[66], On 24 December 2015, Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo were found guilty of murdering Witheridge and Miller by the three judges, and were sentenced to death. Complaining about wrongdoing may invite official questions and demands for passports and documentation. Tony Witheridge bowed his head as bloody images of. [37] Two weeks after the bodies were found, on 1 October 2014, police interrogated Mau Mau, who said he took the motorcycle and separated from the other two men before the murders occurred, and found them both home asleep by the time he had returned. Defence lawyers had asked for the samples to be independently verified but have now been told there is nothing left of them to re-test. The men, apprehended soon after the pair's bodies were found, initially confessed to the crime only to retract their statements amid claims they were extracted by torture. Myanmar men who murdered two UK backpackers on Ko Tao have their death sentences commuted to life Mobile phone of Ukrainian woman key to the puzzle as police decide between murder or suicide Ko Samui police probe the death of a Ukrainian woman found in a forested area last Sunday by a local man Carla Boonkong & Pranee O' Connor But although David's family called the verdict 'justice', the trial. The following morning the family raised the alarm when Nick failed to answer the door. Christina Annesley 2015; Shelley Bot 2017; [61], On July 10, the court ordered the DNA to be retested. They believed he had accidentally drowned and he was thought to have been dead for around 12 hours when his body was retrieved. My YouTube channel is called KOH TAO MURDERS DEATH ISLAND. [51][56][57] They argued that the defendants, since they were vulnerable as illegal migrant workers, were scapegoated by the police for the crime. The hoe was then used to knock Witheridge unconscious, after which the defendants used force to hold her down and took turns raping her, before killing her with the hoe. 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 said to have died of natural causes after mixing antibiotics she was taking for a chest infection with alcohol. There were apparently no signs of robbery or attack in the room at the hotel where Alexandr had been staying. Nick Pearson 2014; Both entered through the Ranong Province, allegedly without presenting themselves at a port of entry and without possessing a passport. The pictures, which News Corp Australia will not reproduce, were taken on the beach at Koh Tao, where the pair was hacked to death with a garden hoe, allegedly by two Burmese men who confessed to the bloody crime then withdrew their confessions. Yoshie Sazawa (Sharlyn) 2004; 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. They also found a suicide note at the scene. [59] The defence struggled to find members of the public willing to testify at the trial, as many feared retribution,[1][60] hence their alibi was not considered convincing by the court. Nov. 3, 2018. Police concluded she wanted to break a deep-diving record at more than 24 meters. Brits Hannah Witheridge and David Miller were murdered as they walked back to their hotel rooms in September 2014. Mr Zaw and Mr Wai (also known as Win Zaw Htun), both 22 and migrants from Myanmar, also known as Burma, were arrested several weeks later. This story was huge at the time in the UK as they were both British. Allegations about police brutality rocked the countrys economy that almost solely relies on tourism. Direct quotations from the trial are unavailable, as the judges did not permit the public to take notes. Something went wrong, please try again later. On February 16, 2015, Russian tourist Valentina Novozhyonova, 23, vanished from her hostel on Koh Tao. Some sources also refer to Wai Phyo as Win Zaw Htun. [15] Public prosecutors initially rejected the report, asking for "certain flaws" to be fixed, more information to be supplied, and for the report to be made "more succinct". These are the first pictures of the British tourists murdered on a paradise beach in Thailand. We beg that Hannah and David are afforded privacy and dignity through the removal of these pointless and insensitive reminders. [7][12], Miller and Witheridge were last seen at a bar called AC Bar[13] with friends at a party on Sunday night with around 50 people mostly foreign tourists before they left together after 1am. However, the event did not materially affect tourism to the island over the following years. Virat Asavachin (Mr Ban) 2002; Their findings were never made public, but were shared with the families of the victims. They had been brutally beaten to death just a few feet away from their hotel rooms. The Koh Tao murders involved the death of two British tourists in Thailand in 2014. Thai police claim Elise hung herself - but her devastated mother does not believe them, and thinks somebody else was involved. He also had to track down a man seen on surveillance footage leaving his daughter's flat hours before she was discovered. We are furious that we have not been able to have an approved independent forensic examination.". I have created a Facebook page and a YouTube channel dedicated to looking into tourist deaths on Koh Tao. 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. 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 trial provided an obvious example of Scientific Fraud being used to convict two scapegoats. Find out more about our policy and your choices, including how to opt-out. 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 View gallery The 23-year-old is. As always you can unsubscribe at any time. Police told Elise's mother Michele that her daughter had committed suicide by hanging herself from a tree around three days before she was found. 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. Bernd's cousin Christina said: ''We cannot accept what the Thai authorities on the island are telling us. The last known video footage of the Russian woman showed her walking to Chaloke Hin Kao bay and never coming back. 