Family of Thai teen sex worker found stuffed in suitcase faces her alleged killer in court, seeking death penalty
Members of the family of a 17-year-old Thai girl whose body was discovered in a suitcase near a popular seaside resort city attended a court hearing on Monday where, for the first time, they were to see the Australian man accused of killing her.Simon Peter Carman was arrested in June after Tunchanok Donhomla was reported missing in Pattaya, a city about 93 miles southeast of Bangkok known for tourism and its sex trade.The suitcase containing her body was found soon afterward by railway tracks in a deserted area.Carman, who turns 46 later this month, was brought in shackles to the Pattaya Provincial Court on Monday 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, saying that he was acting in self-defense and that he did not know the girl’s real age.
However, when advised by a judge on Monday that the evidence against him on hiding the victim’s corpse was strong, but he could expect leniency if he confessed to that charge, he indicated that he would change his plea to guilty.Speaking to reporters ahead of the hearing, the victim’s aunt, Miruntree Thanachai, said it would be the first time the family would meet the Australian defendant.“We previously asked the authorities, but they didn’t allow us to see him.
We want to meet the person who killed our family member,” she said.Police said the girl was last seen on security footage walking into a condominium with Carman.He was later seen leaving the building alone with a large suitcase.
Security footage showed him loading it onto a motorbike and driving away.The family said Tunchanok had gone on a vacation trip to Pattaya from their home in the rural northeastern province of Kalasin.Carman was arrested at a Bangkok airport before boarding a flight to Austral...