koh tao murders photos

The university graduate, who was two weeks into a four-month backpacking trip round South East Asia, was found dead on her bungalow in January 2015. [67] Protesters called for the release of the two suspects, who they believed were innocent and scapegoated for the crime. I should add that I was not representing the accused men so I am not presenting arguments on their behalf in any lawyer/client relationship. Find out more about our policy and your choices, including how to opt-out. Top Rotherham Self-Guided Tours & Rentals: See reviews and photos of Self-Guided Tours & Rentals in Rotherham, England on Tripadvisor. Martin Totland Frilans. [88][89] Hacker group Anonymous published a video on 3 January 2016 criticising the verdict. A 28-year-old British guy. Investigators had no theory to explain her unexpected stopover on Koh Tao on her way back to the mainland and the capital Bangkok. Speaking at the court, Mr Miller's father Ian said he and his wife Sue had come "with an open mind", adding that it had been an emotional time for the family. Deaths have been explained away by the authorities as unfortunate accidents or suicides. [80][81], The Prime Minister of Thailand, Prayut Chan-o-cha, said "[foreign female tourists] think our country is beautiful and safe and they can do whatever they want, wear bikinis wherever they like. I just listened to your full podcast about Koh Tao with considerable interest. 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". In fact, during one 36-hour spell in April last year, nine people were murdered there. Read about our approach to external linking. 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 murderer. Thai beach deaths DNA evidence . 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. "So for an hour the families of Hannah Witheridge and David Miller looked and listened as crime scene pictures were shown in court.". A few days later, staff checked her room to discover her mobile phone, passport and camera had all been left behind. Nick Pearson 2014; 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. [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. Six weeks on . My Facebook page is called KOH TAO DEATH ISLAND. "I got him home and they had a proper postmortem - most of his bones were broken but the one bone that wasn't broken was his neck and there was no evidence of his face looking towards his back. Cart. Her mother, Michele claimed that Elise used a fake name of 'Elise Dubuis' to check into the Triple B Bungalows next to Mae Head Pier on Koh Tao. Koh Tao Murders: No DNA match with Warot in first test results By Coconuts Bangkok Oct 31, 2014 | 5:40pm Bangkok time Preliminary results today found no link between Warot Tuwichian and DNA police say was collected from the scene of two murders on Koh Tao last month. [23] Local residents blocked the pier to prevent the unidentified killers from leaving the island. "There was no compassion at all- he had to go down to identify the body which he couldn't do and while he was sitting there the police were just laughing. She added: The families of all the victims are not happy with the police reports, autopsy reports in Thailand dont match autopsy reports in the UK. The families of the young Brits who mysteriously lost their lives in Koh Tao have vowed to find out the truth and say something dodgy is going on., The grieving families have formed a support group following the death of their children on the Thai island, dubbed death island.. [6] Miller had just completed his undergraduate degree in civil and structural engineering at the University of Leeds and was starting a masters degree. Miller had scratches on his back and water in his lungs indicating drowning. [54] They argued that the defendants intended to kill Miller, using a hoe to hit him multiple times on the head. Samyak Choudhary; and Post-mortems found that Hannah had died from head wounds, while engineering student Mr Miller suffered severe blows to his head and drowned. Zaw Lin was not convicted of this charge because he held a work permit for the two years preceding the murders. It followed her reporting on the case of a British girl who was allegedly raped on the same beach. The evidence in the form of this Unendorsed Report would have been ruled as inadmissible in US courts and other Western courts. [42][48] Amnesty International stated that Thailand "must initiate an independent, effective and transparent investigation into mounting allegations of torture and other ill-treatment by police". There have been suspicious reports of hand-sized bruises found on Lukes shoulders. [7] Witheridge had completed undergraduate studies in education at the University of East Anglia and had started post-graduate studies in speech and language therapy at the University of Essex. Belgian backpacker Elise Dallemagne, 30, was found hanging from a tree on April 27, 2017. The economy of the island is almost exclusively centered on tourism, especially scuba diving. Heightened vigilance has been urged for all countries after two new deadly virus cases were detected in humans in China. The images shown to the court were graphic, reports Jonah Fisher in Thailand. They think our country is beautiful and safe and they can do whatever they want, wear bikinis wherever they like, the prime minister said. UK reporter Suzanne Buchanan has thoroughly investigated the cases alongside the deaths of Belgian Elise Dellemange, Swiss Hans Peter Suter and French Dimitri Povse -who also were also found dead under mysterious circumstances. [28], Due to concerns the murders might affect foreign tourism into Thailand, the national authorities sought to expedite the investigation into the murders. [1][96], Although tourist arrivals to Koh Tao dropped in the months immediately following the murders, there was little lasting effect on tourism to the island.