Koh Tao Murders: Christopher Ware Monstered And Hannah Witheridge Was Begging For It
READER the The Real Stig has a view on the killing in Koh Tao, Thailand of British backpacker Hannah Witheridge and fellow tourist David Miller.
The Thai junta chief and prime minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha appeared to call into question the conduct of the victim as well as the attackers.
“We have to look into the behaviour of the other party, too, because this kind of incident should not happen to anybody and it has affected our image,’ he told reporters today, referring to the two tourists. Speaking a few hours later, he said Thai authorities must tell ‘tourists when the safe times are to be outside, we have to help them understand.”
Is Thailand as safe and welcoming as thery would Westerners believe?
In 2006, two Thai fishermen confessed to the rape and murder of the British backpacker Katherine Horton.
In 2009, three migrant workers murderd Malcolm Robertson with a hammer.
In 2012, Stephen Ashton was killed in the crossfire between two Thai gangs.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office says 11 Britons have been murdered in Thailand since 2009.
Thailand’s premier General Prayuth Chan-O-Cha has more to say. When your leader has the title ‘General’ you know something is not right. He says:
“There are always problems with tourist safety. They think our country is beautiful and is safe so they can do whatever they want, they can wear bikinis and walk everywhere. Can they be safe in bikinis … unless they are not beautiful?”
Hannah Witheridge was murdered because she wore a bikini and that is asking for it. Anyone sane will be able to see that the General is a total arsehat. Hearing the dear leader’s views, you may wonder if Thailand is taking the murders all that seriously. After all, the killers were clearly provoked and not responsible for their actions.
So far, police in Thailand have questioned two British brothers and detained 11 Burmese people.
No Thais? Around half the islanders are Burmese, migrant workers, mostly, But rounding only them up sounds a bit odd.
The Times notes:
…2,000 of Koh Tao’s residents are Burmese. There are the same number of local Thais, plus about 500 other foreigners working in the many diving businesses.
Police Maj-Gen Kiattipong Khawmang, head of the provincial police, has a clue:
“There were three people smoking and playing guitar near the crime scene so we are doing a different search. One was a short person but we could not identify him. It is possible that they are both Asian and Western. Those who were singing were singing a Western song. We are looking at all possibilities. We cannot find those three people, but we are looking for them.”
So. No idea, who did it, then.
Police Colonel Prachum Ruangthong said: “The man was chopped in the back and on the side of his head, while the woman was chopped in her face. It’s very gruesome.”
The Times:
The police are continuing their questioning of Christopher and James Ware, friends of Mr Miller, who are under police “escort” in Bangkok, although they have not formally been arrested.
Police have said that they believe that the couple were having sex at around the time they were attacked, although Mr Miller’s DNA has not been detected on her body. It is not clear whether she was also raped by unknown assailants, before or after her death. Witnesses who saw her body said that she had also been struck repeatedly in the face.
DNA from a cigarette end found near the bodies matched that of traces found on Ms Witheridge’s body.
And the Wares?
Christopher and James Ware were among a group of friends sharing a room with Mr Miller, and were interviewed soon after the discovery of the murdered couple… As late as Tuesday, police said that they were “almost 100 per cent” sure he [Christopher] was not involved. Then yesterday, forensic doctors examining Ms Witheridge’s body reported finding a fair hair clutched in her hand. They were not able to extract a DNA sample from it, but it was this piece of evidence which renewed the Thai police’s suspicions of Christopher. Colonel Prachum did not explain why the police believe the hair was from the potential killer, and could not have come from Mr Miller or one of Ms Witheridge’s other companions.
Miss Witheridge was blonde.
The Bangkok Post leads with the news that the “killer is still free”.
Police sources said Christopher Alan Ware, 25, was stopped as he was about to leave Suvarnabhumi airport on Tuesday and placed under police questioning after police found what they thought was a pair of of his bloodstained trousers in the luggage of the male victim David William Miller, 24…
Investigators who searched Miller’s room found a pair of cream-coloured trousers with what they believed were bloodstains on both legs stuffed in Miller’s luggage, one of the sources said. Several witnesses confirmed Mr Ware, who left the island for Bangkok on Monday evening, was wearing the trousers the night the two victims were murdered, the same source said.
But Mr Ware is not under arrest. The Post’s reporting is unfair and prejudicial. Is it blood? Dunno? Are beige chinos all that rare? No.
Witheridge, meanwhile, was dragged away from the first attack spot, said the same police officer. The officer said Witheridge did manage to run for some distance but was hit repeatedly in the face with a hoe which suggested whoever attacked her could have held a personal grudge against her.
Does it? The paper then adds:
…the killing might have been committed by a man of Asian appearance.
Mr Ware is white.
Posted: 18th, September 2014 | In: Key Posts, Reviews Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
