Migrant workers convicted of murdering Hannah Witheridge and David At present, the case rests on DNA evidence linking cigarette butts found around 20 m from the bodies next to a crooked log where Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo admit they were playing guitar and drinking beer on the evening in question. 2040 / 2557, Regional Court of Appeal VIII No. [42][43] The police said the suspects' DNA matched a sample of semen taken from Witheridge's body, and to the hoe and cigarette butts found near the body. [39] Following an interrogation, during which police say Zaw Lin admitted he had entered the country illegally, Zaw Lin was arrested and his clothes and motorcycle were seized as evidence. Mr Miller's family said they were "grateful" to the Thai king. [5][6] Both were students who were backpacking in Thailand. [70] Wai Phyo was also convicted of theft for allegedly stealing a phone and sunglasses from Miller's body. The brutality of the incident shook the islands and its tourists and residents as the investigators began their probe under immense media and political pressure. Will [tourists] survive in Thailand if they dress in bikinis? he asked Sept. 17. Dehumanizing as it sounds, they are a commodity for some people., Asked whether he has a message for his compatriots considering working in Thailand, Wai Phyo simply says, Be careful when you go out at night as you might step in the wrong place., WE HAVE LEARNED TO TAKE CARE OF VISITORS. "But in the end the truth has been revealed," the couple added. [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. The convictions were mired in controversy, with supporters of the two men arguing they had been framed because their initial confessions were made under duress. The family said it had brought to a close a "lengthy and disturbing period" where activists on social media had attempted to influence justice in Thailand and public opinion elsewhere. Both men, in their early 30s, are presumed to be serving their sentence in some Thailand prison. Miss Witheridge's family paid tribute to their . The DNA analysis in the case, which was not subject to independent oversight or verification, was provided to the court as a one-page summary with four supporting pages, some of it handwritten with amendments. A royal commutation does not require an admission of guilt, says the BBC's Jonathan Head in Bangkok. However, the defense counsel argued all the evidence against the defendants was circumstantial, and the police had no known eyewitness to the murders. According to reports, they allegedly confessed to the murders, stating the migrant workers wanted to rape Hannah after getting aroused while reportedly seeing her kissing David on the beach. Case 220: Hannah Witheridge & David Miller : r/Casefile - Reddit Hannah Witheridge murder: Mum begged backpacker not to go to Thailand Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo are two of an estimated 2 million irregular Burmese migrants, along with smaller numbers from neighboring Cambodia and Laos, currently working low-paid jobs in comparatively thriving Thailand. A royal commutation does not require an admission of guilt, says the BBC's Jonathan Head in Bangkok. Their sentences have been reviewed to commemorate King Vajiralongkorn's birthday and to show his "clemency". Zaw Lin, as pimply as any teen, chats eagerly of his love of Manchester United and star Portuguese winger Nani. Hannah Witheridge and David Miller were killed in Thailand in 2014 Aug 17, 2020 Rex The two Burmese men who were jailed for killing British backpackers, Hannah Witheridge and David. Most are running guesthouses, eateries and scuba-diving operations or working as diving instructors. David Miller, 24, and Hannah Witheridge, 23, didn't know each other before they met on holiday in Thailand in September. The two men were convicted and sentenced in 2015 and the verdict was upheld by an appeals court in 2017 and the Supreme Court in August 2019. The balcony of room A5 at Ocean View Bungalows commands one of the finest vistas of Koh Taos sweeping Sairee Beach. "Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo finally admitted to the rape and murder of Hannah Witheridge and the murder of our son.". Two Burmese workers were sentenced to death in 2015,. Her autopsy report showed she had been raped and killed by blows to the head. Feuding here is common and vicious. Thai king commutes Myanmar men's death sentence over Britons' murder By the time dawn broke over Koh Tao, the beach had been . The convictions were mired in controversy, with supporters of the two men arguing they had been framed because their initial confessions were made under duress. "[56] Attempts to appeal the sentence to the High Court in 2017 were unsuccessful. One of the men Mau Mau resided nearby. Koh Tao is very safe, says Mayor Chaiyan. [11], An autopsy revealed that both victims were hit by a hard object, resulting in head and face wounds. Ringed by coral gardens and teeming with kaleidoscope shoals of tropical fish, it was primarily known, until now, for its diving. The team were only allowed to spend two hours on Koh Tao and did not meet with the suspects or defence. [47] Thailand's National Human Rights Commission attempted to investigate the allegations, but police representatives did not appear at four scheduled meetings. 