Thai police arrest men accused of murdering Brits on Koh Tao Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo were sentenced to death for the killings. "We'll go with the flow as much as we can. 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. Fototeka is a large photo digitation service that works in conjunction with the National Film Archive to enhance historically relevant vintage photographs. I have created a Facebook page and a YouTube channel dedicated to looking into tourist deaths on Koh Tao. Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right. [1][47] The national police chief, Somyot Poompanmoung, denied that torture was involved in the confessions. Get email updates with the day's biggest stories. In a statement following his hearing, James Gissing, who was in Thailand with Luke, said he felt police were covering up as it was the death of another foreigner on Koh Tao, referring to the Witheridge and Miller murders. [93] Amid the investigation, Tourism and Sports Minister Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul visited Koh Tao on 28 September 2014 in an attempt to reassure tourists. [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. While police ruled out foul play, Nick's family, who say officers did not investigate a single witness, believe he was murdered. She was also part of the Sathya Sai Baba cult and lived with a self-proclaimed 'guru'. Picture: Viral Press/Australscope Direct quotations from the trial are unavailable, as the judges did not permit the public to take notes. [51], The prosecution also claimed the defendants entered the country in violation of the Immigration Act of 1979. The robbery took place on Koh Tao island's Sairee beach at the same spot where islanders found the disfigured bodies of David Miller, a 24-year-old from Jersey, and Hannah Witheridge, a. Thai police say the man on the left matches the one seen acting suspiciously on CCTV A Scottish man is being kept in protective custody in Thailand after a photo he took could identify the. From the beginning, the Thai police had difficulty securing the crime scene. Bernds family in Ingolstadt, Germany, said that the authorities told them he had died of heart failure or had been bitten by a snake. [88][89] Hacker group Anonymous published a video on 3 January 2016 criticising the verdict. Koh Tao, Thailand, Serial killers, Unexplained murders WARNING CONTAINS SOME DISTURBING IMAGES OF DEATH The island of Koh Tao, off the coast of Thailand, is often described as a paradise. Ben Harrington 2012; [23] Local residents blocked the pier to prevent the unidentified killers from leaving the island. Tony Witheridge bowed his head as bloody images of. On February 3, 2003, she was found dead of a gunshot wound in the mansion of famed record-producer Phil Spector. Ortega, 55, is charged . 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. Thai police said a post-mortem examination showed he drowned. [36] Footage near the crime scene also showed one of the three men running into a shortcut. The following morning the family raised the alarm when Nick failed to answer the door. Thailand is one of the worlds most popular tourist destinations with around 35 million visitors each year and promotes itself as the Land of Smiles. The government is sensitive to criticism that could undermine the countrys reputation. The father of murdered British backpacker Hannah Witheridge has wept as graphic photos of her body lying on a Thai beach were shown in court. Christina Annesley 2015; In December 2015, the pair were convicted of the murder and sentenced to death. 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. Andy was assisting the defence lawyers. A millionaire hotel tycoon and his wife have been found dead in a luxury resort on Koh Tao, colloquially known as Death Island. He said that the victim had been drunk to the extent that he was unable to control himself, he would not have been able to tie himself up so tightly that he died of suffocation. The crime's brutality amid Koh Tao's insular, backpacker charm caused an international sensation and threatened to further weaken a tourist industry already reeling from the military coup of. [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. They still maintain their innocence, as they did throughout the trial. They are said to have confessed to the crime but later retracted their statements. [1][4][24] Witheridge's body indicated she had been raped. [31] They focused on foreign nationals, with a spokesperson for the police claiming "Thais wouldn't do this". Virat Asavachin (Mr Ban) 2002; Hannah was a fun, vibrant and beautiful young woman who will be sorely missed by all who knew her. It's dangerous. But many cases appear very suspicious according to family members and insufficiently investigated. [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. But behind paradise lies a grubby underbelly where, according to one report, there are "enough suspicious disappearances to warrant the island its own CSI franchise". [3] The murders were the first cases of homicide on the island in over eight years. Im asking if they wear bikinis in Thailand, will they be safe? It has over 100 hotels and resorts and was deemed the busiest diving centre in Southeast Asia in 2014. The Backpacker Murders of Koh Tao. We use your sign-up to provide content in the ways you've consented to and improve our understanding of you. These are the first pictures of the British tourists murdered on a paradise beach in Thailand. 