Koh Tao Murders: Sex, Gangsters And Shaking Hands
Chief of the Forensic Police Institute Pornchai Suteerakune updates reporters on the deaths of two British tourists who were found dead on a beach in Koh Tao, a popular diving destination in the Gulf of Thailand, in Bangkok, Thailand, Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2014. Police on the scenic Thai resort island searched hotels and workers’ residences Tuesday looking for clues into the slayings of the tourists whose nearly naked, battered bodies were found on a beach a day earlier.(AP photo/Sakchai Lalit)
KOH Tao murders: A look at reporting on the murders or David Miller and Hannah Witheridge.
The Sun: “Cop: Sex row key to Thai murders”
THE killer of two Brits in Thailand may have been motivated by “sexual jealousy”, local police say. They are investigating a row between David Miller and a Thai man who tried to chat up Hannah Witheridge in a bar. Police spokesman Kissana Phathanachareon said: “We still believe sexual jealously is at the heart of this crime.”
What else is believed?
It is believed David stepped in to help Hannah in the bar — and died as he tried to protect her from their killers.
The Times reports Colonel Kissana Phathanacharoen’s address in fuller terms:
“No lines of inquiry can be ruled out and we believe these crimes could have been motivated by sexual jealousy. We have discovered fresh evidence which could lead to a new suspect who may have had a relationship or one-night stand with Hannah or one of her friends or David the night before they were killed. We have asked the Metropolitan police to go back and make inquiries of Hannah’s friends on this matter. The liaison officer here in Bangkok is working on getting that statement. The faster we get it, the faster we may be able to get the bad guy.”
It’s pretty cclear that facts are thin on the ground. But the Colonel says there is a “bad guy”. So. The killer is a single male.
The Mirror: “Thailand beach murders: DNA match to two Asian men found on victim in major breakthrough”
Two men. Not one man.
The Mirror says Hannah Witheridge ‘raped by two local men’. But only one of them killed her?
Thailand’s top police chief Somyot Poompanmoung – their equivalent of the Chief Constable of the Met Police – flew to Koh Tao to personally oversee the investigation today. He shook hands with the Sunday Mirror but admitted: “We still don’t know who did it but DNA tests now show an Asian was responsible. The family are not coming to the island and have gone back to England. I don’t know if the killer is still on the island. We have some new leads but no new suspects “I will do my best to solve this crime. We are so sorry.”
What an odd line that is: “He shook hands with the Sunday Mirror but…” It’s a bit Lloyd George knew my mother, no?
The paper then slaps its logo on a video entitled:
British tourist’s last moments alive is shown on CCTV in Thailand
Aren’t her last moments alive the ones just before she died? Is this a video of the murder?
No. But you can watch a video of Hannah Witheridge walking in a bar area.
The Mirror adds:
They now believe that the couple enjoyed drinks together in Choppers Bar and Grill before moving onto the AC nightclub. “Choppers” is an Aussie bar popular with ex-pats which shows Premier League football and Formula One racing. Then later wandered onto the beach where they were attacked.
The video is wrongly titled. But Eleanor Mills has another view in the Sunday Times:
Travel as far as you like, you’ll never be off screen Backpacking in southeast Asia used to be a chance to get away and find yourself. Now, as the images of two murdered Britons have shown, mobiles and CCTV are always watching
Well, no. CCTV did not record the murders of David Miller and Hannah Witheridge.
Like many other Brits — particularly those of a Generation X vintage — I was shocked by the murder of two young travellers on the beautiful Thai island of Koh Tao last Monday. My memories of that sunlit isle are truly of La Isla Bonita… It’s at least 20 years since I arrived there, trusty rucksack strapped to my back, Lonely Planet guide in hand, seeking peace, enlightenment and an “authentic” experience…
While the descriptions of the attack on David Miller, 24, and Hannah Witheridge, 23, were horrible — bludgeoned to death, with Hannah likely to have been sexually assaulted — it is a sad fact of life that violent assaults can happen anywhere. While I feel desperately sorry for their families, what jarred me into realising just how much the world has changed were the CCTV shots of them leaving the bar, hand in hand.
Who knew they had such technology in Thailand? On Bournemouth beach, yes. But Thailand. Don’t the communicate with drums?
Two decades ago what happened on that backpacker trail was veiled by time and distance. Key incidents might be shared months later in tall travellers’ tales told in university bars or British pubs — carefully honed to highlight their exotic or flattering nature. Then, mementos were grungy Thai fisherman’s trousers worn with pride on freezing nights, frayed friendship bracelets, ethnic knitwear, dog-eared maps and maybe a few precious photographs of particularly dear friends or lovers made and left behind along the way.
Eleanor Mills… Come on, Eleanor Mills. Two people have been murdered and while you’re stories about being young and playing dress ups are captivating, try to remember that two people have been murdered.
Thankfully, the Mail gets back to the facts:
British backpackers Hannah Witheridge and David Miller may have been arguing with a local gangster when they were brutally murdered in Thailand last week, it has been suggested. The pair, who met on the island of Koh Tao where they were both staying with friends, may have fallen victim to a criminal ‘underbelly’ which, locals say, no one is speaking out about for fear of their own lives.
Maybe the Bangkok Post has more news?
Koh Tao suspects narrowed down
Senior police adviser Pol Gen Jarumporn Suramanee said detectives were waiting for the results of DNA tests on samples collected from 30 people. They are either alien workers or staff of hotels and restaurants located near the crime scene on Sai Ree beach. See also: Police probe ‘all at sea’ He said detectives were also focusing on footprints found near a cigarette butt left on the beach where the bodies of Hannah Witheridge and David Miller, both 24,were found. DNA types from the cigarette butt match those in semen found in the body of the female victim. Senior Surat Thani police officers discussed investigative progress on Sunday and acknowledged detectives’ latest report that focused on clues linking two prime suspects – a Thai national and a Myanmar worker.
Such are the facts…
Posted: 22nd, September 2014 | In: Reviews Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
