Additional Coverage:
- Australian man accused of brutally murdering Thai girl, 17, and stuffing body in a suitcase (themirror.com)
An Australian man was taken into custody at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport on Friday following the disappearance of a Thai teenager.
Shortly after Simon Peter Carman’s arrest, police discovered a large suitcase near a railway track containing the body of Tunchanok, the missing girl.
In a video recorded while in custody, Carman addressed the victim’s family, expressing remorse. “I feel bad for what happened to your daughter,” he said.
“It was out of my control. I know you’ll be very sad and upset, same as me.”
Carman faces multiple charges, including murder, concealment and disposal of a body, and taking a minor aged 15 to 18 for sexual purposes.
Security footage shows the 45-year-old walking hand in hand with a 17-year-old girl through a hotel lobby in Pattaya around 3:30 a.m. local time on Thursday. Later that evening, Carman was seen leaving his hotel with a black suitcase. Surveillance allegedly captured him securing the suitcase to a scooter and riding to a nearby railway line approximately 10 minutes away.
Authorities found the teenager’s body stuffed inside the suitcase beside the tracks.
Carman reportedly claimed self-defense, stating that he was threatened with a knife.
Tunchanok’s father, Thongchai Donholma, expressed his grief outside a police station in Pattaya, describing his daughter as always helpful. “We were scared. We just hoped it wouldn’t turn out the way we feared,” added her stepmother, Oradee Bussarakum.
The investigation remains ongoing as authorities continue to gather evidence in this tragic case.