What really happened there? Buchanan told the Sun Online: They all died in really mysterious circumstances- the Thai version of Christina Annesleys death was that she died of natural causes, she's 23! An unexplained fire that evening burned down three bamboo huts, including the one Elise had been staying in. We beg that Hannah and David are afforded privacy and dignity through the removal of these pointless and insensitive reminders. From the beginning, the Thai police had difficulty securing the crime scene. There is an alternative bus and ferry service run by Songserm, which is the cheapest way to get from Bangkok to Koh Tao. The past three weeks have been unimaginably difficult and there are no words that can adequately describe the heartache and despair that our family is experiencing. Bernd's cousin Christina said: ''We cannot accept what the Thai authorities on the island are telling us. A millionaire hotel tycoon and his wife have been found dead in a luxury resort on Koh Tao, colloquially known as Death Island. A judge found the workers guilty and sentenced them to death despite questions about DNA evidence and the police handling of the case. DNA was collected from these three areas and sent to a police forensics lab for analysis. Nick Pearson, 25, was found floating in an island bay, at the foot of a 50ft drop by scuba divers in the sea after he disappeared following a night out with his family on New Year's Eve. [1][96], Although tourist arrivals to Koh Tao dropped in the months immediately following the murders, there was little lasting effect on tourism to the island.[92]. Hotels near The Heart of Chechnya Hotels near State Gallery named after A. On September 20, 1988, Tara Calico left her home in New Mexico to go on a bike ride she took, In November 1981, actress Natalie Wood mysteriously drowned off the coast of Southern California during a boating trip with her, In July 2014, 52 year old Lynn Messer mysteriously disappeared from her familys 260-acre farm in Bloomsdale, Missouri. [31] A British defence lawyer, Felicity Gerry QC, said the trial was "far too rushed and unfair to the defense". Our kids all died on Koh Tao 'death island' - cops claim they were accidents but we think they were MURDERED Aliki Kraterou Published: 13:58, 19 Mar 2022 Updated: 15:34, 19 Mar 2022 The. Photograph: Alamy. In December 2015, the pair were convicted of the murder and sentenced to death. The more I was getting involved, the more I was reporting, the more upset the Thais would get," she added. An inquest had been held in 2014 as his death was being treated as suspicious. Why are the police not thoroughly investigating, why are they changing facts? There were no signs of fighting or a struggle, nor were foreign objects or substances that could cause loss of consciousness found in the body.. Police on the resort island of Koh Tao are investigation the drowning death of a wealth business man and his wife. It followed her reporting on the case of a British girl who was allegedly raped on the same beach. [1] Receiving half a million visitors each year,[1] Koh Tao is especially popular with backpackers and known for its marine life and scuba diving. She was also part of the Sathya Sai Baba cult and lived with a self-proclaimed 'guru'. Only if they are not beautiful. He later apologized, saying that he meant only that foreign visitors should be careful. I was told on more than one occasion that I needed to take down this stuff from the paper. How long have Keir Starmer and Sue Gray been secretly cooking up their plot? Nick Pearson, 25, was found floating in an island bay, at the foot of a 50ft drop on New Years Day 2014. While police ruled out foul play, Nick's family, who say officers did not investigate a single witness, believe he was murdered. Top Kurunegala Forests: See reviews and photos of Forests in Kurunegala, Sri Lanka on Tripadvisor. The murders on Koh Tao, a laid-back haven for divers, sullied Thailand's image in the tourism industry, which accounts for about 10 per cent of the country's economy. The prosecution says a DNA match between samples found on Miss Witheridge's body and the two defendants is central to its case. I should add that I was not representing the accused men so I am not presenting arguments on their behalf in any lawyer/client relationship. Although both of his hands were tied behind the back, the police said he could have done this himself as the rope was tied to one hand and a loop was made so the other hand could be inserted. [59] The defence struggled to find members of the public willing to testify at the trial, as many feared retribution,[1][60] hence their alibi was not considered convincing by the court. [5][40] The commutation was welcomed by Miller's family. It has over 100 hotels and resorts and was deemed the busiest diving centre in Southeast Asia in 2014. A Thai/Indian couple circa June 2021. [21][73], The death sentences were commuted to life imprisonment on 14 August 2020 following a royal decree to commemorate King Vajiralongkorn's birthday and "illustrate the king's clemency". He originally moved to the island in the late 1990s but left in 2016 after