[92]. Hannah was a University of Essex student from Hemsby in Norfolk, UK, and David was a civil and structural engineering graduate, from Jersey. But they were skeptical and he was fit and healthy at the time of his death. While police claimed that she hanged herself, mystery surrounded her death, as it was revealed she used a fake name at the hostel she was staying. There were no witnesses. Aug 2014 - Dec 20217 years 5 months. 24, after their battered bodies were found on a beach on the southern resort island of . https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/03/world/asia/thailand-koh-tao-death-island.html#:~:text=But%20among%20some%20foreigners%2C%20Koh,began%20calling%20it%20Death%20Island.&text=She%20accused%20the%20police%20of,up%20crime%20on%20the%20island. We are like one big family, weve been through this journey for the past seven years together. DNA was collected from these three areas and sent to a police forensics lab for analysis. [51] The defence provided a separate explanation for the events on the night. Staff checked her room to discover her mobile phone, passport and camera had all been left behind. Lightboxes. On Koh Tao it meant a man living their life as a woman. June 6, 2021. Both victims had been hit several times on the head; Witheridge had been raped, and Miller had been drowned. Koh Tao Mayor Chaiyan Thurasakul said the website is accused of damaging Koh Taos reputation by calling it Death Island. 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. The Sun website is regulated by the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO), Our journalists strive for accuracy but on occasion we make mistakes. The past three weeks have been unimaginably difficult and there are no words that can adequately describe the heartache and despair that our family is experiencing. Witnesses said items belonging to the Moldovan were seen in the early hours of Tuesday morning and police were alerted. Burmese migrant workers made up an additional 5,000, around 2,000 of these being illegal immigrants who bribe local police by paying 500 baht each month. Stock photos, 360 images, vectors and videos. His family accused the Thai police of a cover-up. [11], An autopsy revealed that both victims were hit by a hard object resulting in head and face wounds. It is not known who released the photos from the crime scene. "The Sun", "Sun", "Sun Online" are registered trademarks or trade names of News Group Newspapers Limited. From the beginning, the Thai police had difficulty securing the crime scene. [26][27] However, her clothes were not tested for DNA. There were no signs he was suicidal. Thai police are investigating their deaths as . Pol Lt Gen Thanate Pinmuangngam, acting chief of Police Region 8, said In the Dallemagne case, the cause of death was suffocation. From: kohtao. [51][56][57] They argued that the defendants, since they were vulnerable as illegal migrant workers, were scapegoated by the police for the crime. A mistake that many forensic experts say jeopardized the entire investigation.Throughout the investigation and criminal trial, the Thai government and police were heavily criticized by human rights organizations, legal experts, and the media. Although Koh Tao is one of the . The coroner concluded there was not enough evidence to say where or how he met his death. The discovery of the bodies last September sparked a major police investigation and intense local and international pressure to find those responsible. An unexplained fire that evening burned down three bamboo huts, including the one Elise had been staying in. German Bernd Grotsch's body was found at his home deep in the jungle in the Mae Haad part of Koh Tao. 679215 Registered office: 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF. [48], The guilty verdict resulted in widespread protests in Myanmar. It leaves Khao San Songserm at either 1800 or 1900. The bodies of Hannah Witheridge, 23, and David Miller, 24, were found on a beach on Koh Tao in September 2014. . How are they ever going to get closure and justice if they dont know what happened? "We'll go with the flow as much as we can. We beg that Hannah and David are afforded privacy and dignity through the removal of these pointless and insensitive reminders. Part of the reason for coming out, was to go to Koh Tao. A coroner ruled in 2017 said that there is "no evidence" to suggest Luke was murdered. 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. As the Witheridge family prepares for Hannahs funeral, her parents, Sue and Tony Witheridge, released this statement: Time makes the pain of this horrendous tragedy no easier to bear. In January 2014, 25-year-old Nick Pearson was found dead in the sea below a cliff while visiting the island. The police were under pressure to produce results quickly, which affected how they conducted their investigation. He had entered the country on September 26, 2018, before traveling to the island, where stayed at the Monsoon Gym and Fight Club. It has over 100 hotels and resorts and was deemed the busiest diving centre in Southeast Asia in 2014. "At first, we accepted what the Thai authorities had said because we knew no different. Now their families are demanding answers. However, no toxicology report was conducted. "They won't come forward because they know something is going to happen to them," he added. Tony Witheridge bowed his head as bloody images of. I was good friends with a few and they were all restaurant/bar owners. The island off the Surat Thani province coast has gained notoriety after a string of suspicious and sensationalised deaths over the years. But many cases appear very suspicious according to family members and