Body of murdered British teenager's girlfriend found in Thailand
The girlfriend of a murdered British teenager has been found dead in northern Thailand, three miles from where his body was discovered last week.
Police found the girl’s body buried in a shallow grave in a woodland several miles from where Woramet Ben Taota - a dual national - was found murdered on May 7. Both teens were 16.
Police are continuing to question the main suspect, Chaiwat Boongarin, 44, who had been released from prison eight months ago.
Police said he has admitted to killing Woramet but denies murdering Suraphltchaya Khamsa, whose nickname was Ping Pong. He could face the death penalty if convicted of either or both cases.
“The suspect who admitted to killing the boy denies killing the girl. He says that somebody else attacked her and buried her body in the woods,” said Mongkol Sampawapol, commander of Lampang Provincial Police
“The female victim's body is now being sent to hospital for an autopsy to find traces of rape or sexual assault, because the suspect has a history of these crimes,” he said.
“There were signs of bruising on her face and it is expected that she was hit with a solid object until she died.”
Suraphltchaya and Woramet were last seen together riding a motorcycle on the Saturday before he was murdered. They had gone to visit her grandfather earlier in the afternoon.
Woramet was found in a forest the next morning with injuries to his head.
Another of his girlfriends, known by her nickname Yam, was initially declared missing but was later found safe and was ruled out of any involvement in the case.
Chaiwat was arrested after being caught on CCTV riding a black Honda motorcycle around the area at the time of the death. He later tried to hide the vehicle in a friend's shed before changing to a new bike.
He confessed to killing Woramet but continually refused to give any details about the disappearance of Suraphltchaya.
The suspect told police he had made an arrangement to meet the boy for a drug deal, but this turned into an argument because Chaiwat believed the boy had stolen something and was lying to him, Thai media reported.
Chaiwat said he became angry at the boy, and took a piece of wood and hit him in his face and body until he died.
Earlier this week Woramet’s father flew to Thailand from the UK and confronted Chaiwat during a police reenactment of the crime.
Steven Graham, from Eastbourne in East Sussex, screamed at him through the window of a police vehicle: “Look at me in the eye you b-----d”.
Pictures on Ben’s social media show him riding motorcycles and competing in motocross competitions. He and Suraphltchaya grew up in the same village and are said to have been friends from a young age.