becoming frustrated with the corruption and hostility towards foreign business owners. ", Mrs Miller said: "It's been hard, very hard. The family has contested the police version of events. The mum of Ben Harrington Pat was never convinced by the local police's explanation that her 32-year-old son broke his neck when he crashed into an electricity pylon on a night-time moped ride in August 2012. Thaiger Video Monday, March 7, 2022 Less than a minute We've all heard about the 2014 backpacker murders of two British tourists in Koh Tao, Thailand. Their explanations as to why these kids have died just dont add up- you dont have to be a pathologist or a doctor to know what weve been told is nonsensical.. Ms Witheridge, from Hemsby in Norfolk, and Mr Miller, from Jersey, were murdered on the popular holiday island on September 15. The father-of-ones family in Ingolstadt, Germany, said at the time they did not believe the authorities' claims that hedied of heart failure or had been bitten by a snake.. But many cases appear very suspicious according to family members and insufficiently investigated. Both were found dead on the bottom of a swimming pool at a seaside resort on Koh Tao in Surat Thani. He had entered the country on September 26, 2018, before traveling to the island, where stayed at the Monsoon Gym and Fight Club. He said more security cameras would be installed on beaches. The Samui Times believes that it is in the best interests of any visitor to the island to be aware of the numerous tourist deaths and the fact that many families of those who died on the island are not satisfied with police investigations.. Xi Jinping's power grab - and why it matters, Street fighting in Bakhmut but Russia not in control, Saving Private Ryan actor Tom Sizemore dies at 61, The children left behind in Cuba's mass exodus, Snow, Fire and Lights: Photos of the Week. British Bricklayer Luke Miller, 26, was found at the bottom of a swimming pool at the Sunset Bar at Sairee Beach on January 6, 2016. Friends and family remain suspicious of the police investigation and the insistence that Dimitri committed suicide, especially as his hands were tied behind his back. [52] The suspects were defended pro bono by two lawyers from the Lawyers Council of Thailand. New Zealand's Minisrty of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) says 185 Kiwis are registered as being in the flood affected areas of Koh Samui and Koh Tao and parts of southern Thailand, including . The two men deny murdering Miss Witheridge, 23, from Norfolk, and David Miller, 24, from Jersey. "As long as I can breathe I will keep trying to find answers.". They are said to have confessed to the crime but later retracted their statements. The university graduate, who was two weeks into a four-month backpacking trip round South East Asia, was found dead on her bungalow in January 2015. It leaves Khao San Songserm at either 1800 or 1900. From: kohtao. Doubts lingered over the conviction of two migrant Burmese workers for the rape and murders, Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo (also known as Win Zaw Htun). Posts on social media said Dallemagne had booked a ticket to Chumphon province, on the mainland, and that her luggage arrived after her death, raising questions of her intentions to take her own life. Boyne Annesley believes his 23-year-old daughter Christina Annesley, of Orpington, southeast London, was murdered on Koh Tao Island in January 2015. Our family have been further traumatised by reports that there are numerous unnecessary and senseless photographs circulating across the internet. The pictures, which News Corp Australia will not reproduce, were taken on the beach at Koh Tao, where the pair was hacked to death with a garden hoe, allegedly by two Burmese men who confessed to the bloody crime then withdrew their confessions. The families of the young Brits who mysteriously lost their lives in Koh Tao have vowed to find out the truth and say something dodgy is going on., The grieving families have formed a support group following the death of their children on the Thai island, dubbed death island.. [1][15][21], During an hours-long interrogation, during which the police used Burmese food vendors as interpreters[35] because the pair could not speak Thai,[41] the suspects confessed to the murders. Cart. [58] Ostensibly, Wai Phyo changed jobs at the end of September and was travelling by boat to Surat Thani for his new job on the day he was arrested. [51][56][57] They argued that the defendants, since they were vulnerable as illegal migrant workers, were scapegoated by the police for the crime. A great number of Western backpackers have died under unexplained circumstances on this tiny tropical island in the past years. For further details of our complaints policy and to make a complaint please click this link: thesun.co.uk/editorial-complaints/, The families are not satisfied with the investigation by the Thai authorities, Christina Annesley was found dead on the beach in January 2015, Thai authorities said Ben Harrington,32, died when he crashed during a moped ride, The families have not been satisfied with the