New details have emerged about the Perth man accused of murdering a teenager in Thailand and stuffing her body into a suitcase, with neighbours stating he was often embroiled in arguments, bragged about owning guns and was known to sleep the entire day.
New details have emerged about the Perth man accused of murdering a teenager in Thailand and stuffing her body into a suitcase, with neighbours stating he was often embroiled in arguments, bragged about owning guns and was known to sleep the entire day.
It comes as a trail of messages posted online show how Simon Peter Carman pursued and critiqued the appearance of multiple women before he was charged over the death of 17-year-old Tunchanok Donhomla.
The Thai girl’s body was found dumped in a suitcase near a set of railway tracks on Friday night more than 4km from the Australian’s Pattaya hotel.
Local police allege the 45-year-old engaged the girl for sexual services before a dispute erupted over payment.
Mr Carman — who grew up in Jerramungup, 440km south east of Perth and lived in both Albany and Rockingham — is currently in custody in Thailand awaiting a court appearance on four charges, including murder and concealing a body.
Several neighbours who worked near a set of Rockingham industrial units — which Mr Carman was living out of — said the accused killer had been in Thailand since late last year, around the time he was listed for sentencing in a WA court.
A former Rockingham neighbour of Mr Carman, who didn’t wish to be named, said the accused told several people he was moving to Thailand for back surgery after dealing with injuries from motor vehicle accidents.
“The main reason he went to Thailand was to get surgery, because no one would do it,” the neighbour said.
“I’m not sure if it was a motorbike accident first where he broke his neck or it was the truck accident where he had pins inserted in his spine, and that’s what he believed was causing him the pain and the medical problems.
“I know that he couldn’t get his medical conditions sorted here — he spent many years trying to, and so he made inquiries overseas about trying to get help over there.
A Rockingham workman talks about accused killer Simon Carman.
“That’s where he believed he could get these pins removed, because he thought they were causing him the troubles.”
The neighbour said Mr Carman was surviving on funds from a disability pension before moving to Thailand.
He claimed the former fuel truck driver was running errands for nearby tenants free of charge while staying in Rockingham, including mechanics, before he left Australia.
Mr Carman was previously living in the southern suburb of Casuarina, where neighbours told The West Australian that he mostly “kept to himself”.
Another claimed Mr Carman had been previously seen with a shotgun while living in the suburb.
The neighbour described the accused killer as the “second owner” of a dog he used to walk weekly to try and lose weight when living in Rockingham.
“He used to take the dog out to keep himself fit because he wasn’t working. He just wanted to try and lose weight, because the medication was causing him to it put on.”
Local worker Brendon, who did not want his surname used, said Mr Carman had “sold all of his stuff and disappeared”.
“I know there’s a few people around here that aren’t surprised by what’s happened, unfortunately,” he said.
“I don’t know him personally, but he just didn’t have a very good reputation.”
Another local —who did not want to be associated with Mr Carman — said the accused killer was “heavily medicated” following his previous injury.
A local Rockingham business man Brendon talks about accused killer Simon Carman.
They said he “barely came out” of the unit and was known to have “slept all day”.
The local said Mr Carman was known to have discussed ammunition and firearms.
Another nearby worker said there was a Mr Carman was involved in a road rage incident near the unit when he lived there.
“The guy cut Simon off and he called him slurs and everything, swore at him,” the worker said.
“The other guy cut him (Simon) off and he got really aggressive — he told him all sorts of things.”
“He used to be friends with a guy I know . . . he’s a strange man.”
Another former associate of Mr Carman reportedly described him as having “lived like a pig” in Rockingham.
The Rockingham unit where Mr Carman was living has been repurposed by another business, who said they moved in when it was vacant last year.
Several workers who were approached by The West in Rockingham distanced themselves from Mr Carman.
The accused killer is understood to have had multiple interactions with WA Police before his arrest by Thai immigration officers on Friday night.
The State Administrative Tribunal’s register of proceedings show that Mr Carman was aggrieved by a WA Police decision to cancel his firearms licence in May 2023.
After lodging an application with the SAT, a decision was made in July 2024 which ultimately swayed in the police’s favour to cancel the licence.
An old Facebook profile picture shared by Mr Carman shows him parading what appears to be a shotgun.
In a number of disturbing public replies on Threads dating back to January 2025, Mr Carman repeatedly commented beneath posts from women sharing intimate selfies and videos, frequently opening conversations with near-identical messages such as “Hello Gorgeous, how are you doing?” and “Where are you located?” before introducing himself, revealing his location and trying to move the conversations off-platform.
Tunchanok Donhomla’s body was found dumped in a suitcase near a set of railway tracks on Friday night more than 4km from the Australian’s Pattaya hotel.
On June 4 this year when one woman posted a selfie asking: “Am i your type of girl?” Mr Carman bluntly replied: “Too fat.”
Three months earlier, on March 28, another woman asked: “i think i like you do you like asians?”, to which Mr Carman said “yes”.
On the same day, replying to another post whose original content is no longer available, he wrote: “I’m here, 45 !!.”
In October, Mr Carman commented on the platform announcing he was in Thailand.
Mr Carman also had a separate legal blow in Rockingham Magistrates Court in August 2025 after he was charged with driving without a valid license.
He was sentenced despite not being present at court, where he was fined $600 plus $308 in costs and hit with a nine month ban on driving.
In September, WA Police discontinued a charge against Mr Carman after he was accused of disorderly behaviour in public.
An internal document from Thai immigration obtained by The West shows Mr Carman had frequented Thailand in recent years, with a previous entry to the country recorded in early 2025 on a tourist visa.
Tunchanok Donhomla, 17, was last seen entering a hotel in Pattaya, a coastal city on Thailand’s Gulf coast, just after 3.30am on Thursday, local media reports. Yes
The document says he notified authorities of two addresses around Bangkok, one associated with a recent arrival and another as a temporary residence.
Mr Carman is understood to have been born in Ballarat before growing up in Jerramungup, about 440km south-east of Perth. He later lived in Albany before settling in Rockingham.
He is currently locked up in a Thai prison awaiting a court date on four charges after the body of Ms Donhomla was found stuffed inside a black suitcase.
She was found in a grassed area near railway tracks more than 4km from the Australian’s Pattaya hotel.
Investigators allege Mr Carman and Ms Donhomla had agreed on 1000 baht (about $43) for sex before Mr Carman offered only half that amount.
CCTV captured the pair walking hand-in-hand through the foyer of Mr Carman’s apartment building and into a lift at 3.34am on Thursday.
Simon Carman faces charges of murder, concealing a body, moving or destroying a body, and an offence relating to taking a minor aged between 15 and 18 for sexual purposes.
Late that evening, the Australian was allegedly filmed leaving the hotel alone and pulling a suitcase stuffed with the girl’s body.
He was arrested on Friday night moments before he was due to board a Jetstar flight to Perth. Police had received a missing person report about the girl before she was captured on the Australian’s hotel CCTV.
Mr Carman faces charges of murder, concealing a body, moving or destroying a body, and an offence relating to taking a minor aged between 15 and 18 for sexual purposes.
If convicted of murder in Thailand, he could face life imprisonment or the death penalty.
