Thai fishermen killed backpacker, say police

John Aglionby in Koh Samui
Tuesday January 10, 2006
The Guardian

Two Thai fishermen have confessed to murdering British backpacker Katherine Horton on a beach in Koh Samui after apparently getting drunk on their boat and watching pornographic films, detectives said yesterday after parading the suspects at a Bangkok police station.

DNA samples taken from Bualoi Posit, 23, and Wichai Somkhaoyai, 24, apparently matched those taken from the victim who was found floating off Thong Krok beach on January 2, police said.

Ms Horton was killed the previous evening while walking along Lamai beach two miles away, chatting to her mother in Thornhill, near Cardiff, who heard the attack on the phone. Investigators believe both men raped the 21-year-old third-year psychology student from Reading University, and then dragged her, limp but still alive, out to sea to cover up the crime. Mr Wichai has allegedly denied rape but admitted being an accomplice to murder.

"We have different evidence; scientific evidence, DNA results which they cannot deny," deputy police chief General Preophan Dhamapong said. "The confessions of the suspects and the evidence from their bodies are proof of their crime."

The latter include scratches and scars police believe were inflicted by Ms Horton as she tried to resist the attack.

Police told a press conference that the British couple who found Ms Horton's phone, Chris and Jill Burrows, said they heard sounds like a porn film coming from a boat as they walked on the beach. Other Koh Samui officers last night said the couple told them that when they walked back they heard sounds coming from rocks by the beach which were almost certainly Ms Horton being attacked.

Senior police spokesman Lieutenant-General Ajiravid Subarnbhesaj said this evidence prompted officers to focus on the fishing fleet. They questioned about 30 fishermen on Sunday before talking to Mr Bualoi and Mr Wichai.

"They behaved in a suspicious manner when they gave us information so we separated them and questioned them individually," he said. "They then gave contrasting information but finally both of them confessed that they did it." The men allegedly told police that while watching the film they decided they wanted to rape someone. They stripped, swam ashore on barrels, and attacked the first woman they saw, which happened to be the 21-year-old student. "Mr Bualoi grabbed and wrestled her from behind while Mr Wichai hit her with a stick," Colonel Preecha Thimanmontri added. He said Ms Horton was unable to resist and after being knocked unconscious was dragged to a secluded, stony part of the beach and raped. The men then dumped her in the sea.

"They wanted to conceal their crime because the victim was a foreigner and they were afraid of what they had done so they dragged the body away and threw her in the sea," said investigator Major-General Suthan Chayanon. "They then swam back to their boat where they boasted to their friends about what they had done."

The two men, who were taken to Bangkok at dawn yesterday for scientific tests were at the press conference, although reporters were not allowed to talk to them. Sitting quietly in a side room with heads bowed, the weather-beaten men looked upset.

Some of the more than 100 officers on the case attended the briefing. Several openly celebrated their success, having been out under intense pressure to solve the murder swiftly because Koh Samui is one of Thailand's top tourist destinations. About 770,000 tourists visited the island last year, of which 157,000 were British, more than any other nation.

Gen Ajiravid said the men would be charged with co-conspiracy to rape and premeditated murder with cruelty. They could face the death penalty but because they were cooperating with police a 20- to 25-year jail term was more likely.

Both men were flown back to Koh Samui last night for further questioning. They are to be formally charged in court, probably tomorrow. Any trial could be several weeks away.

Daniel Painter, a British embassy spokesman, thanked the Thai police for their "extremely hard work" and said the South Wales police had been informed and would pass on news of the arrests to the Horton family.

The Thai prime minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, yesterday appeared concerned about his country's image. "After arresting the wrongdoers, it should get better for tourism and restore our credibility," he said.

Last night Ms Horton's travelling companion, Ruth Adams, spoke of the "huge void" in her life following the death of her best friend. "I am hoping that this recent development will allow Kath's family space to mourn for their daughter who loved them all very much," she said. "I cannot understand how something so evil could happen to someone so innocent, beautiful, passionate and selfless. My only comfort is that she is now in a place where no one can ever hurt her again."