them he had died of heart failure or had been bitten by a snake. Some 200 children have died in one nation after taking toxic cough syrups. Belgian backpacker Elise Dallemagne, 30, was found hanging from a tree on April 27, 2017. . 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. On February 16, 2015, Russian tourist Valentina Novozhyonova, 23, vanished from her hostel on Koh Tao. Witnesses said items belonging to the Moldovan were seen in the early hours of Tuesday morning and police were alerted. [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 brutality of the killings made headlines worldwide and cast a shadow across Thailands image as a safe and carefree destination for 20 million foreign visitors a year. [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. "[78] Another commentary in the paper stated that the "overwhelming public skepticism stems from the police's longstanding notoriety for arresting poor and powerless scapegoats to save rich criminals who can afford to buy their innocence". It has a population of around 1,500 people and the main settlement is Ban Mae Hat. As investigators descended upon the apartment, one of them picked up a camera and photographed the scene. [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". She had medication for a chest infection and was drinking, but the Thai police failed to investigate if the combination was sufficient to kill her.". [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. [1][15][16] Miller's body was found floating in the water, and Witheridge's on the beach;[17] the bodies lay approximately 20 metres apart and 30 metres away from their hotel (Ocean View Bungalows). [85][15][86] Prayut said that British and Burmese government representatives were "limited to observation" and had to "respect our processes". In December 2015, the pair were convicted of the murder and sentenced to death. It has over 100 hotels and resorts and was deemed the busiest diving centre in Southeast Asia in 2014. Today, we have gotten rid of them.. [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. [4], The victims of the murders were Hannah Witheridge, a 23-year-old from Hemsby, England, and David Miller, a 24-year-old from Jersey, a Crown Dependency. [76], The International Commission of Jurists said "the defense must be afforded adequate time and facilities to explore whether the alleged destruction of evidence in this case was appropriate and unavoidable, and to test the prosecution case overall." Local police claimed he had fallen 50 feet and . 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. The official story is they were walking back to their hotel at night and were jumped by 2 Burmese men. 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. I am a legal practitioner in Perth, Western Australia who has been following events on Koh Tao very closely since the time of the murders of Hannah Witheridge and David Miller on 15 September 2014. Samyak Choudhary; and His body was found at the beach at the Hillside Resort on Koh Tao, on January 1, 2014. [33][34] Over 200 individuals on the island, many of them migrant workers, were tested in mass DNA testing. [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. The images shown to the court were graphic, reports Jonah Fisher in Thailand. The island became world news when two British backpackers, David Miller and Hannah Witheridge were brutally murdered on the island in 2014. A judge found the workers guilty and sentenced them to death despite questions about DNA evidence and the police handling of the case. Deaths have been explained away by the authorities as unfortunate accidents or suicides. Photo: CSI LA. They stated they were driven by a desire to rape the victim following sexual arousal when they saw the couple kissing on the beach. Complaining about wrongdoing may invite official questions and demands for passports and documentation. 'A perfect job' Authorities remain steadfast in their conviction they've found those responsible. [51][21] The trial was attended by external observers, including representatives from Amnesty International and the UK's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. In September 2014, two European backpackers, Hannah Witheridge and David Miller were found murdered on Sairee Beach on Thailands island of Koh Tao. I have created a Facebook page and a YouTube channel dedicated to looking into tourist deaths on Koh Tao. In January 2014, 25-year-old Nick Pearson was found dead in the sea below a cliff while visiting the island. Pol Lt Gen Thanate Pinmuangngam, acting chief of Police Region 8, said In the Dallemagne case, the cause of death was suffocation. We are furious that we have not been able to have an approved independent forensic examination.". On 15 September, the bodies of Hannah Witheridge and David Miller were found on Sairee Beach on the island of Koh Tao, between 4 and 5 am, a few hours after their deaths. Both entered through the Ranong Province, allegedly without presenting themselves at a port of entry and without possessing a passport. While Weegee is well known and has work in places like the Metropolitan Museum of Art, most of the pictures here come from a junk store box . German Bernd Grotsch's body was found at his home deep in the jungle in the Mae Haad part of Koh Tao. The government of Thailand was concerned the murders might affect tourism to the island, with arrivals dropping in the months following the murders. Unfortunately, the Thai defence lawyers did not call Ms Taupin to give evidence even though she was available. 