2040 / 2557", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Koh_Tao_murders&oldid=1150069590, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 16 April 2023, at 05:03. VideoThe secret mine that hid the Nazis' stolen treasure, LGBT troops take love for Eurovision to front line, Why an Indian comedian is challenging fake news rules. She was just one of those beautiful, bubbly people, amazing inside and out. [77], An opinion piece in Bangkok Post wrote that "practically no one believes [Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo] really brutally murdered English tourists", adding "in Thai media of all kinds, the consensus is that Win and Zaw Lin are scapegoats. [10][32] They highlighted a British tourist who had shared a room with Miller as a suspect, labelling it a "crime of passion"; he became the subject of a nationwide manhunt before the police quickly dropped the lead. They stated they were driven by a desire to rape the victim following sexual arousal when they saw the couple kissing on the beach. RIP, Christian May (@christianrmay) September 15, 2014. This was very different. The country's prime minister, who had been phoning the national police chief daily for updates on the investigation, said "this should not have happened at all, as it will affect Thailand in the eyes of the international community". [5][40] The commutation was welcomed by Miller's family. [1][11][18] A bloody hoe, believed to be the murder weapon, and a wooden club were found near the bodies,[19][4][14] along with three cigarette butts and a used condom. According to reports, both men were 22-year-old illegal migrant workers from Rakhine, Myanmar, who worked in the hospitality industry. He announced that he had "ordered all security-related agencies to track down those who are behind the Myanmar demonstrations". The family of Hannah Witheridge, a backpacker who was murdered in Thailand, have had their "hearts broken" by a second death. Both bodies were found lying on a beach, stripped naked and bloodied. It has over 100 hotels and resorts and was deemed the busiest diving centre in Southeast Asia in 2014. Others labor for long hours under the burning sun farming pineapples, exposed to hazardous doses of pesticides and other chemicals. [23] Local residents blocked the pier to prevent the unidentified killers from leaving the island. David Miller, 24. The episode tries to deconstruct the complex case for the listeners as it narrates the incidents chronologically and questions several alleged incompetencies in the murder probe. Both entered through the Ranong Province, allegedly without presenting themselves at a port of entry and without possessing a passport. But Koh Tao was a political penal colony from 1933 until 1947, and a sense of self-sufficiency and isolation exists to this day. In December 2015, the pair were convicted of the murder and sentenced to death. The head of the country's Central Institute of Forensic Science found that the DNA on the hoe did not match the defendants. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our, Digital [1][51] According to an observer, the sittings lasted over ten hours each day. But the sheer ubiquity of drugs on Koh Tao suggests at the very least a high toleration of the trade. David Miller and Hannah Witheridge only met each other by chance, when they and their friends stayed in adjoining rooms of the Ocean View Bungalows, a small backpacker complex overlooking the white sand sweep of Sairee beach on the Thai island of Koh Tao. [3] The murders were the first cases of homicide on the island in over eight years. Jak zemeli Hannah Witheridge a David Miller? Miller had scratches on his back and water in his lungs indicating drowning. The two men were convicted and sentenced in 2015 and the verdict was upheld by an appeals court in 2017 and the Supreme Court in August 2019. [26][27] However, her clothes were not tested for DNA. Their sentences have been reviewed to commemorate King Vajiralongkorn's birthday and to show his "clemency". The area plays host to a weekly beach party on Sunday nights. This is troubling when set against the allegations of torture made by the accused. The defense lawyers urgently need both crucial information gained from the re-examination of forensic evidence in this case and also adequate time to consider this information prior to the trial beginning, said lead defense lawyer Nakhon Chomphuchat in a statement last month. Burmese migrant workers made up an additional 5,000, around 2,000 of these being illegal immigrants who bribe local police by paying 500 baht each month. T he brutal murder of British tourists Hannah Witheridge, 23, and David Miller, 24, on the Thai resort island of Koh Tao, has reverberated around the world.. Beach cleaners discovered the Britons . But in the early hours of 15 September last year the pair, who were together on the beach after leaving a nearby bar, died next to each other in the most horrific circumstances. The second individual, Wai Phyo, had allegedly fled the island by boat the previous night. [42][43] Early police reports said Miller's mobile phone was also found in Zaw Lin's home,[44][45] although the media had previously reported the phone was handed to police by a friend of the victim. Murdered backpacker's family fight against of attackers death A post-mortem examination showed she had been raped.
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