Australian Man Accused of Murder in Thailand Claims He Doesn't Trust Police
Simon Peter Carman, facing charges including murder and concealing a corpse, alleges self-defense in the death of a 17-year-old girl.
An Australian man accused of murdering a 17-year-old Thai teenager and stuffing her body into a suitcase claims he acted in self-defense and hid the body because he does not trust the police.
Simon Peter Carman, 45, a truck driver from Perth, faces charges including murder, concealing a corpse, and abducting a minor for indecent purposes in the death of Tunchanok 'Cake' Donhomla. Her body was found in a suitcase near train tracks on the outskirts of Pattaya on June 27.
CCTV footage showed Ms. Donhomla entering Carman's condominium two days prior. Carman was arrested at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi International Airport as he was about to board a flight to Perth.
In an interview from Pattaya Remand Prison, Carman told ABC's Foreign Correspondent that Ms. Donhomla attacked him with a knife. "I do not know how she died," Carman stated. When asked why he did not call authorities, he responded, "I didn't call police because I don't trust the police. I didn't want the body in my condo and I didn't know what to do with the body because I could not phone the police."
Carman pleaded not guilty to the charges. He claims he gave Ms. Donhomla 500 baht, but she then threatened him with a knife for more money. He stated that when she dropped the knife, she went limp and he believed she had stopped breathing. He added that he was "deeply sad" but insisted the death was "unavoidable."
Ms. Donhomla's father, Thongchai, told Seven News that he did not want to hear an apology and hoped his daughter would receive justice.
An autopsy revealed Ms. Donhomla "had a brain injury and she suffocated," according to Colonel Anek Srathongyoo of Pattaya City Police. DNA evidence from Carman was matched to samples found on Ms. Donhomla. Police allege Carman had already placed Ms. Donhomla's body in a suitcase when her friends reported her missing.
Ms. Donhomla had traveled from her home in northern Thailand to Pattaya for a holiday. She met Carman on Jomtien Beach shortly before her death. A friend reported her missing to police the day after she disappeared.
A murder conviction in Thailand can carry the death penalty or a prison sentence of 15 to 20 years. Carman's case is set to return to court on October 12.