An Australian man, Simon Peter Carman, has been charged by Thai police with intentional murder, concealing a corpse, moving or destroying a corpse, and abduction of a minor for indecent purposes in connection with the death of a 17-year-old Thai girl whose body was found stuffed inside a suitcase.
Police discovered the teenager's body in waist-high grass near a railway track in Pattaya, a popular beach resort city, on Saturday morning. The discovery came shortly before Carman was apprehended by immigration authorities at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport as he attempted to board a flight out of the country.
According to police, Carman admitted to strangling the girl during an argument. "He said he did not intend to kill her, but admitted strangling her, causing her death," Police Colonel Anek Srathongyoo, the superintendent of Pattaya City police station, told Reuters. "He stated that they had an argument and, during the altercation, he strangled the woman."
Authorities were alerted on Friday afternoon when a friend reported the victim missing. The friend stated that the 17-year-old, who had recently arrived in Pattaya, had met a foreign man and gone back to his apartment in the early hours of Thursday. Police reviewed CCTV footage showing the girl and Carman, identified as a middle-aged Australian man, walking hand-in-hand into an elevator at a condominium.
Police searched an apartment where they found Carman's passport but were unable to locate him or the girl at that time. Later CCTV footage showed a man, matching Carman's description and clothing, dragging a large black suitcase out of the building. Investigators confirmed the suitcase found containing the victim's body matched the one seen in the footage.
If convicted, Carman faces a potential sentence ranging from 15 to 20 years in jail, life imprisonment, or the death penalty, police said. Reuters was unable to reach Carman for comment, and police indicated he had not yet appointed a legal representative. The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade confirmed it is providing consular assistance to an Australian citizen detained in Thailand.
Autopsy results are pending, and investigators are continuing to collect evidence for prosecutors. The victim's stepmother expressed her grief and fear upon hearing news of the discovery.