insufficiently investigated. To see all content on The Sun, please use the Site Map. 2145/2559, "Two British tourists found dead on Thai island of Koh Tao", "Suspects in Thai Tourist Murders Face Dubious Trial", "Manhunt underway after brutal murder of 2 British tourists on Koh Tao", "Thailand's paradise island murder mystery", "What the Murder of Two British Tourists Tells Us About Thailand's Dark Side", "Thailand's Supreme Court upholds death penalty for men convicted of murdering British backpackers", "Koh Tao DNA evidence & international standards", "Thai court upholds death penalty for murder of Hannah Witheridge and David Miller", "Thailand backpacker murders: Burmese workers sentenced to death", "Thailand beach murders: A flawed and muddled investigation", "Koh Tao murders: DNA matches, confessions obtained, crime re-enacted", "Hearings Open Into Killings of Two British Tourists on Thai Island (Published 2014)", "Thai king commutes death sentence for Myanmar men in British tourist murder case", "Burmese men confess to killing British tourists on Koh Tao, Thai police say", "The Investigation Into Thailand's Backpacker Slayings Is Officially a Farce", "Migrants accused of murder of British couple in Thailand recant confessions", "Thai Dictator Faces Ire Over Murder Probe", "Koh Tao murder suspects plead not guilty", "Burmese pair to be executed for murder of British tourists on Koh Tao, Thailand", "2 Sentenced to Death in Killing of British Tourists in Thailand (Published 2015)", "Thailand murders: Two men found guilty and face death for UK killings", "Thai beach murders: Convicted men lose death sentence appeal", "Thai beach murders: Death sentence upheld by Supreme Court", "Backpacker's family 'grateful' for Thai king's clemency", "Koh Tao pair claim they were tortured before confessing", "Thai beach murders: DNA investigation into death of British backpackers Hannah Witheridge and David Miller 'incompetent at best', "Koh Tao murders: suspects in killing of David Miller and Hannah Witheridge say they were framed", "Koh Tao's dark side: dangers of island where Britons were murdered", "Thai Paradise Gains Reputation as 'Death Island', "Foreign Office calls in Thai diplomat over murder inquiry concerns", "Thailand murder suspects can't have British police report: UK judge", "Thai officials on alert as Myanmar protests spread", "Prayut lashes out at Myanmar Koh Tao protestors", "Thailand's Migrant Worker Woes Exposed in Koh Tao Murder Case", "Govt vows "high-tech" defence against hackers", "Island killings prompt stiffer worker rules", "Contesting narratives: the Koh Tao tourists murders", "Unofficial translation of Koh Samui Provincial Court No. She had checked into the hostel on February 11 and was due to check out on February 16, but failed to do so. [47] Thailand's National Human Rights Commission attempted to investigate the allegations, but police representatives did not appear at four scheduled meetings. A judge found the workers guilty and sentenced them to death despite questions about DNA evidence and the police handling of the case. Elise's mother Michele van Egten says she does not believe the Thai police's version of events amid fears authorities are working to suppress speculation about the many murders on the island. Buy images; Sell images; Lightboxes; Although Koh Tao is one of the most beautiful islands in Thailand, it has always been shrouded by a dark mystery. We have done our own investigation and we are sure she was murdered. Two migrant workers from Myanmar on death row for the 2014 murder of two British backpackers on Koh Tao have had their sentences commuted to life in . As we continue with our plans for our beautiful Hannahs party, our thoughts are with David Millers family who are suffering the same indescribable agony. At the end of the trial's third day, the judge said police had informed him all the samples taken on the island were "finished" - meaning they could not be analysed again. Police received the initial report at 4.45pm on Friday. Elewana Tortilis camp is situated in the Western part of the Amboseli ecosystem, in the 30.0000-acre Kitirua Conservancy, bordering the Amboseli National Park in Kenya. 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. https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/6729031/thailand-koh-tao-island-dad-dead-mystery/, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-derbyshire-30546787, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/09/17/sister-murdered-backpacker-hannah-witheridge-dies-falling-gravely/, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-53797951, https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/1282946/police-clarify-koh-tao-death-cases, https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1047575-death-island-riddle%C2%A0-koh-tao-mystery-deepens-as-%E2%80%98healthy%E2%80%99-dad-becomes-tenth-westerner-to-die-in-suspicious-circumstances/, https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4680394/Haunting-final-image-Koh-Tao-backpacker-Thai-hang-suicide.html, https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/thailands-death-island-tourist-33-13399601, https://www.chiangraitimes.com/crime-chiang-rai-thailand/body-of-moldavian-tourist-found-dead-in-sea-off-the-island-koh-tao-sent-to-bangkok-for-thorough-autopsy/, https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/443983/suter-hanspeter-body-found-on-beach-in-chumphon-thailand, Koh Tao Murders, Suspicious Deaths, Fatal Accidents Tribute to 20 Foreigners Tony Lotus & 1Survivor, Tagged: Koh Tao - Death Island in Paradise, Cases on the Death Island of Koh Tao, nick pearson koh tao death, The coroner concluded there was not enough evidence to say where or how he met his death. While his death was ruled as suicide cops could not explain why his hands are tied behind his back. 