Australian man charged with murdering Thai teenager and hiding her body in suitcase

An Australian man has been charged with murder after the body of a 17-year-old girl was found in a suitcase in Thailand, the BBC writes.

Police in the coastal city of Pattaya said they found Tunchanok Donhomla “stuffed” in the bag, which had been discarded near a railway track, in the early hours of Saturday.

Thai police said they arrested Simon Peter Carman at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport in connection with the death as he was allegedly “preparing to flee the country”.

In a statement on social media, the force said it reviewed CCTV footage that allegedly showed Carman entering a condominium with Donholma at 03:34 on Thursday. Late that evening, he emerged alone “carrying a large suitcase”.

The statement said he loaded the bag onto a motorbike before driving towards a railway line.

Carman denied murder and further charges related to moving or concealing a body and taking a minor for sexual purposes, and claimed he had acted in self defence.

Media reports state that Carman told police he had agreed to pay Donholma 1,000 baht (US$30) for sexual services, but that they had an argument when they returned to his apartment and he offered only 500 baht.

Thai police told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) that Carman also claimed Donhomla had “disappeared from the room” while he was asleep.

Police in Pattaya said scratch marks, believed to have been caused by fingernails, were found on Carman’s body. However, he denied that the scratches had been inflicted by the girl during a struggle, claiming they might have been caused by spiders.