Missing woman found buried in southern Thailand forest

Nakhon Si Thammarat Provincial Police Office discovered the dead body of a woman who went missing last month buried in the forest behind Khao Lom Monastery in southern Thailand. Police believe her murder was motivated by a conflict within a drug gang.

Officers from the Nakhon Si Thammarat Provincial Police Office discovered the corpse of an unidentified woman buried in the forest behind the Khao Lom Monastery in the Phromlok district on March 13. The woman wore a yellow dress and had a shot wound to her neck. Her body was covered with a large blanket and buried at a depth of about 1 metre.

Police reported that she had been dead for a long time as her body was decomposed and caused a strong odour. After an autopsy, she was later identified as 42 year old Sudarat Autthawijit who disappeared from her house on Tuesday, February 14.

Before the discovery of Sudarat’s body, the police had investigated her missing and charged three men who were suspected to be involved with her disappearance. The suspects were 46 year old Sookpinan, 46 year old Boonyuen, and 43 year old Thanawith.

The suspects claimed that they had only robbed and kidnapped Sudarat from her house in the Chang Krang district and dropped her off in the Mueang district. They insisted that they did not know what had happened to her after that. The three men were released on bail. They all later disappeared from their homes.

Later on, another suspect named Peeranat was arrested by the officers. He confessed and provided useful information leading to the discovery of Sudarat’s body.

Police revealed that Sudarat’s husband was a major drug dealer who had been previously arrested, and a large number of drugs had been seized from him. Officers believe that Sudarat’s murder was motivated by a conflict with a drug gang.

Police reckon that the gang kidnapped Sudarat to force her to pay for the drugs that they had lost when Sudarat’s husband was arrested.

The three escaped suspects are still at large, and the officers are currently trying to track them down.