investigation of the Thai authorities, Luke Miller was found dead at the bottom of a pool, Elise Dallemange was found dead in the jungle in Koh Tao, The Curse of the turtle was released earlier this month, Bernd Grotsch from Germany was found dead at his house in Koh Tao, Valentina Novozhyonova vanished from her hostel, Suzanne Buchanan is determined to find out the truth about Koh Tao, Our kids all died on Koh Tao death island cops claim they were accidents but we think they were MURDERED, Headteacher sacked 'after sending parents a list of striking teachers' as school launches probe, Isle of Innisfree ferry: Blaze breaks out on boat carrying 183 people in English Channel as lifeboats scramble to scene. [25] There were no known eyewitnesses to the murders. Heightened vigilance has been urged for all countries after two new deadly virus cases were detected in humans in China. [26][27] However, her clothes were not tested for DNA. The pictures, which News Corp Australia will not reproduce, were taken on the beach at Koh Tao, where the pair was hacked to death with a garden hoe, allegedly by two Burmese men who confessed to the bloody crime then withdrew their confessions. Due to the nature of her passing, our beautiful girl has had little privacy. [3] The murders were the first cases of homicide on the island in over eight years. We won't comment on the trial process. They followed the animal and discovered that it had been feeding on Elise's remains, which were found among rocks behind the Tanote Family Bay Resort. Hanspeter Suter 2014; A few days later, staff checked her room to discover her mobile phone, passport and camera had all been left behind. The Koh Samui Provincial Court has set 24 December as the date to deliver its judgement on two Myanmar men, Zaw Lin and Zaw Ein Htun (aka Wai Phyo), who are accused of murdering two British tourists on Thailand's Koh Tao Island on September 15 last year. David Miller 2014; With crystal-clear waters, perfect sandy beaches, palm trees and great nightlife. They also found a suicide note at the scene. It would be impossible, some of the boulders are so big they would have stopped him but he didnt have a single broken bone. I have created a Facebook page and a YouTube channel dedicated to looking into tourist deaths on Koh Tao. [74], The investigation was met with criticism by international media, human rights groups, and legal experts. Investigators had no theory to explain her unexpected stopover on Koh Tao on her way back to the mainland and the capital Bangkok. After searching, All rights reserved. Bergen Area, Norway. Her mother, Michele claimed that Elise used a fake name of 'Elise Dubuis' to check into the Triple B Bungalows next to Mae Head Pier on Koh Tao. Hannah was a University of Essex student from Hemsby in Norfolk, UK, and David was a civil and structural engineering graduate, from Jersey. [1][15][16] Miller's body was found floating in the water, and Witheridge's on the beach;[17] the bodies lay approximately 20 metres apart and 30 metres away from their hotel (Ocean View Bungalows). (Washington D.C., February 27, 2023) - The Specialized Criminal Court (SCC) in Riyadh, used to prosecute "terrorism" cases in Saudi Arabia, has charged six former prominent SCC judges and four former judges of the High Court, the country's supreme court, with "high treason" - a crime punishable by death in Saudi Arabia - in its first secret hearing of the case on February 16, 2023, said . The Koh Tao murders involved the death of two British tourists in Thailand in 2014. About Nick Pearson they said he fell out of his bungalow and ended up drowning in the ocean. Some 200 children have died in one nation after taking toxic cough syrups. None of the families believe that the way the police said they died is actually how they died and they are all very unhappy with the investigation. [49] Wai Phyo was also charged with stealing Miller's phone. "So my suspicions are that it was a mugging that went wrong. [31] They focused on foreign nationals, with a spokesperson for the police claiming "Thais wouldn't do this". Today, we have gotten rid of them.. Thai beach deaths DNA evidence . Thai police are investigating their deaths as . We have done our own investigation and we are sure she was murdered. [80][81], The Prime Minister of Thailand, Prayut Chan-o-cha, said "[foreign female tourists] think our country is beautiful and safe and they can do whatever they want, wear bikinis wherever they like. Last modified on Wed 29 Nov 2017 23.45 EST. While his death was ruled as suicide cops could not explain why his hands are tied behind his back. Witheridge was travelling with three other friends, and Miller with two others. Enterprise. Valentina Novozhenova 2017; "They won't come forward because they know something is going to happen to them," he added. The defendants have repeatedly stated their innocence over the murders, with the defence alleging they were framed. British tourists Hannah Witheridge and David Miller were found dead Monday, September 15, on a beach in Koh Tao, a popular resort island in Thailand. In accepting the 2nd retrial plea, sought by the