A Thai family is heartbroken after the body of their 17-year-old daughter was discovered stuffed inside a suitcase in the resort city of Pattaya, with an Australian man now behind bars and charged with her murder.
Thai police arrested the suspect, identified as Simon Peter Carman, an Australian man in his 40s, in the early morning hours of Saturday at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport. Authorities said he was on the verge of boarding a flight back to Australia when officers took him into custody.
Carman now faces a series of serious charges, including murder, concealment of a body, moving or destroying a body, and taking a minor for sexual purposes.
According to police, investigators reviewed surveillance camera footage that captured Carman entering a condominium together with the young girl. Hours later, the footage showed him leaving the building alone, carrying a suitcase. Police posted on their official Facebook page that he then loaded the suitcase onto a motorcycle and rode to a grassy area near a set of railway tracks.
Authorities subsequently obtained an arrest warrant and intercepted Carman at the airport before he could leave the country. While in an investigation room at the police station, Carman addressed the victim’s family before being transferred to the Pattaya Provincial Court.
“I feel bad for what happened to your daughter. It was out of my control,” he said.
The girl’s father, Thongchai Donhomla, 46, spoke about the devastating impact of losing his child.
“I am deeply saddened. My daughter had no mother, so whenever she wanted anything, she would find a way herself, and she always helped me too,” he said.
The victim’s stepmother, Oradee Bussarakum, made clear she wants the harshest possible punishment for the accused.
“I told the police I want him executed. As a (step)mother, I don’t know what else to say … I just want him to face the full consequences,” she said.
Police have not yet announced when Carman will make his first appearance before the court.
