HOR-ROR INSIDE: Chil-ling Photos Reveal Tiny Apartment Where Thai Teen Was Allegedly K-i-lled Before Body Was Found by Roadside
Flowers and food bowls left by mourners occupy a patch of flattened grass where the body of Thai teenager Tunchanok Donhomla was discovered inside a suitcase.
The brutal manner in which the 17-year-old girl was allegedly killed and discarded by Australian man Simon Carman has rocked both countries.
The case has also highlighted an uncomfortable reality about foreign men who move to or holiday in Thailand for a cheaper lifestyle.
A billiard bar in the Rimhad Jomtien condominium block where the murder allegedly took place was reported by a local source to have been frequented by Carman.
Locals told AAP Carman often came to play pool at the bar, but they never saw him drink alcohol.
A woman at a restaurant, who asked not to be named over fears of impacts to her business, said she cooked food for him almost everyday and noticed a big scar behind his head.
She said Carman had told her he had brain tumour surgery, and that was the reason for his slow speech and gait.
The property is just minutes from Pattaya’s Jomtiem beach in southern Thailand, a popular tourist area known for its watersports and nightlife.
The area is where Carman allegedly met with Ms Donhomla in the late evening, before leaving together.
Carman is accused of killing Ms Donhomla on Thursday evening, before attempting to leave Thailand for Perth via the country’s main airport in Bangkok where police arrested him.
Police said they were alerted that Ms Donhomla was missing by a friend who said she had been seen with a foreign man.
A subsequent search of a condominium block where the pair were believed to be led police to Carman and CCTV of the pair arriving together and him allegedly leaving the property alone carrying a large suitcase, according to police.
In the early hours of Saturday morning, police recovered the suitcase off a remote road near the near the Four Regions Water Market, discovering Ms Donhomla’s naked body inside.
Images of the site where Ms Donhomla’s body was found several metres from a railway track show gifts left by mourners as well as discarded medical gloves and other apparent forensic items.
In footage recorded by police, Carman expressed regret to the girl’s family but also seems to suggest the teen somehow caused or contributed to her own death.
“I feel bad for what happened to your daughter – it was out of my control,” he said.
“It shouldn’t happen. Please tell other girls just to be careful.”
Video footage of the Australian shows scratch marks on his neck and arms.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is providing consular assistance to an Australian detained in Thailand.