family of Hiromu Sakahara, who died of illness aged 75 while serving his term in 2011, the Osaka High Court said . Sun 23 Nov 2014 10.54 EST. Available for both RF and RM licensing. I just listened to your full podcast about Koh Tao with considerable interest. While collecting forensic evidence, tourists and locals were allowed to walk on the beach. [51] This decision was criticised by the Solicitors International Human Rights Group, one of the observers at the trial. Thai police say the man on the left matches the one seen acting suspiciously on CCTV A Scottish man is being kept in protective custody in Thailand after a photo he took could identify the murderer. [1][4][24] Witheridge's body indicated she had been raped. Derby coroner Louise Pinder said there was not enough evidence to say how he died and recorded an open verdict. Ten days after he went missing from Sairee Beach on Koh Tao, the body of Swiss tourist Hans Peter Suter, 44, was washed ashore at Talay Ngam beach in Lang Suan district of Chumphon province on Tuesday, November 18, 2014. He was travelling Southeast Asia with a friend after completing a six-week work placement in Australia with a mining company,[6][8][9] and arrived in Thailand in August. He also had given no indications before his death, that he had suicidal thoughts. [87][88] The protests angered Thailand's prime minister, who believed the demonstrations were a plot "instigated" to hurt the government. "They did a visual post-mortem - just by looking at him they said he died of a broken neck and that his face was looking towards his back. Resting in the Gulf of Thailand, a two-hour ferry ride north of Koh Samui, Koh Tao is best known for its incredible marine life, which over the years has attracted a small but buoyant expat. "I got him home and they had a proper postmortem - most of his bones were broken but the one bone that wasn't broken was his neck and there was no evidence of his face looking towards his back. Im asking if they wear bikinis in Thailand, will they be safe? Their bodies were found on a beach on the island of Koh Tao last September. And at least six young Brits have all died in suspicious circumstances on the small island of Koh Tao, leading their loved ones to label it "Death Island". Bernd Grotsch 2017; 2040 / 2557", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Koh_Tao_murders&oldid=1135707447, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 26 January 2023, at 10:00. 679215 Registered office: 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF. [20] Both bodies were found semi-naked;[21] a pile of clothes was found nearby. Both entered through the Ranong Province, allegedly without presenting themselves at a port of entry and without possessing a passport. [70] Wai Phyo was also convicted of theft for allegedly stealing a phone and sunglasses from Miller's body. Irregular Burmese migrant workers were now required to register with the police in an attempt to discourage illegal workers and prevent bribery. Silje Mathisen 2014; Again when Christina Annesley died police didnt interview the last person she was seen with while she was alive. Exclusive location in the Kitirua Conservancy. My YouTube channel is called KOH TAO MURDERS DEATH ISLAND. Tony Witheridge bowed his head as bloody images of. Samui Times defended its reporting in an online post. [33][34] Over 200 individuals on the island, many of them migrant workers, were tested in mass DNA testing. Police received the initial report at 4.45pm on Friday. Koh Tao--a small island in the Gulf of Thailand, surrounded by pristine beaches, swathed in sunshine, and a mecca for tourists, divers and backpackers. Police investigators have released photographs and clearer video footage of an unidentified man they believe could be a key to resolving the Koh Tao double-murder case and are asking the. And on Koh Tao there are around 5,000 Burmese conspicuous by the golden streaks of thanaka paste, a traditional sunscreen and beauty product, garnishing their cheeks who build hotels, sweep. Their findings were never made public, but were shared with the families of the victims. We are like one big family, weve been through this journey for the past seven years together. Andy was assisting the defence lawyers. Boyne Annesley believes his 23-year-old daughter Christina Annesley, of Orpington, southeast London, was murdered on Koh Tao Island in January 2015. The hoe was then used to knock Witheridge unconscious, after which the defendants used force to hold her down and took turns raping her, before killing her with the hoe. On Thursday the 29 th of August 2019, the Supreme Court of Thailand handed down its decision to uphold the death penalties for Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo, the Burmese migrant workers found guilty of the rape and murder of British holidaymaker Hannah Witheridge and the murder of fellow countryman David Miller in September 2014 on Koh Tao in Thailand. [79] Rumours began to circulate, with residents on the island saying the island is controlled by a mafia who "have information about the true culprits", and claimed that the police is covering for them.