Orradee Bussarakham, the stepmother of a 17-year-old Thai girl whose body was discovered in a suitcase near a railway track in Pattaya, expressed her devastation on Monday as authorities charged an Australian man with her murder.
Family's Grief
“I never imagined she would be gone this quickly,” Orradee told AFP by phone. “We didn’t get to say goodbye.” Orradee and the girl’s father, Thongchai Donhomla, were in Bangkok on Monday to collect the body. “Like her dad, I’m devastated. Although I’m her stepmother, I feel like I just lost a child of my own,” she added.
Arrest and Charges
Simon Peter Carman, a 45-year-old Australian, has been charged with premeditated murder, according to Police Lt. Col. Kosala Ngampong. Carman was arrested at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport on Friday night as he prepared to board a flight back to Australia, after the victim’s friend reported her missing. He faces charges of premeditated murder, “taking a minor (for sexual purposes)” and concealment of a body — all of which he has denied, Kosala said. He is held at a Pattaya jail while the case is referred to prosecutors.
Details of the Crime
Under the Thai Criminal Code, premeditated murder carries a penalty of life imprisonment or death, the latter rarely enforced. Popular with foreign tourists, Pattaya is known for its beaches and a nightlife scene that has long drawn scrutiny over sex tourism. CCTV footage showed Carman entering a condominium in Pattaya with the girl in the early hours of Thursday, and leaving that evening carrying a large black suitcase, police said. Kosala said Carman had loaded the suitcase onto a motorcycle and rode to a grassy area near a railway line in the city. Police found the suitcase early Saturday near a railway track, discovering inside the victim’s body which bore signs of violence.
Victim's Background
The girl had left her home in Kalasin province, in Thailand’s northeast, for Pattaya on June 16, Orradee said. She described her stepdaughter as a cheerful, sociable girl with a wide circle of friends. The teen would help Orradee sell garlands and fruits at a roadside stall, she recalled, adding: “She would always bring the family together for mookata (Thai barbecue).” Her body will be returned home for funeral rites.
