Australian man charged with homicide after Thai teen's body found stuffed in a suitcase in Pattaya

The crime

In the early hours of Thursday 26 June, Simon Peter Carman and Thunchanok Donhomla entered a condo in Jomtien Beach, Pattaya, holding hands, according to CCTV footage released by police. The 17-year-old from Kalasin in northeast Thailand had travelled to the coastal resort town in mid-June, telling her family she was going on holiday with a friend. She was last seen alive in that footage.

On Saturday morning, officers discovered her naked body crumpled inside a large black suitcase abandoned in a thicket near railway tracks. Police said Carman's passport was found in the condo unit.

Investigation and charges

Carman was arrested at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok as he was preparing to board a flight to Perth. The arrest came shortly before the suitcase was found; police had issued a warrant after reviewing CCTV that showed a man later identified as the suspect leaving the condo alone with the suitcase on Thursday evening, loading it onto a motorcycle, and driving away.

Pattaya police superintendent Anek Srathongyoo said Carman faces charges of homicide, taking or transporting a minor for "indecent purposes," and concealing or destroying a corpse. The maximum penalty is death under Thai law. Srathongyoo also confirmed that investigators are probing possible links to two unsolved cases in the past two years in nearby districts Huay Yai and Ban Chang, where women working in the adult industry were also found dead in suitcases.

Suspect's account

Carman initially claimed the teenager had left the condo while he slept, then later told police he had agreed to pay 1,000 baht (€26) for sexual services but an argument broke out after he offered only half. He admitted to strangling her during the altercation, saying he had not intended to kill. In a video recorded in custody, he addressed the victim's family.

I feel bad for what happened to your daughter. It was out of my control. I know you'll be very sad, upset... same as me.

He added, "Please tell other girls... just to be careful." Forensic psychologist Tim Watson-Munro, who interviewed Carman, described those words as "the words of a callous psychopath in its worst form." Police said scratch marks on Carman's body were consistent with a struggle; the suspect claimed they were spider bites.

Victim and family

Donhomla, known by her nickname "Cake," was an only child who lived with her father and stepmother in Kalasin. She sometimes sold fruit or garlands on street corners to help the family. Her stepmother told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that the teenager was smart and capable.

We kept thinking — not our child. She's smart and capable. She knows how to take care of herself.

In French media, the stepmother publicly demanded the death penalty for the accused.

Links to other cases

While police have found no direct evidence tying Carman to two earlier suitcase murders in the same province, Srathongyoo said similarities in the crime scenes prompted the investigation. The unidentified victims are believed to have worked in the region's adult entertainment industry, and their deaths have been harder to solve because more time had elapsed before the bodies were discovered.