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. Thai police said a post-mortem examination showed he drowned. Zaw Lin was said to have entered between 2011 and 2012, and Wai Phyo in 2012. The court has now been told that vital DNA evidence cannot be retested. [21][73], The death sentences were commuted to life imprisonment on 14 August 2020 following a royal decree to commemorate King Vajiralongkorn's birthday and "illustrate the king's clemency". [51][21] The trial was attended by external observers, including representatives from Amnesty International and the UK's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. 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. [2] In 2014, the island had a population of around 5,000 locals. But an unexplained fire that evening burned down three bamboo huts - including the one Elise had been staying in. [94] She suggested using identification wristbands for tourists to improve safety, but the idea was quickly scrapped. Photo: CSI LA. Rocio Gomez; There were no signs he was suicidal. ISBN: 9780062802910. [42] In the trial, the prosecution said the phone was found smashed at the home of a friend of Zaw Lin's. [50], An 18-day trial began on 8 July 2015 in the Koh Samui Provincial Court. [51], The prosecution also claimed the defendants entered the country in violation of the Immigration Act of 1979. Tony Witheridge bowed his head as bloody images of his daughter's body were shown on the third day of the trial of Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo. [90][91], The 2014 murders, along with other deaths and disappearances of tourists, led to British tabloids labelling Koh Tao as "Death Island". senseless" photos of the crime scene, they say, which show her body . The economy of the island is almost exclusively centered on tourism, especially scuba diving. But although David's family called the verdict 'justice', the trial of the two Burmese migrant workers was plagued by accusations of human rights abuses. We also may change the frequency you receive our emails from us in order to keep you up to date and give you the best relevant information possible. A British man was found dead on Thailand 's notorious Koh Tao - also known as Death Island - on Wednesday. Direct quotations from the trial are unavailable, as the judges did not permit the public to take notes. She said: "I would tell them to do everything in their power to stop them going. 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 family of some of the deceased - including three more Brits - have accused local cops of not investigating the deaths of their loved ones. We beg that Hannah and David are afforded privacy and dignity through the removal of these pointless and insensitive reminders. Belgian backpacker Elise Dallemagne, 30, was found hanging from a tree on April 27, 2017. The mother told Der Farang magazine that she had been promised an autopsy report - but has still not been delivered. As always you can unsubscribe at any time. Amnesty International has demanded the Thai authorities investigate the torture allegations after one suspect reportedly said he was beaten and threatened with electrocution. Valentina Novozhenova 2017; GRAPHIC crime scene photos showing the corpses of English backpackers Hannah Witheridge and David Miller have surfaced online, traumatising their families. In 2014, Koh Tao was the site of the brutal double murders of two British backpackers, but theirs weren't the only suspicious backpacker deaths. He later apologised for the comment after it was met with public backlash. The items were still there are 3 am and he called the police. [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. 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. "We'll go with the flow as much as we can. "In view of what's happened to David Miller and Hannah Witheridge and various other people I've read about, it just all leads to the same thing. Anthony Cardullo 2013 (USA); The police quickly closed the inquiry, stating that he had drowned whilst swimming. Alex was charged with Maggie and Paul's murders days after he was formally disbarred by the South Carolina Supreme Court. Therefore, we would like to take this opportunity to ask that Hannah be allowed a well-deserved day of privacy on Friday whilst we join her many friends in a celebration of her life.. Hannah was a University of Essex student from Hemsby in Norfolk, UK, and David was a civil and structural engineering graduate, from Jersey. [1] Police revealed that the samples from Witheridge's body were used up,[62][27] but were able to provide DNA samples from the murder weapon. She was said to have died of natural causes after mixing antibiotics she was taking for a chest infection with alcohol. After unsuccessfully trying to find their possessions, they walked towards Mau Mau's house through the shortcut, which resulted in them being caught on CCTV. 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. This means that we may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. Photo from Sept 15 showing a police officer questioning Christopher Alan Ware, who has re-emerged as a leading suspect in the murder of a young British man and woman on Koh Tao on Monday in. 4.14. A Thai/Indian couple circa June 2021. 