We'll be dignified for David. There was no evidence of a misdemeanour, but the bodies are send to the police hospital for atopsies. [31] Media reports speculated that was because the defence was wary of calling on foreign experts fearing it could appear as undermining the Thai justice system, and could bias the judges against their case. The Koh Tao murders involved the death of two British tourists in Thailand in 2014. What really happened there? Thailand is one of the worlds most popular tourist destinations with around 35 million visitors each year and promotes itself as the Land of Smiles. The government is sensitive to criticism that could undermine the countrys reputation. On 15 September, the bodies of Hannah Witheridge and David Miller were found on Sairee Beach on the island of Koh Tao, between 4 and 5 am, a few hours after their deaths. Both entered through the Ranong Province, allegedly without presenting themselves at a port of entry and without possessing a passport. There were no signs of a struggle or rape or other human DNA. Ten days after he went missing from Sairee Beach on Koh Tao, the body of Swiss tourist Hans Peter Suter, 44, was washed ashore at Talay Ngam beach in Lang Suan district of Chumphon province on Tuesday, November 18, 2014. The publicity about their allegedly botched investigation began in 2014 with the brutal murder of two British tourists, David Miller and Hannah Witheridge . [76], The International Commission of Jurists said "the defense must be afforded adequate time and facilities to explore whether the alleged destruction of evidence in this case was appropriate and unavoidable, and to test the prosecution case overall." [11], An autopsy revealed that both victims were hit by a hard object resulting in head and face wounds. Investigators had no theory to explain her unexpected stopover on Koh Tao on her way back to the mainland and the capital Bangkok. He had recently returned to the island after building up a motorbike rental business. [51][21] The trial was attended by external observers, including representatives from Amnesty International and the UK's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. Hannah was also revelling in her time staying at Sairee Beach with another group of travelling companions. A young backpacker has become the latest tourist found dead on Thailand's notorious 'death island', Tanote Bay in Koh Tao where a backpacker was found dead on April 27, Sairee beach where Hannah Witheridge and David Miller were found bludgeoned to death, Chillingly, the death of Elise appears to have been suppressed by Thai authorities, Elise Dallemange, 30, here pictured with mum Michele, had been living at a yoga and tantra retreat, Elise had been travelling around Asia for the last two years, Hannah Witheridge and David Miller were murdered in September 2014, Hannah is pictured (right) with her sister Laura, Luke Miller was found dead in a swimming pool in Koh Tao, Thai police have been accused by his family for not investigating the murder fully, Christina Annesley, 23, died on the island in January 2015, Christina's parents slammed Thai authorities for failing to investigate the death, Nick Pearson's parents are convinced their son was murdered in Koh Tao, Valentina Novozhyonova, 23, vanished from her hostel on Koh Tao in March, She had checked into the hostel on February 11 and was due to check out on February 16, Frenchman Dimitri Povse, 29, was found hanged in a bungalow on the island. The country's prime minister, who had been phoning the national police chief daily for updates on the investigation, said "this should not have happened at all, as it will affect Thailand in the eyes of the international community". ISBN: 9780062802910. She was said to have died of natural causes after mixing antibiotics she was taking for a chest infection with alcohol. But an unexplained fire that evening burned down three bamboo huts - including the one Elise had been staying in. But, he said that most of these would have been present prior to his death, although he could not completely rule out the possibility that Nick had been attacked. The young backpacker had been living at a yoga and tantra retreat, which neighboured the party island of Koh Phangan, in between travelling round Asia, for two years. Something went wrong, please try again later. Doubts lingered over the conviction of two migrant Burmese workers for the rape and murders, Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo (also known as Win Zaw Htun). [1][15][21], During an hours-long interrogation, during which the police used Burmese food vendors as interpreters[35] because the pair could not speak Thai,[41] the suspects confessed to the murders. Elise's death is the latest in a string of seven fatalities in three years on the island. Koh Tao, Thailand, Serial killers, Unexplained murders WARNING CONTAINS SOME DISTURBING IMAGES OF DEATH The island of Koh Tao, off the coast of Thailand, is often described as a paradise. Graphic images showing the bodies of Hannah Witheridge and David Miller on a beach in Koh Tao have been circulating online. And insecure residency tends to breed compliance. He was found hiding on the boat later on 2 October. He had entered the country on September 26, 2018, before traveling to the island, where stayed at the Monsoon Gym and Fight Club. The Thaiger 116K subscribers Join Subscribe 712 Share 29K views 10 months ago #thailand #kohtao #thailandtourist We've all heard. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/03/world/asia/thailand-koh-tao-death-island.html#:~:text=But%20among%20some%20foreigners%2C%20Koh,began%20calling%20it%20Death%20Island.&text=She%20accused%20the%20police%20of,up%20crime%20on%20the%20island. He started another business in neighboring island Koh Phayam before returning in March 2018 to "tie up loose ends". From the beginning, the Thai police had difficulty securing the crime scene. Defence lawyers had asked for the samples to be independently verified but have now been told there is nothing left of them to re-test. A Thai/Indian couple circa June 2021. Ben Harrington 2012; I am the former owner and editor of the Samui Times, a news publication on Koh Samui, and covered the stories of the so-called "backpacker murders" and other suspicious . After weeks of investigations, Thai Police have arrested three Burmese man in relation to the murder of two British tourists David Miller and Hannah Witheridge on the holiday island of Koh Tao.The Burmese migrant worker community is on high alert and fears a firm respond to the killings on migrant workers inside Thailand by the Thai officials. . Post-mortems found that Hannah had died from head wounds, while engineering student Mr Miller suffered severe blows to his head and drowned. Dubbed 'Death Island', the illusion of a safe haven has since shattered following the brutal deaths of a number of tourists. It was revealed yesterday that on April 28 Elise became the latest tourist found dead on the island of Koh Tao. [11] The two met in Koh Tao while staying at the same hotel. Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, "This Septic Isle: Backpackers, Bloodshed and the Secretive World of Koh Tao", "Links revealed between police and migrants on Koh Tao", "Police: Still no suspect in killings of Britons on idyllic Thai island", "Thai king commutes death sentence of UK pair's killers", "Thailand: Hannah Witheridge 'raped by two men before being killed', "Thailand backpacker murders: David Miller and Hannah Witheridge - two lives cut short", "Thailand murders: Victims' families talk of senseless killings", "Hannah Witheridge's family pay tribute to "beautiful, intelligent, loving young woman", "British backpackers murdered in Thailand named as Hannah Witheridge and David Miller", "Thailand murders: Amnesty International call for police torture probe", Koh Samui Provincial Court No. 2 minutes read. But behind paradise lies a grubby underbelly where, according to one report, there are "enough suspicious disappearances to warrant the island its own CSI franchise". [93] Amid the investigation, Tourism and Sports Minister Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul visited Koh Tao on 28 September 2014 in an attempt to reassure tourists. Police and court systems were hacked or taken offline in the following days, and a stash of personal information obtained from the court's servers was posted publicly. [31] They focused on foreign nationals, with a spokesperson for the police claiming "Thais wouldn't do this". Bernd's cousin Christina said: ''We cannot accept what the Thai authorities on the island are telling us. [1] After initially failing to find a match to one of the migrant workers, the police focused their attention on Western tourists related to the victims. https://time.com/3955081/thailand-koh-tao-murder-david-miller-hannah-witheridge-zaw-lin-wai-phyo-burma-myanmar/, https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/dark-side-koh-tao-seven-10708561, https://www.strangeoutdoors.com/true-crime-in-the-outdoors/tag/Cases+on+the+Death+Island+of+Koh+Tao, https://www.nist.gov/feature-stories/dna-mixtures-forensic-science-explainer. [1][96], Although tourist arrivals to Koh Tao dropped in the months immediately following the murders, there was little lasting effect on tourism to the island.[92]. Now their families are demanding answers. Police major general, Surachate Hakparn, said in an interview that the police have cracked down on crime syndicates on Koh Tao since the backpackers double killing. Only if they are not beautiful." While he claimed she "kissed the gun" and that it was an accidental suicide, others - including . Hannah was a fun, vibrant and beautiful young woman who will be sorely missed by all who knew her. In 2014, Koh Tao was the site of the brutal double murders of two British backpackers, but theirs weren't the only suspicious backpacker deaths. She was found dead in her bungalow with a mix of medication and alcohol in her system in 2015 - leading the coroner to ascertain she died of an accidental overdose. Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right. [38] Both men were 22-year-old illegal migrant workers from Rakhine, Myanmar, who worked in the hospitality industry. His parents believe he was murdered - despite police claims he fell 50ft and drowned. Eight days later when locals living near the island's idyllic Tanote Bay became suspicious of a monitor lizard going back and fourth into the jungle they discovered Elise's half-eaten body on May 27 among rocks behind the Tanote Family Bay Resort. Controversially, Surat Thani governor Auaychai Innak dismissed as untrue some foreign news reports which claimed reptiles had eaten half of Dallemagne's body. They had been brutally beaten to death just a few feet away from their hotel rooms. She was part of the sect of the Sathya Sai Baba cult movement, and lived with a self-proclaimed "guru", and left the island on April 17 to return home. Read about our approach to external linking. I should add that I was not representing the accused men so I am not presenting arguments on their behalf in any lawyer/client relationship. [51][56][57] They argued that the defendants, since they were vulnerable as illegal migrant workers, were scapegoated by the police for the crime. 2023 BBC. Part of the reason for coming out, was to go to Koh Tao. Phone records showed that Elise called her mother on Skype on April 17, 2017, before leaving Koh Phangan on a Ferry on April 19. Wai Phyo and Zaw Lin during a police "re-enactment" of the crime on Koh Tao. Get email updates with the day's biggest stories. As we continue with our plans for our beautiful Hannahs party, our thoughts are with David Millers family who are suffering the same indescribable agony. The murders on Koh Tao, a laid-back haven for divers, sullied Thailand's image in the tourism industry, which accounts for about 10 per cent of the country's economy. [44] In December 2014, the suspects were each indicted on five charges: premeditated murder, killing to conceal a criminal offence, rape, illegal entry into Thailand, and staying in the country without permission. Silje Mathisen 2014; He also had given no indications before his death, that he had suicidal thoughts. [36] Footage near the crime scene also showed one of the three men running into a shortcut. Nick's father, Graham, had been the last person to see him when he walked with his son back to where the family was staying. The family has contested the police version of events. Ortega, 55, is charged . [6] Miller had just completed his undergraduate degree in civil and structural engineering at the University of Leeds and was starting a masters degree. After unsuccessfully trying to find their possessions, they walked towards Mau Mau's house through the shortcut, which resulted in them being caught on CCTV. Passport photos of David William Miller, and Hannah Victoria Witheridge, both 24, were placed on this memorial on Koh Tao on Wednesday. Just a few feet away from their hotel rooms while staying at the same.! 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