Bombshell Twist In Thailand Murd3r Case: Accused Says “I’ve Done Nothing Wrong” As Bail Fight Intensifies
An Australian man accused of killing a Thai teenager and hiding her body in a suitcase has begged for his freedom from a prison cell while prosecutors race the clock to bring formal charges.
Simon Carman, 45, was arrested at Bangkok’s international airport on June 27 – the same day the body of 17-year-old Thanchanok “Cake” Donhomla was found in a suitcase dumped near railway tracks in Pattaya.
Simon Carman has been charged with murder. Supplied
The Perth man claims he was defending himself when the teenager was fatally injured inside his room, and now awaits his fate ahead of a September 18 indictment deadline.
Thai police allege Carman picked up the teenage girl in Pattaya on June 25, before killing her and disposing of her body.
In an interview from inside Thailand’s Pattaya Remand Prison with the ABC’s Foreign Correspondent, Carman again declared he was innocent of the accusations.
“I have not done anything wrong. I shouldn’t be here,” he told the program.
“I’m hoping and praying I can get released, if not on bail, because I have not done anything wrong.”
He claimed he had only tried to prevent Thanchanok from stabbing him after he says she produced a knife while inside his accommodation.
“All I was trying to do was restrain her from stabbing me. Even when I had her pinned down, she still had a lot of force, trying to stab me,” he said.
“I feel deeply sad. I obviously wish it never happened, but it was unavoidable.”
Carman also claimed he did not know why Thanchanok had followed him home, and that he had given her 500 baht (about $21) for nothing before she threatened him with a knife.
He said she had gone “limp” during the struggle that followed.
CCTV from Carman’s building shows a male and female walking hand-in-hand through the lobby early in the morning of June 25, who police allege are Carman and Thanchanok.
That night, Carman re-enters the lobby with a large suitcase and leaves on a motorbike, before returning shortly afterward.
Thanchanok was reported missing by a friend on July 26.
The body of Thanchanok Donhomla was found stuffed in a suitcase in Thailand. Supplied
Police last week revealed Thanchanok had suffered a brain injury and died of suffocation.
Carman told the ABC he was not guilty of all charged levelled at him, including murder, concealing a corpse, and abducting a minor for indecent purposes.
If found guilty of murder, he could face the death penalty.