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. Yoshie Sazawa (Sharlyn) 2004; [1][51] According to an observer, the sittings lasted over ten hours each day. "In view of what's happened to David Miller and Hannah Witheridge and various other people I've read about, it just all leads to the same thing. Eight days later when locals living near the island's idyllic Tanote Bay became suspicious of a monitor lizard going back and fourth into the jungle they discovered Elise's half-eaten body on May 27 among rocks behind the Tanote Family Bay Resort. For a second day in a row Taiwan has reported a large-scale air force incursion, escalating tensions in the region. It is not known who released the photos from the crime scene. [63] They plead not guilty to the charge at the trial, but Wai Phyo changed his plea to guilty during the proceedings. [62] They were both also charged with entering the country illegally, to which Wai Phyo had already confessed. Expats dont want to lose their time in paradise, Earley tells Time, as its cheap, its nice living, and its very easy to ignore what happens". But although David's family called the verdict 'justice', the trial of the two Burmese migrant workers was plagued by accusations of human rights abuses. Passport photos of David William Miller, and Hannah Victoria Witheridge, both 24, were placed on this memorial on Koh Tao on Wednesday. Blood on the floor of the feedroom where Paul Murdaugh was shot dead. [15] Experts have considered the forensic investigation to have been incompetent, and to have possibly framed the suspects. [51] The defence provided a separate explanation for the events on the night. [34][35], According to the prosecution in the subsequent case, CCTV footage analysed by the police showed three individuals riding a motorcycle to 7-Eleven, where they bought beer and cigarettes, before going towards Sairee Beach. Most are running guesthouses, eateries and scuba-diving operations or working as diving instructors. The victims have been named by Thai authorities as 23-year-old Hannah Witheridge from Great Yarmouth . Police recovered the body and took it to the neighboring island of Koh Phangan. But Elise had disappeared. British holidaymaker Christina Annesley, 23, died on the island in January 2015 after apparently mixing antibiotics she was taking for a chest infection with alcohol. They claim they did not receive an autopsy report and say his body was sent against their wishes to the same Bangkok hospital that carried out botched reports on the bodies of two Brits murdered on the same island in 2014. [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. We beg that Hannah and David are afforded privacy and dignity through the removal of these pointless and insensitive reminders. Phone records showed that Elise called her mother on Skype on April 17, 2017, before leaving Koh Phangan on a Ferry on April 19. Boyne Annesley believes his 23-year-old daughter Christina Annesley, of Orpington, southeast London, was murdered on Koh Tao Island in January 2015. Two weeks later, two illegal Burmese migrant workers were blamed for the deaths, primarily on the basis of DNA evidence, and confessed following an hours-long interrogation. Alexandr Bucspun, 33, from Moldova, was found dead in the sea off Had Sai Ree on Koh Tao on Tuesday, October 9, 2018. [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". Administratively it is a subdistrict (tambon) of Ko Pha-ngan District (amphoe) of Surat Thani Province. The images shown to the court were graphic, reports Jonah Fisher in Thailand. Once youve been living there for a while, youll turn a blind eye to some pretty sketchy stuff, says Mike Earley, 30, from New Zealand, who spent six months on the island working as a DJ. (415 ratings) Regular Price: 38.99 USD. Alex was charged with Maggie and Paul's murders days after he was formally disbarred by the South Carolina Supreme Court. The Murders The two people killed were Hannah Witheridge and David Miller. On tiny Koh Tao, there are some 2,000 expats alongside the 2,500 registered Thais, according to Mayor Chaiyan Turasakul. [74], The investigation was met with criticism by international media, human rights groups, and legal experts. Their parents must be going through hell just like we are and we have been for the last almost two years. He later apologised for the comment after it was met with public backlash. He originally moved to the island in the late 1990s but left in 2016 after becoming frustrated with the corruption and hostility towards foreign business owners. Mr Zaw and Mr Wai (also known as Win Zaw Htun), both 22 and migrants from Myanmar, also known as Burma, were arrested several weeks later. Shelley Bot 2017; Elise fled 2.5km to through the jungle to Tanote Bay and took a room at the Poseidon Resort where she booked another ticket for Bangkok leaving on April 24. [83] A 2016 study said the case, which it described as a litmus test of Thailand's justice system, "seriously damaged the image of Thailand and of its forces of law and order on the global level". 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 . Both entered through the Ranong Province, allegedly without presenting themselves at a port of entry and without possessing a passport. 