Grieving Family Faces Accused Australian in Thai Court

Members of the family of a 17-year-old Thai girl whose body was discovered in a suitcase near the popular seaside resort city of Pattaya attended a court hearing Monday where they were to see the Australian man accused of killing her for the first time.

Simon Peter Carman, 45, was arrested in June after Tunchanok Donhomla was reported missing in Pattaya, a city about 150 kilometers (93 miles) southeast of Bangkok. The suitcase containing her body was found soon afterward by railway tracks in a deserted area.

Carman was brought in shackles to the Pattaya Provincial Court for a procedural hearing to designate witnesses to testify. He has been charged with murder, two counts of indecent behavior involving a minor, and concealing a corpse. A conviction on the charge of premeditated murder carries the possibility of the death penalty.

Carman had initially denied all charges, stating he was acting in self-defense and did not know the girl’s real age. However, on Monday, after a judge indicated that evidence against him on hiding the victim's corpse was strong, Carman indicated he would change his plea to guilty, with the possibility of leniency.

Speaking to reporters ahead of the hearing, the victim’s aunt, Miruntree Thanachai, said it would be the family’s first time meeting the Australian defendant. “We want to meet the person who killed our family member,” she said.

Police stated the girl was last seen on security footage entering a condominium with Carman. He was later observed leaving the building alone with a large suitcase, which security footage showed him loading onto a motorbike and driving away.

The family said Tunchanok had traveled to Pattaya for a vacation from their home in the rural northeastern province of Kalasin.

Carman was arrested at a Bangkok airport as he was about to board a flight to Australia. Police said subsequent questioning led them to the suitcase containing the girl’s body.

In a police interrogation video shared online by Thai media, Carman claimed self-defense, stating the girl was threatening him with a knife. The victim’s father, Tongchai Donhomla, expressed skepticism, telling reporters, “Simon claimed that it was self-defense, but this is not self-defense because if it is self-defense, how can my child’s teeth fall out? I want to ask.” He and other family members reported that her face had been smashed in.

“I want the death penalty, but there is nothing I can do. I want the law to punish, to the fullest,” Donhomla said. His sentiment was echoed by Thanachai, who added, “The family wants the court to sentence him to death because we have lost our family member, the important one. So we want the execution because we don’t want this to happen to others again. No one can bear this kind of damage.”

On Friday, the family also filed a civil lawsuit against Carman, seeking damages of 1.65 million baht ($49,000).