A Thai man has confessed to killing and dismembering his girlfriend.
He was allegedly jealous that she attracted interest from many men.
Suspect Pipat Kanthima, 41, was nabbed at a local monastery for the murder of Suree Onsanit, 46. Six partly burnt and decomposed parts of her body were found on a burnt mattress along with two knives on Sunday, Valentine’s Day. Police also retrieved Pipat’s bloodstained clothes from the monastery.
Pipat claimed he dismembered Suree – as he had watched some films about cutting up bodies – and initially wanted to throw the parts into a river to conceal the crime.
He claimed he had been with Suree for years, and during that time he had travelled back and forth to Turkey for a construction job. He claimed Suree had invested all his money – about Bt1 million, which he had sent her for the massage business and other items.
Pipat claimed he saw Suree’s Line chat with another man on February 4 and became angry, which resulted in an argument. He claimed the fight got physical and that she pulled a knife on him and he sustained a cut left hand. He said he struggled with her for the sharp weapon and accidentally stabbed her to death. So, he dismembered her body to conceal the crime.
Chiang Mai police forensic scientist Pol Lt Col Thanandon Wittayawutthikul said his team would inspect the scene again for more evidence, such as fingerprints and drag marks. Police initially believed the suspect killed and dismembered Suree and put the parts in plastic bags for disposal, Thanandon said, then he changed his mind and placed the parts on a mattress and tried to burn them by lighting a fire in the house. But the fire failed to spread due to poor ventilation.
The police investigation initially mulled the motive of jealousy over romantic relations, as the victim reportedly had been involved with at least three men.
They were a foreign ex-husband with whom she had two children abroad and who had just wired Bt2 million to her bank account last week, Pipat and another unnamed foreign man.
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