Updated

Updated · The Guardian · Jun 30

Thai Police Probe 2 Unsolved Suitcase Killings After Australian Charged in Teen's Murder

Updated

Updated · The Guardian · Jun 30

Thai Police Probe 2 Unsolved Suitcase Killings After Australian Charged in Teen's Murder

Q: With two prior unsolved suitcase murders, have police finally caught a serial killer preying on women in Pattaya?

No. Police have arrested and charged Simon Peter Carman in the killing of 17-year-old Thunchanok Donhomla, but there is not yet public evidence proving he is responsible for the two earlier suitcase murders or that he is a serial killer. What is established is the strength of the case in Donhomla’s death. Investigators say CCTV shows her entering Carman’s condo and never leaving, while Carman was later seen taking out a large suitcase and returning without it. He was arrested at Bangkok’s airport while trying to leave Thailand. Police say he later admitted killing her after an argument, though he has also claimed self-defense. A medical examination found likely suffocation and no signs of beating. The serial-killer question rests on similarities, not proof. Police are examining two unsolved cases from the past two years in which women’s bodies were also found in suitcases in nearby districts. Those victims were reportedly believed to have worked in the adult industry. That pattern is serious enough to justify a wider investigation, but similarity in disposal method alone does not establish one offender. At this stage, the accurate framing is that Thai police may have found a suspect worth scrutinizing across multiple cases, but they have not publicly shown forensic, digital, travel, or witness evidence tying Carman to the earlier murders. Until that evidence emerges, calling him a serial killer would be premature.

3 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Jun 30

Thai police are examining whether Simon Peter Carman, 45, is tied to two unsolved killings after charging him with murdering 17-year-old Thunchanok Donhomla in Pattaya.
CCTV allegedly shows Donhomla entering Carman’s Jomtien Beach condo early Thursday, Carman later leaving with a large suitcase on a motorbike, and returning without it; she was never seen leaving.
Police say Carman was arrested Friday at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport while trying to leave Thailand and later allegedly admitted killing Donhomla after an argument; he denies the murder charge.
The two older cases—one in Huay Yai and one in Ban Chang—also involved naked women found in suitcases with their clothes and belongings, though police say they have no direct evidence yet linking Carman to them.
Donhomla had arrived in Pattaya only a week earlier, and investigators are still piecing together how she met Carman and whether anyone in her group had ties to the local sex industry.