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. [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. [1] After initially failing to find a match to one of the migrant workers, the police focused their attention on Western tourists related to the victims. [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". The young backpacker had been living at a yoga and tantra retreat, which neighboured the party island of Koh Phangan, in between travelling round Asia, for two years. Pol Maj Gen Pornchai Sutheerakhun, director of the Institute of Forensic Science at Police General Hospital in Bangkok, said There were wounds around the neck due to the hanging and some non-fatal bruises in the head, and no drugs were found in the body. HARROWING photos of the corpses of English backpackers Hannah Witheridge and David Miller have surfaced online, traumatising their families. Elise Dallemagne 2017; [23] Local residents blocked the pier to prevent the unidentified killers from leaving the island. Hannah Witheridge, 23, from Norfolk and David Miller, 24, of Jersey were bludgeoned to death with a wooden hoe as they walked back to their hotel room late at night on September 15, 2014, on the popular Sairee Beah. warriors: come out to play board game; be quiet dark rock pro 4 vs noctua nh-d15; ridgeview road house cursed items; pan seared yellowfin tuna recipes The Backpacker Murders of Koh Tao. It has over 100 hotels and resorts and was deemed the busiest diving centre in Southeast Asia in 2014. https://time.com/3955081/thailand-koh-tao-murder-david-miller-hannah-witheridge-zaw-lin-wai-phyo-burma-myanmar/, https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/dark-side-koh-tao-seven-10708561, https://www.strangeoutdoors.com/true-crime-in-the-outdoors/tag/Cases+on+the+Death+Island+of+Koh+Tao, https://www.nist.gov/feature-stories/dna-mixtures-forensic-science-explainer. He announced that he had "ordered all security-related agencies to track down those who are behind the Myanmar demonstrations". Verdicts in the case are not expected until October. The team were only allowed to spend two hours on Koh Tao and did not meet with the suspects or defence. It is not known who released the photos from the crime scene. The victims have been named by Thai authorities as 23-year-old Hannah Witheridge from Great Yarmouth . Photo: Royal Thai Police . Dec. 24, 2015. I am the former owner and editor of the Samui Times, a news publication on Koh Samui, and covered the stories of the so-called "backpacker murders" and other suspicious . Hannah was also revelling in her time staying at Sairee Beach with another group of travelling companions. Mr Miller's body was discovered with severe head injuries several metres away, he said. The following morning the family raised the alarm when Nick failed to answer the door. [5][6] Both were students who were backpacking in Thailand. Luke Miller 2016; [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. The two men were convicted and sentenced in 2015 and the verdict was upheld by an appeals court in 2017 and the Supreme Court in August 2019. 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. She was also part of the Sathya Sai Baba cult and lived with a self-proclaimed 'guru'. It is not known who released the photos from the crime scene. Elise had been traveling around Asia for two years, and before her death had been living at a yoga and tantra retreat on Koh Phangan. The Death Of Lana Clarkson. But her parents slammed Thai authorities for failing to investigate the death. Thai authorities claimed he was drunk and fell, but his family believes he was murdered.. [33][34] Over 200 individuals on the island, many of them migrant workers, were tested in mass DNA testing. Koh Tao ''Turtle Island'' or Ko Tao is an island in Thailand and is part of the Chumphon Archipelago on the western shore of the Gulf of Thailand. Zaw Lin, front, and Wai Phyo (also known as Win Zaw Htun), rear, arrive at the court in Koh Samui, Blinken and Lavrov meet for first time since invasion, Explosive found in check-in luggage at US airport, Harry and Meghan told to 'vacate' Frogmore Cottage, Whiskey fungus forces Jack Daniels to stop construction, Tulsa massacre survivors granted Ghana citizenship, Seven in hospital from US plane turbulence, Same-sex marriage ban not discrimination - Japan PM, Messages reveal battle over Covid school policy. Tony Witheridge bowed his head as bloody images of. 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. We'll be dignified for David. 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. What really happened there? On Thursday, the New York District Attorney released crime scene photos showing blood spatter and the knife allegedly used by nanny Yoselyn Ortega to kill two young children in her care. Defense lawyers for the two men later alleged that police had rushed the investigation to . He originally moved to the island in the late 1990s but left in 2016 after becoming frustrated with the corruption and hostility towards foreign business owners. 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. [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. 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. One of the men Mau Mau resided nearby. They followed the animal and discovered that it had been feeding on Elise's remains, which were found among rocks behind the Tanote Family Bay Resort. While police ruled out foul play, Nick's family, who say officers did not investigate a single witness, believe he was murdered. They believed he had accidentally drowned and he was thought to have been dead for around 12 hours when his body was retrieved. Hannah Witheridge and David Miller koh tao, Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo koh tao, dimitri povse koh tao, christina annesley koh tao, Valentina Novozhyonova koh tao, luke miller koh tao, Elise Dallemagne koh tao, Bernd grotsch koh tao, Alexandr Bucspun koh tao, The frightening case of the Trailside Killer David Carpenter, The Yosemite National Park Sightseer Murders and the two faces of evil, The mysterious Koh Tao - Death Island in Paradise, Exclusive members-only articles on StrangeOutdoors.com, The coroner concluded there was not enough evidence to say where or how he met his death. On Koh Tao and did not meet with the suspects or defence `` 'll., as the judges did not permit the public to take notes add that was! Do everything in their power to stop them going Phyo in 2012 as much as can! 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