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 . Ortega, 55, is charged . 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 fascinating, cinematic, multigenerational history of the Cuban mob in the US from "America's top chronicler of organized crime"* and New York Times bestselling author of Havana Nocturne. [62] They were both also charged with entering the country illegally, to which Wai Phyo had already confessed. Michele claims that Elise used a fake name of "Elise Dubuis" to check into the Triple B Bungalows next to Mae Head Pier on Koh Tao as she travelled via the island on a ferry bound for Chumphon province on her route back to capital Bangkok. There were no signs of fighting or a struggle, nor were foreign objects or substances that could cause loss of consciousness found in the body.. On 15 September, the bodies of Hannah Witheridge and David Miller were found on Sairee Beach on the island of Koh Tao, between 4 and 5am, a few hours after their deaths. Bernd's cousin Christina said: ''We cannot accept what the Thai authorities on the island are telling us. It covers an area of about 21 km2. Their findings were never made public, but were shared with the families of the victims. 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. [1], A defence team from Bangkok, composed of nearly 20 lawyers, were only permitted half an hour to meet the men; a request by the defence to delay the hearing and allow more time to prepare was denied by a judge at the Koh Samui Provincial Court. But they were skeptical and he was fit and healthy at the time of his death. 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Thai authorities claimed he was drunk and fell, but his family believes he was murdered.. [70] Wai Phyo was also convicted of theft for allegedly stealing a phone and sunglasses from Miller's body. 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. Derby coroner Louise Pinder said there was not enough evidence to say how he died and recorded an open verdict. The . Nick's mother Tracy Pearson, told Derby and South Derbyshire Coroner's Court in the U.K., she had "a gut feeling there was foul play". He had recently returned to the island after building up a motorbike rental business. [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. Guardian. [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. Elise's heartbroken mother, Michele van Egten, has now proclaimed she does not believe police account of events. 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. [10], Witheridge and Miller travelled and arrived on the island separately on 25 August. He also had to track down a man seen on surveillance footage leaving his daughter's flat hours before she was discovered. Attempts to appeal the sentence failed, but a royal decree was issued by King Vajiralongkorn in 2020 commuting the death sentences to life imprisonment. He started another business in neighboring island Koh Phayam before returning in March 2018 to "tie up loose ends". They believed he had accidentally drowned and he was thought to have been dead for around 12 hours when his body was retrieved. It is not known who released the photos from the crime scene. Some of these workers said they can earn more money in Thailand compared to Myanmar. (415 ratings) Regular Price: 38.99 USD. The economy of the island is almost exclusively centered on tourism, especially scuba diving. Post-mortem examinations showed that the young backpackers, who had met on the island while staying at the same hotel, both suffered head wounds and that Hannah had been raped. One of the most famous Hollywood murders of recent memory was that of Lana Clarkson, the actress and model. But an unexplained fire that evening burned down three bamboo huts - including the one Elise had been staying in. Associate Professor Charnkanit Krittiya Suriyamanee, a criminologist and lecturer at the faculty of social science and humanities of Mahidol University, said he doubted the suicide theory citing some irrelevant evidences, according to Chiangrai Times. It just doesn't go away.". [30] Thailand's National Human Rights Commission said "the circumstances surrounding the arrest of the two Myanmar workers were dubious, leading to impressions the suspects were not aware of their rights and that justice had not been done". See the latest list of Exclusive members-only articles on StrangeOutdoors.com, https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30320196. British woman, Christina Annesley, 23, was found in a room at the In Touch Resort on Jan 21, 2015. [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]. Virat Asavachin (Mr Ban) 2002; A few days later, staff checked her room to discover her mobile phone, passport and camera had all been left behind. 2040 / 2557, Regional Court of Appeal VIII No. After unsuccessfully trying to find their possessions, they walked towards Mau Mau's house through the shortcut, which resulted in them being caught on CCTV. They think our country is beautiful and safe and they can do whatever they want, wear bikinis wherever they like, the prime minister said. The 25-year-old's mum Tracey told a documentary about the island she would warn parents not to allow their children to travel to the island. She said: "I would tell them to do everything in their power to stop them going. The victims have been named by Thai authorities as 23-year-old Hannah Witheridge from Great Yarmouth . Of Thailand was concerned the murders might affect tourism to the court were graphic reports. He was fit and healthy at the Hillside Resort on Jan 21, 2015 leaving daughter! 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