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 prosecution says a DNA match between samples found on Miss Witheridge's body and the two defendants is central to its case. Taupin was ultimately not allowed to testify by the defence, and these issues were not raised by the defence until their closing statement. At the time rumours of secret CCTV footage, inconclusive blood samples and a mysterious Swedish man, made Christinas dad suspicious. Irregular Burmese migrant workers were now required to register with the police in an attempt to discourage illegal workers and prevent bribery. The convictions were mired in controversy, with supporters of the two men arguing they had been framed because their initial confessions were made under duress. [31][65] Jane Taupin, an Australian forensic scientist brought in by the defence, claimed that the timeline of DNA extraction was dubious; a rapid analysis of DNA samples had happened in less than 12 hours,[34] which she said was unusual because "extracting DNA from mixed samples was difficult and time-consuming". [31] Media reports speculated that was because the defence was wary of calling on foreign experts fearing it could appear as undermining the Thai justice system, and could bias the judges against their case. [77], An opinion piece in Bangkok Post wrote that "practically no one believes [Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo] really brutally murdered English tourists", adding "in Thai media of all kinds, the consensus is that Win and Zaw Lin are scapegoats. [36] Footage near the crime scene also showed one of the three men running into a shortcut. The autopsy stated he had drowned. Some were murdered, some died in suspicious circumstances and some died in avoidable accidents. [15] Experts have considered the forensic investigation to have been incompetent, and to have possibly framed the suspects. [33][34] Over 200 individuals on the island, many of them migrant workers, were tested in mass DNA testing. The head of the country's Central Institute of Forensic Science found that the DNA on the hoe did not match the defendants. International experts criticized the DNA testing done by the hospital at the time with claims that samples were tampered with in order to falsely incriminate two Burmese workers. A. Kadyrov Hotels near Museum of the Chechen Republic Hotels near The Flower Park Hotels near Visit Chechnya Hotels near Grozny City Observation Deck Hotels near Church of Archangel Michael Hotels near Makhmud Esambayev Avenue Hotels near Museum of Akhmat Khadzhy Kadyrov Hotels near Monument to the Fighters of the . Hannah Witheridge was seen walking through Koh Tao with a group of friends - all of whom are thought to be British - just hours before being brutally murdered +17 View gallery The 23-year-old. ", Mrs Miller said: "It's been hard, very hard. Dimitri Povse 2015; Administratively it is a subdistrict (tambon) of Ko Pha-ngan District (amphoe) of Surat Thani Province. Ms Taupin did note however that the document that the prosecution relied upon was an Unendorsed Report in that it had no seal or stamp certifying that it had been produced by an accredited laboratory and in accordance with international standards. One of the men Mau Mau resided nearby. The murders on Koh Tao, a laid-back haven for divers, sullied Thailand's image in the tourism industry, which accounts for about 10 per cent of the country's economy. However, a lawyer for Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo told the BBC that the pair had not admitted their guilt when their death sentences were commuted. Their bodies were found on a beach on the island of Koh Tao last September. Pathologists and legal experts criticised the police for mishandling the evidence, allowing contamination of the crime scene and failing to use experts to collect forensic evidence. The authorities said he had died after striking the diving board from which he was jumping. [90][91], The 2014 murders, along with other deaths and disappearances of tourists, led to British tabloids labelling Koh Tao as "Death Island". On Tuesday, new details emerged as police investigated the death of a wealthy billionaire industrialist and his wife on Ko Tao last Friday. Boyne Annesley believes his 23-year-old daughter Christina Annesley, of Orpington, southeast London, was murdered on Koh Tao Island in January 2015. Phone records showed that Elise called her mother on Skype on April 17, 2017, before leaving Koh Phangan on a Ferry on April 19. "There has been lots of chit-chat on the internet. Ms Witheridge, from Hemsby in Norfolk, and Mr Miller, from Jersey, were murdered on the popular holiday island on September 15. The mum of Ben Harrington Pat was never convinced by the local police's explanation that her 32-year-old son broke his neck when he crashed into an electricity pylon on a night-time moped ride in August 2012. [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. [44] In December 2014, the suspects were each indicted on five charges: premeditated murder, killing to conceal a criminal offence, rape, illegal entry into Thailand, and staying in the country without permission. Some sources also refer to Wai Phyo as Win Zaw Htun. She was dedicated, ambitious and would have made an amazing difference to the lives of many families through her chosen career as a Speech and Language Therapist. Hannah Witheridge 2014; The Samui Times believes that it is in the best interests of any visitor to the island to be aware of the numerous tourist deaths and the fact that many families of those who died on the island are not satisfied with police investigations.. Despite claims of a fall, he had no broken bones.

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