Nong Chompoo uncle surrenders to police on murder charges
In an update to the report published this morning when a warrant was issued for his arrest, the uncle of Nong Chompoo has surrendered to the police and is facing murder charges. Chaiphol Wipha, the uncle of a 3 year old girl found dead in Mukdahan last year, turned himself in to the Royal Thai police late this morning. He is accused of the murder and assault of the young girl.
Police had gone to Chaiphol’s home this morning in Ban Kok Kork village to arrest him after the Mukdahan provincial court issued an arrest warrant yesterday, but he was not there. Chaiphol was then escorted by his wife to the police station later in the morning to turn himself in.
The initial charges in the death of Nong Chompoo are for abandoning a child under 9 years old in a way that caused death, depriving a child of parental care, and tampering with a body to influence a police investigation and autopsy. He will be questioned at Kok Toom police station in Mukdahan.
The national police chief stated flatly that this was a murder investigation, saying police were confident in the evidence they had gathered. That evidence included witness accounts, shoes, clothing, 3 strands of hair identified by DNA, 36 pieces of hair from the girl, and other forensic evidence.
The case of Nong Chompoo gained national attention last year with some criticising TV coverage sensationalizing the crime, turning Chaiphol into a minor celebrity like a reality TV star. The fame garnered him fans and donations as he claimed innocence, but some worry it also interfered with the investigation.
The parents of Nong Chompoo left their older daughter in charge of the 3 year old on May 11, 2020, while they ran an errand, and the baby had reportedly wandered away on her own. But police didn’t buy that story when she was found naked with evidence of physical and sexual assault, dead in a forest on a mountain 2 kilometres away 4 days later.
SOURCE: Bangkok Post