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. The suspects were initially denied access to legal counsel, and alleged that police used torture and threats to secure a confession. [93] Amid the investigation, Tourism and Sports Minister Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul visited Koh Tao on 28 September 2014 in an attempt to reassure tourists. Hannah Witheridge (left) with a friend was brutally murdered in Thailand. Nationwide News Pty Ltd 2023. Pathologist Dr. Michael Biggs told the hearing that there were many injuries on Nick's body, including to the head, limbs, and face. 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. Thai police said a post-mortem examination showed he drowned. The evidence in the form of this Unendorsed Report would have been ruled as inadmissible in US courts and other Western courts. 0. The family has contested the police version of events. The Mirror reports that Hannahs family have pleaded for the photos of the pair, who were brutally murdered on a Thailand beach, to be taken off the internet. . He started another business in neighboring island Koh Phayam before returning in March 2018 to "tie up loose ends". CONFESSION WITHDRAWN: Burmese suspect claims he was beaten, tortured by police. [31] They focused on foreign nationals, with a spokesperson for the police claiming "Thais wouldn't do this". On tiny Koh Tao, there are some 2,000 expats alongside the 2,500 registered Thais, according to Mayor Chaiyan Turasakul. On 15 September, the bodies of Hannah Witheridge and David Miller were found on Sairee Beach on the island of Koh Tao, between 4 and 5 am, a few hours after their deaths. Koh Tao, Thailand, Serial killers, Unexplained murders WARNING CONTAINS SOME DISTURBING IMAGES OF DEATH The island of Koh Tao, off the coast of Thailand, is often described as a paradise. While police ruled out foul play, Nick's family, who say officers did not investigate a single witness, believe he was murdered. Our family have been further traumatised by reports that there are numerous unnecessary and senseless photographs circulating across the internet. A police officer told the trial of the severe injuries Miss Witheridge suffered and evidence she had been raped. He said at the time: "We don't know how or why she died. Posted on June 2, 2022 by - pudingov kol kamily maglovejpudingov kol kamily maglovej But they were skeptical and he was fit and healthy at the time of his death. a crime scene with a fallen chair and a blood spot in an abandoned room - bloody crime scene photos stock pictures, royalty-free photos & images View of the body of an unidentified homicide victim under a bloody sheet on the beach in Lands End Park, San Francisco, California, August 1973. Deaths have been explained away by the authorities as unfortunate accidents or suicides. Local police claimed he had fallen 50 feet and . Thai police have said they will issue a summons for the British teenager raped on Koh Tao after her mother said she fled the island without reporting the crime because she feared for her life. Once youve been living there for a while, youll turn a blind eye to some pretty sketchy stuff, says Mike Earley, 30, from New Zealand, who spent six months on the island working as a DJ. They are said to have confessed to the crime but later retracted their statements. The Backpacker Murders of Koh Tao. It was said the pair went swimming on the same beach earlier that night, and when they got out of the water they found their clothes had disappeared. Elise's death is the latest in a string of seven fatalities in three years on the island. [72] The Supreme Court of Thailand upheld the sentence in August 2019, stating that the police handled the case correctly and the forensic evidence was "clear, credible, and detailed". [85][15][86] Prayut said that British and Burmese government representatives were "limited to observation" and had to "respect our processes". Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right. The brutality of the killings made headlines worldwide and cast a shadow across Thailands image as a safe and carefree destination for 20 million foreign visitors a year. 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. "[78] Another commentary in the paper stated that the "overwhelming public skepticism stems from the police's longstanding notoriety for arresting poor and powerless scapegoats to save rich criminals who can afford to buy their innocence". Luke Miller 2016; I shall post a link to your podcast on my Facebook page. Had he hanged himself, the professor pointed out that the bruises should have appeared on the neck than on his wrists. 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. Mr Miller's body was discovered with severe head injuries several metres away, he said. Eight days later when locals living near the island's idyllic Tanote Bay became suspicious of a monitor lizard going back and fourth into the jungle they discovered Elise's half-eaten body on May 27 among rocks behind the Tanote Family Bay Resort. ", Mrs Miller said: "It's been hard, very hard. Koh Tao has long had a reputation as a home for organized crime, corruption and as a place where the police protected local interests. Hannah was a fun, vibrant and beautiful young woman who will be sorely missed by all who knew her. Thai police arrest men accused of murdering Brits on Koh Tao Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo were sentenced to death for the killings. Nick's father, Graham, had been the last person to see him when he walked with his son back to where the family was staying. 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 . [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. David Miller 2014; The government of Thailand was concerned the murders might affect tourism to the island, with arrivals dropping in the months following the murders. Christina Annesley, 23, was one of the many young Brits who sadly died in Koh Tao. A court in Thailand has convicted a pair of Burmese men of the murder of two young British tourists on the holiday island of Koh Tao, a verdict described as just by one victim's family but. Thailand is one of the worlds most popular tourist destinations with around 35 million visitors each year and promotes itself as the Land of Smiles. 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