Murdered transwoman thrown into canal ‘still alive’ in central Thailand

The court has denied bail to the delivery driver suspected of murdering the transwoman whose body was found floating in a canal in Pathum Thani province just north of Bangkok in central Thailand on Wednesday.

The killer picked up 29 year old Piyada “Goya” Sorrakun in his Mazda 2 from Lumpini Park on Tuesday night. In the car, he threatened Goya at knife-point for money. Goya fought back which is when the delivery driver attacked her with a hammer.

Officers from Klong Luang Police Station checked the CCTV cameras where Goya’s body was found and discovered the alleged murderer in the footage, 39 year old Yutthapon Piyawittayakorn. Police arrested him in Chon Buri province yesterday.

In an unfazed confession, the accused admitted to hitting Goya in the head several times with a hammer to murder her. Then, he drove to Khlong Song to dump her body.

However, Yutthapon found that Goya’s body was still “jerking around,” so he tied a dumbbell to her neck with a chain to weigh her down and threw her in the water while she was still alive.

Yesterday, rescue workers from the Por Teck Tung Foundation discovered the dumbbell, chain, Goya’s phone, and her necklace in the canal around 500 metres away from where her body was discovered.

A rescue worker said the dumbbell was inefficiently tied to Goya’s neck which is why it failed to weigh down her body.

The driver was initially charged with four charges, “intentional murder by means of torture, theft, carrying weapons in a public place, and concealing a corpse.”

Goya’s mother, Oy, said that Goya normally goes out to work around Lumpini Park at around 9pm and returns by 5am every night. Oy said her Goya always texts to her let her know she is on her way home.

However, Oy didn’t receive a Line message from her child on Tuesday night. Oy tried to ring her but she didn’t pick up. She rang Goya’s friends but none of them knew Goya’s whereabouts.

At 3pm on Wednesday, Oy saw the news that a ladyboy’s body was found floating in the canal. She had a feeling it was Oy so she contacted the police who were able to confirm it was her child who was murdered.

Oy said that Goya was the “pillar” of the family and was dearly loved by her family and friends.