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. Grace Beahm Alford/The Post and Courier/Pool Grace Beahm Alford/The Post and Courier/Pool Diagram of crime scene. His family accused the Thai police of a cover-up. Elise Dallemagne 2017; Rockefeller Audio 2022. But an unexplained fire that evening burned down three bamboo huts - including the one Elise had been staying in. 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". Investigators had no theory to explain her unexpected stopover on Koh Tao on her way back to the mainland and the capital Bangkok. ", Mrs Miller said: "It's been hard, very hard. Luke Miller 2016; [1] Receiving half a million visitors each year,[1] Koh Tao is especially popular with backpackers and known for its marine life and scuba diving. Elise's bags mysteriously appear to have been loaded onto the ferry she was due to take, and arrived at Chumphon province where she should have caught a bus to the capital. But no suicide note or message were recovered and Michele is desperate for information surrounding the mysterious death. Pol Lt Gen Thanate Pinmuangngam, acting chief of Police Region 8, said In the Dallemagne case, the cause of death was suffocation. Police chief Apichart Boonsrirote said he assigned teams to check all surveillance cameras around the hostel and on the island to find out where she was last seen, The Phuket News reported. My Facebook page is called KOH TAO DEATH ISLAND. It is always challenging to bring ACCURATE & RELIABLE information about violent crime on Koh Tao because too many people are frightened to speak out publicly and still others try to SHOOT THE MESSENGERS . The suspects however have withdrawn their confessions to the murders and claimed Thai police forced the admissions through torture. On Thursday, the New York District Attorney released crime scene photos showing blood spatter and the knife allegedly used by nanny Yoselyn Ortega to kill two young children in her care. Only if they are not beautiful. He later apologized, saying that he meant only that foreign visitors should be careful. [38] Both men were 22-year-old illegal migrant workers from Rakhine, Myanmar, who worked in the hospitality industry. Myanmar men who murdered two UK backpackers on Ko Tao have their death sentences commuted to life Mobile phone of Ukrainian woman key to the puzzle as police decide between murder or suicide Ko Samui police probe the death of a Ukrainian woman found in a forested area last Sunday by a local man Carla Boonkong & Pranee O' Connor This story was huge at the time in the UK as they were both British. [66], On 24 December 2015, Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo were found guilty of murdering Witheridge and Miller by the three judges, and were sentenced to death. Zaw Lin was not convicted of this charge because he held a work permit for the two years preceding the murders. Then came a stumbling police investigation, speculation about a cover-up to protect a prominent local family, the alleged framing and torture of two young Burmese migrant workers, questions about the handling of key forensic evidence and the controversial observer role of Metropolitan Police officers alongside Thai investigators. [42] In the trial, the prosecution said the phone was found smashed at the home of a friend of Zaw Lin's. She had checked into the hostel on February 11 and was due to check out on February 16, but failed to do so. 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. 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 . The head of the country's Central Institute of Forensic Science found that the DNA on the hoe did not match the defendants. She was said to have died of natural causes after mixing antibiotics she was taking for a chest infection with alcohol. He had been dead about 10 days and had left to go snorkeling alone on November 8. [15] Public prosecutors initially rejected the report, asking for "certain flaws" to be fixed, more information to be supplied, and for the report to be made "more succinct". Aran Klaewklong, a security guard from Big Blue Diving shop, told police he found a mobile phone, clothes, a hotel key, shoes and an ID on the beach at 1.30 am during a beach patrol. The island became world news when two British backpackers, David Miller and Hannah Witheridge were brutally murdered on the island in 2014. Hundreds dead in horror cough syrup tragedy, Hero Aussie soldier suddenly dies aged 33. Today, we have gotten rid of them.. Police told Elise's mother Michele that her daughter had committed suicide by hanging herself from a tree around three days before she was found. https://time.com/3955081/thailand-koh-tao-murder-david-miller-hannah-witheridge-zaw-lin-wai-phyo-burma-myanmar/, https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/dark-side-koh-tao-seven-10708561, https://www.strangeoutdoors.com/true-crime-in-the-outdoors/tag/Cases+on+the+Death+Island+of+Koh+Tao, https://www.nist.gov/feature-stories/dna-mixtures-forensic-science-explainer. They had been brutally beaten to death just a few feet away from their hotel rooms. The coroner concluded there was not enough evidence to say where or how he met his death. The . A woman Povse had been interested in said he had called her twice on the phone that night but she had not picked up because she had been asleep. 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