In a chilling twist of fate, Thai teenager Tunchanok Donhomla assured her friends of her safety just hours before her untimely death. This revelation comes amidst the investigation led by a Thai police chief into the murder allegations against a 46-year-old Australian man. The disturbing details were shared with SBS News.
The accused, Simon Peter Carman, whose origins trace back to Ballarat in Victoria, found himself under arrest at Bangkok’s bustling international airport on Friday evening. Authorities apprehended him as he allegedly attempted to board a Jetstar flight bound for Perth, thereby trying to exit the country.
The grim discovery of 17-year-old Donhomla’s body, concealed within a black suitcase and abandoned by a railway line in Pattaya’s picturesque resort town, led to the murder charges against Carman. This harrowing incident has been making rounds in the local news media.
Despite the gravity of the accusations, Carman has rebuffed the murder charge, offering a message to the victim’s family expressing that he “feels bad” about her demise.
Furthermore, Carman has denied additional allegations, including charges of taking a minor for sexual purposes and the macabre acts of moving or concealing a body.
He has claimed he acted in self defence.
Thail police colonel Anek Srathongyoo, superintendent of Pattaya City Police, has described to SBS News the hours leading up to the death of the young girl nicknamed “Cake”.
“According to Simon’s interrogation, Simon said he had strangled her until she was motionless, then brought her body into the bathroom. He must have been clueless to find a solution, so he stuffed her in the suitcase and left it [next to the railway track],” Srathongyoo said.
Police allege that Carman picked up the teenager near the Jomtien Beach area of Pattaya in the early hours of Thursday morning. CCTV footage shows the pair walking hand-in-hand in the entrance of a residential building.
Thai media and police say a violent argument broke out between the pair, allegedly over the payment of sexual services, which escalated into a fatal struggle.
Srathongyoo said the couple was “probably” arguing about their “private relationship,” but that this was Carman’s version of events.
When she arrived at his room, Donhomla messaged her friends via the locally popular Line messaging app that she was going to stay with Carman, Srathongyoo said.
“‘I’ve arrived at [his] apartment. The room is so messy’,” Srathongyoo said the message read. He said it was sent so her friends knew “she had arrived so they didn’t have to worry”.
Carman initially denied involvement but later claimed to have acted in self-defence and alleges the teenager threatened him with a kitchen knife.
In footage taken by police, Carman expressed regret to the girl’s family, while also denying he killed their loved one.
“I feel bad for what happened to your daughter. It was out of my control,” he said.
“It shouldn’t happen. Please tell other girls just to be careful.”
Srathongyoo added that, while police operate across Pattaya to ensure safety, protecting people in private spaces such as hotel rooms is difficult.
“We have told entrepreneurs, business owners, or hotel owners that if they notice anything suspicious, they have to report it to the police as soon as possible so we can investigate and rescue, especially when the incident hasn’t escalated into a loss,” he said.
He added that, in a case of murder, the maximum penalty under Thai law is death. He expects the case will be concluded “not longer than 84 days from the day of the arrest”.
The victim’s father, Thongchai Donhomla, 46, told the Reuters news agency that he was struggling to come to terms with the loss.
“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.
Her stepmother, Oradee Bussarakum, said she wanted the suspect to face the harshest punishment.
“I told the police I want him executed. As a mother, I don’t know what else to say … I just want him to face the full consequences,” she said.
Camera footage appears to show the man leaving the residential building alone on Thursday night, with a large black suitcase, and driving away with it on a motorbike.
Police later found the suitcase near a railway line, roughly 4km away, media reported.
The naked body of the teenager was found inside.
Video footage of the Australian shows visible scratch marks on his neck and arms.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has confirmed it is providing consular assistance to an Australian detained in Thailand.
Srathongyoo said the police have “many factors to consider,” including the fact that Carman claims the death was an accident.
However, he expressed that the incident is an unusual one that does not reflect the safety of Thailand.
“Travellers who are foreign, whether they are wrongdoers or victims, we will maintain justice and work on the case quickly,” he said.
“Thailand is still safe. Sometimes, we might have unexpected events, but that doesn’t reflect the whole country.
“I’d like to assure that travellers in Pattaya are still safe.”
This story was produced in collaboration with SBS Thai.