A young man in Chiang Mai, Thailand, attempted to rape his 22-year-old sister-in-law but met with resistance. Angered, the suspect used a hair straightener to strangle the woman to death.
According to Thai media reports, this case occurred in a rental house within a longan orchard in the Hang Dong district of Chiang Mai.
The 22-year-old victim, named U-sa (nickname Praew), was a restaurant waitress. Since she did not show up for work, her boss and a colleague went to check on her at her rental house. When they arrived, they found the front door open and received no response when calling out.
The colleague went upstairs to check and found Praew lying motionless there. Without inspecting closely, the colleague immediately went downstairs, suspected a murder had occurred, and then called the police.
Officers from Hang Dong Police Station arrived at the scene and confirmed that Praew had died in her bedroom. Police found her pants pulled down and ligature marks on her neck. Investigators estimated that at the time of the body’s discovery, she had been dead for around two days.
Initial motives considered by the police included theft, sexual assault, or a relationship dispute. Five men were summoned for questioning, including her ex-boyfriend, current boyfriend, landlord, and two other men said to be close to her. Police stated that at that time, none of the five were found to be suspects.
Praew’s cousin and her 31-year-old husband, Phanuwat, also came forward voluntarily as witnesses; they lived in another house within the same orchard. However, police soon uncovered evidence that Phanuwat was the killer.
Phanuwat subsequently confessed to the crime. He told investigators that on March 5, after drinking at a nearby grocery store, he became sexually aroused. He then snuck into Praew’s home and found her sleeping in her bedroom on the second floor.
Phanuwat attempted to rape her but met fierce resistance. He then grabbed her by the neck. Since Praew continued to resist, he then used the electric cord of the hair straightener to strangle her tightly until she lost consciousness.
He told police that at the time, he did not realize she was dead and pulled down her pants to continue attempting to sexually assault her. He claimed that upon seeing the victim was menstruating, he stopped.
Phanuwat said he then realized Praew was dead, so he tried to stage the scene as a burglary. He threw Praew’s bag and hat into the trash can in front of the door and wiped the doorknob with paint thinner to destroy fingerprints.
Just as he was about to leave, he happened to run into a courier delivering a package to Praew. The police stated that Phanuwat paid the courier fee for her, then left the scene and fled to his parents’ house in another district.
Police said that it was because of this encounter with the courier that investigators focused their attention on Phanuwat. After further interrogation, he made a full confession.
Phanuwat has now been charged under Article 288 of the Criminal Code with “premeditated murder,” a charge punishable by the death penalty, life imprisonment, or imprisonment for 15 to 20 years.