Forensic report disputes self-defence claim in Thai pond murder

A forensic investigation has contradicted the testimony regarding the murder of a friend disposed of in a pond in Nakhon Sawan province. The suspect had announced the act a month in advance, and the woman involved denied any romantic relationship, asserting there was no love triangle.

In the case of a 54 year old Thai man, Rung, who killed 53 year old Yodrak and dumped the body in a pond in Village 4, Don Kha subdistrict, Tha Tako district, Nakhon Sawan province, the motive was believed to be jealousy over the same woman. Before the incident, Yodrak visited Rung’s home and tried to stab him with a knife, leading Rung to defend himself with a wooden stick, resulting in Yodrak’s death. Rung then disposed of the body in the pond.

The police investigation team from Tha Tako Police Station, Nakhon Sawan, along with forensic officers, revisited Rung’s house yesterday. The autopsy report indicated Yodrak died from gunshot wounds to the chest, contradicting Rung’s claim of using a wooden stick in self-defence. After about an hour of searching, officers found a long shotgun and a short one along with some shotgun shells hidden 100 metres from the house. The long shotgun was broken and unusable, while the short one was functional, with one shell in the chamber. Further tests will determine if this gun was used to shoot Yodrak.

At Don Kha Temple, where Yodrak’s funeral was held, Nun, a relative of the deceased, revealed that the hospital’s examination confirmed Yodrak was killed with a gun, with four pellets found in his chest. Nun believed the shooting was intentional and not in self-defence, as Rung had previously threatened to shoot Yodrak if he ever came to his house uninvited.

“The jealousy over the same woman is true, and they had been arguing about it for almost a month. Rung even declared he would shoot Yodrak. Rung and Yodrak met at an ordination ceremony on July 18, where they drank with friends, but Rung did not drink. They then went their separate ways. It’s unclear if Yodrak knew about Rung’s threat, as Yodrak quickly rode his motorbike away after returning home, only to be found dead later.”

The woman at the centre of the conflict clarified that there was no romantic relationship with Yodrak and that his jealousy was unfounded. She only communicated with him as a friend, having known him for three to four months and mostly talking on the phone. She had made it clear from the start that she was not interested in a romantic relationship due to their age difference and limited acquaintance. She did not know whether Yodrak was involved with anyone else but was not interested in him as a partner, preferring to remain just friends.

Regarding Rung, the woman confirmed never having any private conversations or even possessing his phone number. She met Rung through Yodrak at the ordination ceremony and insisted that Yodrak’s jealousy towards Rung was baseless, as she only interacted with Rung at religious events. The allegations that she had taken money from Yodrak were false, and she was willing to legally challenge these claims since she had never taken any money from him. She supported herself through her small business and was not financially troubled, reported KhaoSod.

ORIGINAL STORY: Thai man confesses to killing his friend over love triangle

A Thai man confessed to killing his friend and dumping the body in a pond in the central province of Nakhon Sawan after becoming entangled in a bitter love triangle.

A 75 year old Thai woman, Prayong, filed a missing person complaint with Thatako Police Station, stating that her 53 year old son, Yodrak, had been missing from home since July 18. Without a clue as to her son’s whereabouts, Prayong consulted a fortune teller who claimed that Yodrak’s body was in a community pond.

Prayong decided to seek help from volunteer divers to search for Yodrak in the pond. The divers found the body yesterday, July 25. Yodrak’s body was tied to a cart and a sack of bricks and rocks. His body had begun to decompose at the time of the discovery.

Following the questioning of Yodrak’s friends, a 54 year old man named Rung, was the prime suspect. The two were reported to be close friends but recently argued over a conflict as they had fallen in love with the same woman.

Rung finally admitted to the murder of his beloved friend. Rung explained that he met Yodrak at his home, located a kilometre away from the pond and engaged in an argument because Yodrak forced him to reveal his feelings for the woman.

The argument reportedly escalated into a physical altercation and Rung hit Yodrak’s head with a hard object, which was not identified in the report, until he died. Rung dumped his friend’s body into the pond and closely monitored it.

When Yodrak’s body surfaced, Rung repeatedly stabbed the dead body, hoping water would flow into Yodrak’s body and sink. The body continued to float up to the surface, prompting Rung to find heavy objects to add more weight.

Police accompanied Rung to the incident scene for a reenactment yesterday. He faces two charges including:

• Section 288 of the Criminal Law: intentional murder. The punishment is the death penalty, life imprisonment, or imprisonment from 15 to 20 years.
• Section 366/3 of the Criminal Law: damaging, moving, or depreciating a dead body of another person. The punishment is imprisonment of up to three years, a fine of up to 60,000 baht, or both.

Channel 3 and Amarin TV reported that Rung has a mental health illness which may have played an important role in the murder as well.